Brian Moos / Program Director

The Huskies will finish the 2023-24 regular season against a familiar foe. The Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs are a program that the NCHC ensures play the Huskies four times a year. Since the turn of the decade, the Huskies have played the Bulldogs 28 times, with each of the last five years (including 2024) scheduled to play their final regular season series against each other. Six of those 28 matchups have come in the postseason in the 2020s. Unsurprisingly, there is a chance these two will tangle in the playoffs once again, which would be three straight NCHC quarterfinal rounds between SCSU and UMD. It is not likely though, the Bulldogs are locked in seventh place heading into the quarterfinals. The Huskies most likely will finish in third, meaning they will match up with the sixth seed.

A Look Back

Before getting into what awaits either side it is important to mention that St. Cloud State holds a two-game season series lead over their rival. A full-season sweep of the Bulldogs by the Huskies hasn’t happened since the 2013-14 season.

St. Cloud State swept the home series against Minnesota-Duluth earlier this season, winning 2-1 and 6-5 last November. The Huskies saw three-point efforts from Sophomore Forward Adam Ingram and Captain Dylan Anhorn. Senior Forward Veeti Miettinen scored two goals in the series, both tallies came on Saturday. Senior Goalie Dominic Basse got both starts, saving 48 shots. He and the Husky defense held UMD leading scorer Ben Steeves to no goals over both games.

Unmet Resolutions

Both programs seem to share struggles in the calendar year of 2024. Minnesota Duluth hasn’t picked up a victory since Jan 27, against bottom-of-the-conference Miami. The Bulldogs went winless in February and only have two conference points to their name over their last four series. Duluth is coming off a series out west against the Colorado College Tigers where they picked up a shootout win.

St. Cloud State is having a 2024 to forget themselves. They went winless in January and have only swept one NCHC team in the calendar, Miami. After Denver humbled SCSU at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, the Huskies find themselves on the brink of the tournament. Entering last weekend 11th in Pairwise, the comparison system used to determine the NCAA Tournament field, SCSU was swiftly put back down to 14th. SCSU has been 14th for most of 2024. Two automatic bids will be outside the at-large field and many conference postseason tournaments outside the NCHC are starting. SCSU needs wins to stay alive for an at-large bid, not just for resume building.

St. Cloud State Key Players

It’s no secret the Huskies are led by a talented group of upperclassmen. Forwards Veeti Miettinen and Kyler Kupka are the only two Huskies with double-digit goals, with 15 and 13 respectively. Dylan Anhorn, Captain of the Huskies, has 28 points and is the only SCSU player with more than 20 assists (22). Forwards Adam Ingram and Zach Okabe have been secondary scoring options for the Huskies, both having more than 20 points on the season (25 & 22). Center Verner Miettinen leads the 2023 Freshman class, having 19 points on the year and taking over 400 faceoffs. Goaltending has become a hot topic in Husky hockey.

Freshman Isak Posch has started in five straight games over Senior Dominic Basse. Posch has put up a two-win and three-loss record in those starts, with one of those losses happening in overtime. Who starts in net for St. Cloud State may be the most pressing question for the weekend.

Minnesota-Duluth Key Players

Minnesota-Duluth runs its offense through Sophomore Forward Ben Steeves. It’s easy to see why, as he has 22 goals and 30 points heading into the regular season finale. 12 of Steeve’s 22 goals have come on the Bulldog powerplay, one of the most dangerous units in the country. Junior defenseman Owen Gallatin has distributed 20 assists on the season, with 25 total points. Duluth has a logjam of upperclass forwards with 18 points. Those names are Blake Biondi, Connor McMenamin, and Quinn Olson. Freshmen Aaron Pionk and Matthew Perkins have been noticeable as well, as the Defenseman and Forward have put up 16 and 14 points in their first collegiate season. The Bulldogs haven’t had a consistent starter in net this season in terms of availability. Matthew Thiessen, who started in both games against the Huskies in November, has started three straight games for UMD. Zach Stejskal has more starts, but has been battling injuries throughout the year.

Broadcast Details

KVSC is covering both games this weekend, you can listen to all the action on the same website you are on now, or on either of our radio signals 88.1 FM and 89.3 HD3. You can also follow our game-thread account KVSCHockey on X (formerly known as Twitter) for social media updates during the games. Friday’s puck-drop from Duluth, MN will be at 7:00 p.m., with pregame starting at 6:30 p.m.. Saturday’s pregame will start at 5:30 p.m., puck-drop will be at 6 p.m.. Assistant Sports Director Zachary Chapman will be on play-by-play for the weekend. Program Director Brian Moos will be on color commentary. Sports Director Alexander Fern will serve as ice-side reporter. Gavin Nelson will be back in St. Cloud producing the broadcasts this weekend. We hope to be your broadcast choice for St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey!