The 2022–23 St. Cloud State Huskies men's ice hockey season was the 88th season of play for the program, the 26th at the Division I level and 10th in the NCHC. The Huskies represented St. Cloud State University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, were coached by Brett Larson in his 5th season and played their home games at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.
2022–23 St. Cloud State Huskies men's ice hockey season | |
---|---|
NCHC Tournament, Champion NCAA Tournament, Regional Final | |
Conference | 4th NCHC |
Home ice | Herb Brooks National Hockey Center |
Rankings | |
USCHO | #5 |
USA Today | #5 |
Record | |
Overall | 25–13–3 |
Conference | 12–9–3 |
Home | 16–3–2 |
Road | 6–9–1 |
Neutral | 3–1–0 |
Coaches and captains | |
Head coach | Brett Larson |
Assistant coaches | Dave Shyiak R. J. Enga Matt Bertram |
Captain(s) | Spencer Meier |
Alternate captain(s) |
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St. Cloud State Huskies men's ice hockey seasons « 2021–22 2023–24 » |
Season
Entering the year, St. Cloud was having to contend with the loss of several key players, including two Olympians. An already veteran roster was augmented by the addition of three transfers with the biggest unknown coming in goal. Dávid Hrenák had been the team's starting goalie for 5 years and replacing him would not be an easy task. Jaxon Castor had sat behind Hrenák for 3 years with mixed results while Dominic Basse was brought in after two years with Colorado College. Coach Larson decided to alternate between the two and both netminders performed wonderfully. St. Cloud won their first 6 games of the season, including a sweep of national Runner-Up Minnesota State.
The goalies were aided by the ascension of several players, particularly Jami Krannila and Zach Okabe, who improved their performance and took over as the team's leaders. The other two transfers fit in seamlessly with their new team as Grant Cruikshank swiftly became the Huskies' top goal scoring threat. Dylan Anhorn, however, was a revelation for the club. The senior defenseman shot out of the gate and was seemingly scoring in every game He posted 21 points by the winter break and helped lift St. Cloud into the top 5 in both polls. He wasn't solely an offensive contributor as he also led the Huskies in blocked shots and +/-. In the team's first 18 games, they lost back-to-back games just once and had done no worse than break even in every weekend series. Even with the rest of the NCHC having a down year, the Huskies were one of the bright spots for the conference and were a near certainty to make the tournament at the midway point of the season.
St. Cloud didn't appear to lose any steam at the start of the second half. The goalie rotation was altered slightly, giving the two netminders more than one game at a time, but that the team from sweeping Denver in mid January to take over as the #1 team in both the NCHC standings and the national polls. Unfortunately, just before the second game against the Pios, Anhorn suffered a lower body injury in warmups and would miss the rest of the season after having surgery to fix the problem.[1] In his wake of Anhorn's ailment, St. Cloud didn't win a game for 3 weeks and were swept by an underperforming Minnesota Duluth team. The Huskies stumbled to the finish line, ending the regular season 4th in the conference.
