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2023–24 St. Cloud State Huskies men's ice hockey season

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2023–24 St. Cloud State Huskies
men's ice hockey season
ConferenceT–3rd NCHC
Home iceHerb Brooks National Hockey Center
Rankings
USCHO#18
USA Hockey#18
Record
Overall17–16–5
Conference11–9–4
Home9–8–2
Road6–7–3
Neutral0–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachBrett Larson
Assistant coachesDave Shyiak
R. J. Enga
Clark Kuster
Matt Bertram
Captain(s)Dylan Anhorn
Alternate captain(s)
  • Josh Luedtke
  • Joe Molenaar
  • Zach Okabe
St. Cloud State Huskies men's ice hockey seasons
« 2022–23 2024–25 »

The 2023–24 St. Cloud State Huskies men's ice hockey season was the 89th season of play for the program, the 27th at the Division I level and 11th in the NCHC. The Huskies represented St. Cloud State University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, played their home games at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center and were coached by Brett Larson in his sixth season.

Season

[edit]

Entering the season, St. Cloud was set to have Dominic Basse as the primary starter while returning luminaries like Veeti Miettinen and Zach Okabe were expected to shoulder the load up front. Unfortunately, the Huskies didn't play well to start the season. Basse looked pedestrian in net while the offense struggled to get on track. However, after starting 2–4, St. Cloud picked up its game once conference play began. The Huskies went undefeated in their 8 NCHC matches during the first half of the season and planted themselves firmly atop the standings.[1]

The team's outlook improved after the winter break when they swept Bemidji State to finish with a respectable non-conference record and only had to play well in the second half to give themselves a shot at the NCAA tournament. However, January was not kind to the Huskies; St. Cloud went through a 3-week stretch where they could not buy a win and the team began to see their postseason chances slip away. Basse's play was not up to par and twice the team turned to one of its freshmen goaltenders, but neither was able to seize the job. The Huskies recovered a bit in February, earning splits with both Colorado College and Western Michigan but Basse's poor play eventually led to him being replaced in goal by Isak Posch.

The change in goal seemed to work initially as Posch earned his first career shutout against the Broncos. However, he was less than effective over the final two weeks of the regular season. St. Cloud lost every game largely because they couldn't keep the puck out of the net. Basse was reinserted as the starter for the season finale but he proceeded to allow 6 goals on 30 shots and was back on the bench when the playoffs began. The losses to end the year cost St. Cloud a conference championship and dropped the team to 3rd in the NCHC standings.

Due to their tumble, the Huskies began the postseason facing Western Michigan, who were all but guaranteed a spot in the tournament at the time. Posch shook off his recent struggles and played a solid game while the offense got contributions for up and down the lineup. The combination allowed St. Cloud to take the first game but Western replied with a convincing win of their own in game two. With their season on the line, the Huskies leapt out to a fast start in the rubber match and had a 3-goal lead before the 12-minute mark. Posch stopped 32 of 33 shots to backstop a quarterfinal victory and keep the Huskies' alive.

As they were preparing for Denver in the semifinals, St. Cloud was right on the bubble of the NCAA tournament. Depending on how other games played out, it was possible for the team to earn an at-large bid if they could knock off the Pioneers even though they team was only 2 games above .500. Knowing that a loss would be the death knell for their season, the Huskies fought hard against the nation's top offensive team and tried to beat Denver at its own game. St. Cloud got four separate 1-goal leads in the match but they were unable to pull away from the Pioneers. Overtime was needed to settle the score and both teams fought hard to get the winning goal. Just past the 6-minute mark, Denver got a partial break in on Posch and deke right at the goal caught the netminder out of position. Josh Luedtke tried to sweep the puck away from the goal but he fanned on the attempt and could only watch as it slid into the net and ended their season.[2]

Departures

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Cause
Chase Brand Forward  United States Graduate transfer to Augustana
Brendan Bushy Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with Kalamazoo Wings)
Jaxon Castor Goaltender  United States Graduation (signed with Florida Everblades)
Grant Cruikshank Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Toronto Marlies)
Jami Krannila Defenseman  Finland Graduation (signed with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins)
Spencer Meier Defenseman  United States Graduation (retired)
Micah Miller Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Tucson Roadrunners)
Aidan Spellacy Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Kalamazoo Wings)
Ondřej Trejbal Defenseman  Czech Republic Graduation (signed with SaiPa)
Brady Ziemer Defenseman  United States Transferred to Augustana

Recruiting

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Warren Clark Defenseman  Canada 18 Riverside, ON; selected 179th overall in 2023
Tynan Ewart Defenseman  Canada 21 Duncan, BC
Karl Falk Defenseman  Sweden 23 Värmdö, SWE; transfer from Alaska
Tyson Gross Forward  Canada 20 Calgary, AB
Verner Miettinen Forward  Finland 20 Espoo, FIN
Nick Portz Forward  United States 23 St. Cloud, MN; transfer from North Dakota
Isak Posch Goaltender  Sweden 21 Umeå, SWE
Jack Reimann Forward  United States 20 Ham Lake, MN
Kaleb Tiessen Defenseman  Canada 21 Leamington, ON

Roster

[edit]

As of September 27, 2023.[3]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Ontario James Gray Freshman (RS) G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2002-05-24 Toronto, Ontario North York (OJHL)
2 Sweden Karl Falk Junior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2000-01-20 Västerås, Sweden Alaska (NCAA)
4 Alberta Dylan Anhorn Graduate D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-01-21 Calgary, Alberta Union (ECAC)
5 Ontario Warren Clark Freshman D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2004-08-31 Riverside, Ontario Steinbach (MJHL) TBL, 179th overall 2023
6 Minnesota Mason Reiners Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-05-03 Edina, Minnesota Waterloo (USHL)
7 Minnesota Jack Reimann Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2002-10-10 Ham Lake, Minnesota Des Moines (USHL)
8 British Columbia Tynan Ewart Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 186 lb (84 kg) 2002-02-26 Duncan, British Columbia Battlefords (SJHL)
10 Alberta Kyler Kupka Graduate F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-05-11 Camrose, Alberta Camrose (AJHL)
11 Minnesota Grant Ahcan Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 2002-05-18 Savage, Minnesota Cedar Rapids (USHL)
12 Ontario Ryan Rosborough Sophomore (RS) F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-05-24 Mt. Brydges, Ontario South Shore (NCDC)
13 Alberta Tyson Gross Freshman F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-09-23 Calgary, Alberta Cedar Rapids (USHL)
14 Alberta Zach Okabe Graduate F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2001-01-04 Okotoks, Alberta Grande Prairie (AJHL)
15 Minnesota Barrett Hall Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2003-12-29 Apple Valley, Minnesota Green Bay (USHL) SEA, 164th overall 2022
16 North Dakota Mason Salquist Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2000-03-21 Grand Forks, North Dakota Fargo (USHL)
17 Alberta Ethan AuCoin Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2002-08-10 Calgary, Alberta Lloydminster (AJHL)
18 Minnesota Nick Portz Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2000-05-15 St. Cloud, Minnesota North Dakota (NCHC)
19 Finland Verner Miettinen Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 2003-04-07 Espoo, Finland Fargo (USHL)
20 New York (state) Jack Rogers Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-09-23 East Northport, New York Steinbach (MJHL)
21 Minnesota Josh Luedtke Junior D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-09-29 Minnetonka, Minnesota Des Moines (USHL)
22 Minnesota Joe Molenaar Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-10-16 Minnetonka, Minnesota Cedar Rapids (USHL)
23 Minnesota Jack Peart Junior 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 Minnesota Cooper Wylie Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-10-26 Stillwater, Minnesota Waterloo (USHL)
27 Ontario Kaleb Tiessen Freshman D 6' 5" (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2002-06-03 Leamington, Ontario Maryland (NAHL)
29 Finland Veeti Miettinen Senior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 2001-09-20 Espoo, Finland Kiekko-Espoo (Nuorten SM-liiga) TOR, 168th overall 2020
30 Sweden Isak Posch Freshman G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2002-01-03 Umeå, Sweden Minnesota (NAHL)
31 Virginia Dominic Basse Senior G 6' 6" (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-04-22 Alexandria, Virginia Colorado College (USHL) CHI, 167th overall 2019
34 Manitoba Adam Ingram Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2003-10-14 West St. Paul, Manitoba Youngstown (USHL) NSH, 82nd overall 2022

Standings

[edit]
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#8 North Dakota 24 15 8 1 1 4 0 49 87 67 40 26 12 2 151 105
#1 Denver * 24 15 7 2 3 0 1 45 110 80 42 30 9 3 198 119
#18 St. Cloud State 24 11 9 4 1 3 2 41 77 74 38 17 16 5 121 114
#15 Colorado College 24 14 8 2 5 2 0 41 66 56 37 21 13 3 111 93
#12 Omaha 24 13 8 3 5 0 3 40 68 74 40 23 13 4 117 112
#14 Western Michigan 24 11 13 0 1 5 0 35 78 64 38 21 16 1 136 97
Minnesota Duluth 24 8 14 2 3 3 2 28 65 80 37 12 20 5 103 125
Miami 24 1 21 2 0 2 0 7 44 100 36 7 26 3 78 135
Championship: March 23, 2024
† indicates conference regular season champion (Penrose Cup)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Frozen Faceoff Championship Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Updated: April 1, 2024

Schedule and results

[edit]
Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
October 7 6:00 pm St. Thomas* #8 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Fox 9+ Basse L 4–5 OT 4,863 0–1–0
October 8 4:07 pm at St. Thomas* #8 St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Basse W 1–0  556 1–1–0
October 13 7:07 pm at Minnesota State* #10 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota FloHockey Basse L 2–3 OT 4,398 1–2–0
October 14 6:07 pm at Minnesota State* #10 Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota FloHockey Basse L 1–5  4,767 1–3–0
October 20 7:30 pm Alaska* #20 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Fox 9+ Basse W 4–1  3,626 2–3–0
October 21 6:00 pm Alaska* #20 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Fox 9+ Basse L 2–5  3,314 2–4–0
November 3 7:30 pm Miami Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Fox 9+ Basse W 3–2  3,007 3–4–0 (1–0–0)
November 4 6:00 pm Miami Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Fox 9+ Basse W 6–0  3,277 4–4–0 (2–0–0)
November 10 6:00 pm at #12 Western Michigan Lawson ArenaKalamazoo, Michigan   Basse W 3–2  3,943 5–4–0 (3–0–0)
November 11 5:00 pm at #12 Western Michigan Lawson ArenaKalamazoo, Michigan   Basse W 3–0  3,767 6–4–0 (4–0–0)
November 17 7:30 pm Minnesota Duluth #19 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Fox 9+ Basse W 2–1  3,627 7–4–0 (5–0–0)
November 18 6:00 pm Minnesota Duluth #19 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Fox 9+ Basse W 6–5  4,211 8–4–0 (6–0–0)
November 24 7:30 pm #14 Michigan* #17 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Fox 9+ Basse L 0–2  3,978 8–5–0
November 25 6:00 pm #14 Michigan* #17 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Fox 9+ Basse T 3–3 OT 4,014 8–5–1
December 8 7:00 pm at Omaha #15 Baxter ArenaOmaha, Nebraska   Basse W 4–1  6,286 9–5–1 (7–0–0)
December 9 7:00 pm at Omaha #15 Baxter ArenaOmaha, Nebraska   Posch T 2–2 SOL 7,370 9–5–2 (7–0–1)
December 29 7:07 pm at Bemidji State* #14 Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Basse W 6–1  3,998 10–5–2
December 30 6:00 pm Bemidji State* #14 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Fox 9+ Posch W 6–1  4,789 11–5–2
January 12 8:00 pm at #6 Denver #14 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado CBSSN Basse L 1–5  6,372 11–6–2 (7–1–1)
January 13 7:00 pm at #6 Denver #14 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado   Posch T 4–4 SOW 6,201 11–6–3 (7–1–2)
January 19 7:30 pm #6 North Dakota #13 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Fox 9+ Basse L 3–5  4,568 11–7–3 (7–2–2)
January 20 6:00 pm #6 North Dakota #13 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Fox 9+ Basse T 3–3 SOW 5,568 11–7–4 (7–2–3)
January 26 7:30 pm Omaha #15 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Fox 9+ Basse L 6–7 OT 3,562 11–8–4 (7–3–3)
January 27 6:00 pm Omaha #15 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Fox 9+ Gray T 1–1 SOL 11–8–5 (7–3–4)
February 2 8:00 pm at #14 Colorado College #16 Ed Robson ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado SOCO CW Basse W 2–1 OT 3,640 12–8–5 (8–3–4)
February 3 7:00 pm at #14 Colorado College #16 Ed Robson ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado SOCO CW Basse L 3–5  3,687 12–9–5 (8–4–4)
February 9 7:05 pm at Miami #16 Steve Cady ArenaOxford, Ohio   Basse W 5–2  2,311 13–9–5 (9–4–4)
February 10 7:05 pm at Miami #16 Steve Cady ArenaOxford, Ohio   Posch W 3–1  2,593 14–9–5 (10–4–4)
February 23 7:30 pm #13 Western Michigan #15 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Fox 9+ Posch L 3–4  3,502 14–10–5 (10–5–4)
February 24 6:00 pm #13 Western Michigan #15 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Fox 9+ Posch W 3–0  4,116 15–10–5 (11–5–4)
March 1 7:30 pm #5 Denver #15 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Fox 9+ Posch L 2–6  3,688 15–11–5 (11–6–4)
March 2 6:00 pm #5 Denver #15 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Fox 9+ Posch L 2–7  4,270 15–12–5 (11–7–4)
March 8 7:07 pm at Minnesota Duluth #17 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota   Posch L 2–4  5,446 15–13–5 (11–8–4)
March 9 6:07 pm at Minnesota Duluth #17 AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota   Basse L 5–6  5,012 15–14–5 (11–9–4)
NCHC Tournament
March 15 7:37 pm #14 Western Michigan* #18 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 1) Fox 9+ Posch W 5–2  3,026 16–14–5
March 16 6:07 pm #14 Western Michigan* #18 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 2) Fox 9+ Posch L 1–6  2,495 16–15–5
March 17 6:07 pm #14 Western Michigan* #18 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 3) Fox 9+ Posch W 5–1  17–15–5
March 22 7:37 pm vs. #3 Denver* #17 Xcel Energy CenterSaint Paul, Minnesota (Semifinal) CBSSN Posch L 4–5 OT 8,977 17–16–5
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Central Time.
Source:[4]

