No. 12/14 St. Cloud State men's hockey set for Homecoming Series vs. Augustana

THE CONTEST

• After playing four of its first five games on the road, No. 12/14 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey begins a six-game homestand this weekend with a non-conference series against (RV) Augustana before homecoming Oct. 25-26 at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. Tee times will be adjusted from normal for this weekend as Friday's puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM CT and Saturday's is scheduled for 5:00 PM CT. Both games will air on Fox 9+ (tape delay Friday starting at 8:00 PM CT) and live on NCHC.tv with Jim Erickson, Geno Parrish and Olivia Stephes in conversation. On the radio, Nick Maxson and Dave Reichel will call on KNSI (1450 AM / 99.3 FM).
• The Huskies enter the weekend on the back of a thrilling top-10 split on the road at No. 10/9 Michigan, losing Friday's game 3-0 (0-0 heading into the third period) before the winner Saturday's 4-0 win behind 24 saves from the sophomore goaltender Isaac Posch. Augustana is closing in on its first-ever top-20 ranking after sweeping then-No. 12 Omaha last weekend, beating the Mavericks 2-1, 4-0 at Baxter Arena.

GO VOTE

• After the split with Michigan, the Huskies moved up one spot to No. 12 in the USCHO poll and down one spot in the USA Today/The Rink Live Top-20 poll. Augustana is on the cusp of breaking into the top 20 for the first time in its short two-year history and is the most voted team outside the top 20 in the USCHO poll and the fourth team outside the top 20. in the USA Today/The Rink Live poll.

SERIES HISTORY

• This weekend's series will mark the first-ever meeting between the two programs, as the Vikings are in the middle of their second season. Augustana announced the addition of a men's ice hockey team in October 2021 and played its first season in 2023-2024 as a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA).

WELCOME BACK, HUSKIES!

• In addition to being homecoming weekend, the Huskies welcome back a pair of former Huskies this weekend in Augustana's head coach Garrett Raboin and senior defender Brady Ziemer. Raboin was a captain for two years, lettered for three seasons and earned two All-WCHA honors as a student-athlete for the Huskies from 2006 to 2010. He still ranks 10th among Husky defensemen in career scoring with 83 points (21-62-83). Following his playing career, Raboin served as an assistant coach for the Huskies from 2012 to 2018, helping the Huskies reach five NCAA tournaments, win three conference championships and the program's first NCAA Frozen Four appearance in 2013. Ziemer was a three-year-old student-athlete. for the Huskies from 2020-23, when he scored four points in 50 games.

SUBCLASSES LEAD THE WAY

• St. Cloud State has been led by its freshman and sophomore classes through five games this season, as a freshman or sophomore has scored 10 of 12 and 26 of 32 total points so far this season. In the Bemidji State series alone, freshmen scored five of the seven goals, while sophomores scored the other two, with underclassmen scoring 17 of the 19 points scored. In addition, second goalkeeper Isaac Posch was in net in each of the Huskies' first five games, producing a 4-1-0 mark with a 1.41 GAA, .952 S% and two shutouts. His S% and GAA both rank second in the NCHC, and eighth and tenth respectively in the NCAA. Freshmen forward Austin Burnevik has started his freshman campaign extremely strong, as he ranks third among NCAA freshmen in goals (three) and points (six).

A LOOK BACK ON THE LAST SERIES

• SCSU earned its first-ever win against Michigan on Saturday with a 4-0 win, securing a road split at historic Yost Ice Arena. Second goalkeeper Isaac Posch made 24 saves in the shutout victory, while four different Huskies scored, including sophomore forwards Tyson Gross And Barrett Hall about the power game. On Friday, the Wolverines earned a 3-0 victory in a game that entered the third period scoreless before Michigan scored a short, even-strength goal in the first 10 minutes of the final period. An empty net score made the final score 3-0.