Conference tournament
While the Huskies had barely finished in the top half of the NCHC, they were still highly ranked overall and were guaranteed to make the NCAA tournament. That, however, was not enough for the team as St. Cloud still needed to recover its early-season form if they had any hope of making a run in the tournament. Basse was given a turn in goal and led the team into the postseason against Duluth. After a good first game, Basse crumbled in the rematch and allowed 4 goals in 22 shots. Castor got his opportunity in the deciding third game and grabbed onto his opportunity with both hands. With the offense playing well, St. Cloud edged out the Bulldogs and advanced to the semifinals.[2]
By the time they arrived in Saint Paul, St. Cloud seemed to have figured out its defensive situation but the offense still needed some work. They fact was on full display against North Dakota as the team was only able to muster 15 shots in regulation. While they were fortunate enough to get 2 goals with that paltry output, the defense was able to hold off the Fighting Hawks and only surrendered 2 markers themselves. In overtime, however, the Huskies went on the attack and fired 6 shots in under 6 minutes. The team seized the momentum and pressed forward until Okabe broke through with the game-winner. The title game was a little more sedate with St. Cloud being in control for most of the match. Colorado College had a weak offense and couldn't keep up with the Huskies as the dogs were getting into their stride. Castor posted his third shutout of the season to lead the team to their first conference championship in 7 years.[3]
NCAA tournament
Returning to the tournament for the 5th consecutive season, St. Cloud got a #2 seed in the western regional. However, despite being close to home, the Huskies got an unfavorable draw by having to face Minnesota State who were hot on the heels of their own championship. The defense and Castor had to weather an incessant push by the Maverick offense but the Huskies were up to the task. Despite being outshot 4–10 in the first, the scoresheet remained empty. The second was a bit more even but MSU still carried the balance of play. It wasn't until St. Cloud's second power play opportunity that they began to see things swing in their favor. Veeti Miettinen fired a seeing-eye shot through a maze of bodies from the right circle that somehow found the back of the net. About five minutes later, Jack Peart accomplished a similar feat from the top of the left circle and St. Cloud took a 2-goal lead into the final period. Minnesota State continued to press, trying to find a way to tie the game, but the couldn't solve Castor. Two more goals increased the Huskies' lead but didn't change the outcome and St. Cloud advanced to the regional final.[4]
In yet another battle of Minnesota teams, the Huskies took on the vaunted Golden Gophers who had been the #1 team for the past few months. Even so, the Huskies had already defeated Minnesota earlier in the season so they knew that they had a solid chance going into the game. Just like the MSU game, the Gophers dominated early and outshout St. Cloud 6–14 in the first 20 minutes. Unlike the previous game, however, Minnesota was able to get out to a 1–0 lead and end Castor's shutout streak. Adam Ingram got the Huskies back even with the power play marker early in the second but that was all St. Cloud State could get. Minnesota scored the final three goals of the game, relying on their overpowering defensive corps to stifle the Huskies and win the game 4–1.[5]
Departures
Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
---|---|---|---|
Easton Brodzinski | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Hartford Wolf Pack) |
Seamus Donohue | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (signed with South Carolina Stingrays) |
Kevin Fitzgerald | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with South Carolina Stingrays) |
Sam Hentges | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Minnesota Wild) |
Dávid Hrenák | Goaltender | Slovakia | Graduation (signed with Los Angeles Kings) |
Lucas Jaycox | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (signed with South Carolina Stingrays) |
Jack Johnston | Forward | United States | Left program (retired) |
Joseph Lamoreaux | Goaltender | United States | Transferred to Alaska Anchorage |
Nick Perbix | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (signed with Tampa Bay Lightning) |
Thomas Rocco | Forward | United States | Left program (retired) |
Nolan Walker | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Toronto Marlies) |
Recruiting
Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Grant Ahcan | Forward | United States | 20 | Burnsville, MN |
Dylan Anhorn | Defenseman | Canada | 23 | Calgary, AB; transfer from Union |