Scoring statistics

[edit]
Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Veeti Miettinen RW 37 20 15 35 0
Dylan Anhorn D 38 6 27 33 34
Kyler Kupka F 38 14 18 32 18
Adam Ingram C 38 10 18 28 18
Zach Okabe RW 38 10 14 24 21
Verner Miettinen C 38 4 19 23 8
Tyson Gross D 34 7 13 20 16
Mason Salquist F 35 7 12 19 27
Josh Luedtke D 37 4 13 17 21
Barrett Hall C 33 8 8 16 16
Jack Peart D 38 3 11 14 18
Joe Molenaar F 32 8 4 12 19
Grant Ahcan F 23 3 5 8 15
Ethan Aucoin F 19 4 2 6 8
Jack Rogers F 29 4 2 6 22
Cooper Wylie D 38 3 3 6 15
Ryan Rosborough F 20 3 2 5 19
Tynan Ewart D 19 0 5 5 2
Nick Portz F 17 2 2 4 14
Jack Reimann F 25 1 2 3 12
Mason Reiners D 26 0 3 3 4
Warren Clark D 31 0 3 3 8
Karl Falk D 33 0 2 2 6
Dominic Basse G 25 0 1 1 2
James Gray G 1 0 0 0 0
Kaleb Tiessen D 6 0 0 0 0
Isak Posch G 14 0 0 0 0
Total 121 204 325 343

[5]

Goaltending statistics

[edit]
Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
James Gray 1 65:00 0 0 1 1 21 0 .955 0.92
Dominic Basse 25 1461:47 12 10 2 67 580 3 .896 2.75
Isak Posch 14 777:01 5 6 2 38 346 1 .901 2.93
Empty Net - 24:13 - - - 8 - - - -
Total 38 2328:01 17 16 5 114 947 4 .893 2.94

Rankings

[edit]
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 (Final)
USCHO.com 8 10 20 NR NR NR 19 17 17 15 14 14 14 13 15 16 16 16 15 15 18 17 18 18 18
USA Hockey 7 9 20 NR NR NR 17 16 17 15 15 14 14 12т 14 15 16 15 15 13 18 17 17 17 18 18

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 and 25.[6]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

Awards and honors

[edit]
Player Award Ref
Dylan Anhorn AHCA West Second Team All-American [7]
Dylan Anhorn NCHC First Team [8]
Jack Peart NCHC Second Team [8]
Isak Posch NCHC Rookie Team [9]
Round Pick Player NHL team
2 48 Colin Ralph St. Louis Blues
4 101 Tanner Henricks Columbus Blue Jackets
6 182 Austin Burnevik Anaheim Ducks

† incoming freshman [10]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "A TALE OF TWO TEAMS, HUSKIES BATTLE THROUGH EARLY WOES, FINISH FIRST HALF OF SEASON ATOP THE NCHC". KVSC. December 19, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  2. ^ "3-22-24 St. Cloud State vs Denver Highlights - Frozen Faceoff Semifinal". YouTube. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  3. ^ "2023-24 Men's Hockey Roster". St. Cloud State Huskies. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  4. ^ "2023-24 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". College St. Cloud State Huskies. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  5. ^ "St. Cloud State Univ. 2023-2024 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  6. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  7. ^ "Top 25 men's college hockey players earn distinction as CCM/AHCA Hockey All-Americans for 2023-24 season". USCHO.com. April 12, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Weisman, Michael (March 13, 2024). "NCHC Unveils 2023-2024 All-Conference Teams". nchchockey.com. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  9. ^ Weisman, Michael (March 12, 2024). "NCHC Reveals 2023-24 All-Rookie Team". nchchockey. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  10. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2024 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved June 29, 2024.