NOTES FROM THE LAST SERIES

• GAME 1 – 3-0 loss at No. 10/9 Michigan (10-18-24)
  • SCSU went 4-for-4 after the penalty and improved to 92.9 percent (13-for-14) on the season. It was the third time in four games that SCSU held its opponent scoreless by a man.
  • Sophomore forward Verner Miettinen continued his impressive start from the faceoff dot, going 9-5 from the circle (64.3 percent) in the contest.
  • Second goalkeeper Isaac Posch made 27 saves, the third time this season and the eleventh time in his career he has made 25 or more saves.
  • Junior defender Josh Zinger recorded a season-best with three blocks.
• GAME 2 – 4-0 win over No. 10/9 Michigan (10-19-24)
  • With the win, SCSU improves to 1-4-1 all-time against Michigan and 1-2-0 in Ann Arbor.
  • SCSU turned away both of Michigan's power play opportunities in the game and improved to 3-1-0 on the season while holding its opponent scoreless on the man advantage. SCSU improved to 93.8 percent (15 of 16) on the penalty kill this season.
  • Second goalkeeper Isaac Posch earned his second shutout of the season and third of his career with 24 saves. On the season, he improved to 4-1-0 with a 1.42 GAA and .952 S%.
  • Sophomore forward Tyson Gross scored his first goal of the season and recorded his first career winning goal. He added an assist on freshman forward Gavyn Thoreson's goal to record his seventh career multi-point game.
  • Thoreson scored his first career goal and first career point with his third period score.
  • Junior forward Grant Ahcan scored his first goal of the season and sixth of his career with his third period goal.
  • Sophomore forward Barrett Halls The power-play goal late in the third period marked his 10th career goal.
  • Sophomore forward Verner Miettinen and freshmen forward Austin Burnevik registered assists on Gross' goal, bringing their assist totals to four and three respectively on the season. Miettinen leads the team in assists, while Burnevik ranks second.
  • Sophomore forward Daimon Gardner registered his first point as a Husky and recorded the primary assist on Thoreson's goal.
  • Salquist and junior forward Jack Rogers each recorded an assist on Hall's goal, their first points of the season.

THINKING CONTROLS THE POINT

• Sophomore forward Verner Miettinen has been in the faceoff for five games this season, posting an incredible 67.8 percent in the circle (59-28). Miettinen's 59 wins are the sixth-most in the NCAA this season.
• Miettinen posted a career-best 20 wins in the circle against Bemidji State (20-6, Oct. 12), breaking his previous record of 12 sets twice in his career, the last on March 8, 2024, against Minnesota Duluth.

POSCH EARNS WEEKLY NCHC HONOR FOR THE SECOND TIME IN THREE WEEKS

• Second goalkeeper Isaac Posch was named NCHC Goaltender of the Week for the second time this week after helping the Huskies to a top-10 road split against No. 10/9 Michigan.
• Posch made 51 saves with a 1.02 GAA and 0.962 S% with one shutout. He was great between the pipes for SCSU against the Wolverines, allowing just one even-strength goal all weekend while recording his second shutout of the season. He made 27 saves in Friday's 3-0 setback and then made 24 saves in a 4-0 win on Saturday, his third career shutout. He helped the Huskies stave off all six of Michigan's chances on the power play, making nine one-man saves as SCSU improved to 93.8 percent (13-14) on the PK this season. SCSU's man-down scoring currently ranks second in the NCHC and 12th in the NCAA.
• Earlier this season, Posch's 34-save shutout performance against the Tommies earned him the same weekly honor. It was the seventh time in his career that he made 30 or more saves in a game and it was his second career shutout. He also helped the penalty kill unit stave off all four of Tommie's power play opportunities, making six short saves.
• On the season, Posch's marks of 1.41 GAA and 0.952 S% both rank second in the NCHC, while nationally they are 10th and eighth, respectively. He is one of three netminders in the country to record multiple shutouts this season. The second-year netminder was also named to the 2023-24 NCHC All-Rookie Team.

MORE ABOUT THE HOT START OF BURNEVIK

• After a five-point breakout weekend against Bemidji State, freshman forward Austin Burnevik was named NCHC Rookie of the Week after the Bemidji series. Burnevik scored three goals and two assists for five points, going +4 on the ice with a power-play goal in a series sweep over Bemidji State (Oct. 11-12).
• Burnevik scored the first and second collegiate goals of his career in Friday's 4-3 win over Bemidji State, as he became the first Husky to score his first two career goals in the same game since Zach Okabe scored his first four collegiate goals against Minnesota State on Dec. 28, 2019. The Husky freshman then scored a power-play goal and had two assists in Saturday's 3-2 win over Bemidji.
• He is the first Husky to score three goals and five points in the first three games of the season since Patrick Newell had six points (3-3-6) in 2018-19. He is the first freshman to reach those marks in three games since Andres Nodl, who went 3-4-7 in three games in 2006-07. Additionally, Burnevik is the first Husky freshman to reach five points in a streak since then Adam Ingram had a five-point game against Omaha on February 24, 2023, becoming the first freshman to score three goals in a stretch since Veeti Miettinen had three against Minnesota Duluth on January 2-3, 2021.
• Burnevik added an assist in the Michigan series to bring his season totals to three goals and three assists for six points. Among the NCHC rankings this season, Burnevik currently ranks fourth in goals (three) and seventh in points (six). Among NCAA freshmen, he ranks third in both categories.