Ethan Aucoin | Forward | Canada | 20 | Calgary, AB |
Dominic Basse | Goaltender | United States | 21 | Alexandria, VA; transfer from Colorado College; selected 167th overall in 2019 |
Grant Cruikshank | Forward | United States | 24 | Delafield, WI; graduate transfer from Minnesota |
James Gray | Goaltender | Canada | 20 | Toronto, ON |
Adam Ingram | Forward | Canada | 18 | Winnipeg, MB; selected 82nd overall in 2022 |
Mason Reiners | Defenseman | United States | 21 | Edina, MN |
Jack Rogers | Forward | United States | 19 | East Northport, NY |
Cooper Wylie | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Stillwater, MN |
Roster
As of August 23, 2022.[6]
No. | S/P/C | Player | Class | Pos | Height | Weight | DoB | Hometown | Previous team | NHL rights |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | James Gray | Freshman | G | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 2002-05-24 | Toronto, Ontario | North York (OJHL) | — | |
2 | Brady Ziemer | Junior | D | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | 2000-05-24 | Carver, Minnesota | Green Bay (USHL) | — | |
4 | Dylan Anhorn | Senior | D | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1999-01-21 | Calgary, Alberta | Union (ECAC) | — | |
5 | Ondřej Trejbal | Senior | D | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1999-04-21 | Hamry nad Sázavou, Czech Republic | Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL) | — | |
6 | Mason Reiners | Freshman | D | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 2001-05-03 | Edina, Minnesota | Waterloo (USHL) | — | |
8 | Aidan Spellacy (A) | Graduate | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 1998-06-13 | Lakewood, Ohio | Robert Morris (AHA) | — | |
9 | Spencer Meier (C) | Graduate | D | 6' 4" (1.93 m) | 212 lb (96 kg) | 1999-04-15 | Sartell, Minnesota | Fargo (USHL) | — | |
10 | Kyler Kupka | Senior | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1999-05-11 | Camrose, Alberta | Camrose (AJHL) | — | |
11 | Grant Ahcan | Freshman | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | 2002-05-18 | Savage, Minnesota | Cedar Rapids (USHL) | — | |
12 | Ryan Rosborough | Freshman (RS) | F | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 2000-05-24 | Mt. Brydges, Ontario | South Shore (NCDC) | — | |
13 | Jami Krannila (A) | Senior | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | 2000-10-03 | Nokia, Finland | Sioux Falls (USHL) | — | |
14 | Zach Okabe | Senior | F | 5' 9" (1.75 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | 2001-01-04 | Okotoks, Alberta | Grande Prairie (AJHL) | — | |
15 | Micah Miller (A) | Graduate | F | 5' 9" (1.75 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 1998-10-29 | Grand Rapids, Minnesota | Sioux City (USHL) | — | |
16 | Mason Salquist | Sophomore | F | 5' 8" (1.73 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | 2000-03-21 | Grand Forks, North Dakota | Fargo (USHL) | — | |
17 | Ethan Aucoin | Freshman | F | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | 2002-08-10 | Calgary, Alberta | Lloydminster (AJHL) | — | |
18 | Brendan Bushy | Graduate | D | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 230 lb (104 kg) | 1998-08-23 | Thief River Falls, Minnesota | Dubuque (USHL) | — | |
19 | Grant Cruikshank | Graduate | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 1998-07-19 | Delafield, Wisconsin | Minnesota (Big Ten) | — | |
20 | Jack Rogers | Freshman | F | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 2002-09-23 | East Northport, New York | Steinbach (MHHL) | — | |
21 | Josh Luedtke | Sophomore | D | 5' 9" (1.75 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 2000-09-29 | Minnetonka, Minnesota | Des Moines (USHL) | — | |
22 | Joe Molenaar | Junior | F | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 1999-10-16 | Minnetonka, Minnesota | Cedar Rapids (USHL) | — | |
23 | Jack Peart | Sophomore | D | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 2003-05-15 | Grand Rapids, Minnesota | Grand Rapids (USHS–MN) | MIN, 54th overall 2021 | |
26 | Cooper Wylie | Freshman | D | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 2001-10-26 | Stillwater, Minnesota | Waterloo (USHL) | — | |
27 | Chase Brand | Senior | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | 1999-02-25 | Nevis, Minnesota | Madison (USHL) | — | |
29 | Veeti Miettinen | Junior | F | 5' 9" (1.75 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | 2001-09-20 | Espoo, Finland | Kiekko-Espoo (Nuorten SM-liiga) | TOR, 168th overall 2020 | |
31 | Dominic Basse | Junior | G | 6' 6" (1.98 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 2001-04-22 | Alexandria, Virginia | Colorado College (USHL) | CHI, 167th overall 2019 | |
34 | Adam Ingram | Freshman | F | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 2003-10-14 | West St. Paul, Manitoba | Youngstown (USHL) | NSH, 82nd overall 2022 | |
40 | Jaxon Castor | Senior | G | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 1997-03-14 | Phoenix, Arizona | Shreveport (NAHL) | — |
Standings
Conference record | Overall record | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | |||
#6 Denver † | 24 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 56 | 94 | 53 | 40 | 30 | 10 | 0 | 150 | 86 | ||
#11 Western Michigan | 24 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 86 | 60 | 39 | 23 | 15 | 1 | 148 | 102 | ||
#20 Omaha | 24 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 42 | 71 | 64 | 37 | 19 | 15 | 3 | 109 | 97 | ||
#5 St. Cloud State * | 24 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 41 | 85 | 68 | 41 | 25 | 13 | 3 | 133 | 95 | ||
Minnesota Duluth | 24 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 33 | 65 | 81 | 37 | 16 | 20 | 1 | 95 | 114 | ||
#17 North Dakota | 24 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 33 | 75 | 70 | 39 | 18 | 15 | 6 | 127 | 110 | ||
Colorado College | 24 | 6 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 37 | 60 | 38 | 13 | 22 | 3 | 79 | 99 | ||
Miami | 24 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 39 | 96 | 36 | 8 | 24 | 4 | 73 | 137 | ||
Championship: March 18, 2023 † indicates conference regular season champion (Penrose Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Frozen Faceoff Championship Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll |
Schedule and results
Scoring statistics
Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jami Krannila | C | 41 | 21 | 19 | 40 | 43 |
Grant Cruikshank | C | 41 | 23 | 15 | 38 | 16 |
Zach Okabe | RW | 41 | 18 | 18 | 36 | 24 |
Veeti Miettinen | RW | 41 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 0 |
Kyler Kupka | F | 35 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 10 |
Dylan Anhorn | D | 23 | 5 | 25 | 25 | 12 |
Jack Peart | D | 39 | 3 | 21 | 24 | 24 |
Adam Ingram | C | 41 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 20 |
Micah Miller | C/RW | 41 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 18 |
Aidan Spellacy | F | 35 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 11 |
Brendan Bushy | D | 41 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 33 |
Ondřej Trejbal | D | 38 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 12 |
Josh Luedtke | D | 32 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 48 |
Spencer Meier | D | 32 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 2 |
Jack Rogers | F | 34 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 14 |
Chase Brand | C | 24 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 11 |
Mason Salquist | F | 40 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 10 |
Joe Molenaar | F | 30 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 |
Cooper Wylie | D | 30 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 10 |
Grant Ahcan | F | 19 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
Ryan Rosborough | F | 19 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
Ethan Aucoin | F | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 19 |
Dominic Basse | G | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Brady Ziemer | D | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
Jaxon Castor | G | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mason Reiners | D | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Total | 133 | 230 | 363 | 371 |
Goaltending statistics
Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jaxon Castor | 23 | 1368:02 | 14 | 8 | 1 | 46 | 557 | 4 | .924 | 2.02 |
Dominic Basse | 19 | 1094:09 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 42 | 430 | 3 | .911 | 2.30 |
Empty Net | - | 32:46 | - | - | - | 7 | - | - | - | - |
Total | 41 | 2494:57 | 25 | 13 | 3 | 95 | 987 | 7 | .912 | 2.28 |
Rankings
Poll | Week | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 (Final) | |
USCHO.com | 13 | - | 10 | 10 | 8 (1) | 2 (14) | 4 (6) | 4 (5) | 4 | 3 (2) | 3 (10) | 4 (3) | 4 | - | 4 | 3 (2) | 4 (1) | 1 (33) | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 6 | - | 5 |
USA Today | 13 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 2 (9) | 4 (1) | 4 (3) | 5 | 3 | 3 (3) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 (1) | 1 (21) | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.[9]
Awards and honors
Player | Award | Ref |
---|---|---|
Jami Krannila | NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year | [10] |
Spencer Meier | NCHC Sportsmanship Award | [10] |
Jami Krannila | NCHC First Team | [11] |
Jack Peart | NCHC Second Team | [11] |
Jaxon Castor | NCHC All-Tournament Team | [12] |
Jack Peart | ||
Jami Krannila | ||
Zach Okabe |
Players drafted into the NHL
2023 NHL Entry Draft
Round | Pick | Player | NHL team |
---|---|---|---|
6 | 179 | Warren Clark † | Tampa Bay Lightning |
† incoming freshman[13]