St. Cloud State Huskies men's ice hockey

St. Cloud State Huskies men's ice hockey
St. Cloud State Huskies men's ice hockey
Current season
University	St. Cloud State University
Conference	NCHC
Head coach	Brett Larson; 6th season, 106–60–16 (.626)
Assistant coaches	Dave Shyiak; R. J. Enga; Clark Kuster; Matt Bertram;
Arena	Herb Brooks National Hockey Center; St. Cloud, Minnesota
Student section	Dog Pound
Colors	Cardinal and black;
NCAA Tournament Runner-up
	2021
NCAA Tournament Frozen Four
	2013, 2021
NCAA Tournament appearances
	1989, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
Conference Tournament championships
	WCHA: 2001; NCHC: 2016, 2023
Conference regular season championships
	WCHA: 2012-13; NCHC: 2013-14, 2017-18, 2018-19
Current uniform

The St. Cloud State Huskies men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents St. Cloud State University. The Huskies are a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.^[2] They play at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota.^[3]

History[edit]

Formation and war years[edit]

St. Cloud State Teachers College founded its varsity ice hockey program in 1931, joining several other Minnesota-based schools. After an expectedly poor first season, St. Cloud began dominating their competition under Ludwig Andolsek, the team's second head coach. During the third year, a freshman named Frank Brimsek served as the team's starter. Brimsek was so spectacular in goal that he left after just one season and began a professional career, a rarity for college players at the time. While Brimsek would go on to have a Hall of Fame career, the Huskies didn't appear to miss him and went 25–2 in 1935, posting the best record in the nation. However, because only one of their games was played against a fellow institution, the Huskies weren't considered for the intercollegiate championship.

Andolsek left after his third season and the team struggled in his absence. In the seven years that followed, the team hovered around .500 and were relegated to secondary status. In 1942, due to the United States entry into World War II, St. Cloud suspended many of its athletic programs, which included the ice hockey team. The program was restarted after the war and saw some success, however, because the program was not a member of any conference, the Huskies were occasionally hamstrung by a lack of playing time.

Wink and Basch[edit]

In 1956, After going through six different head coaches in ten years, the team hired Jack Wink. The new bench boss stabilized the program and led the Huskies to stellar records in the early-60's. The team finished the 1962 season undefeated but, as had happened a decade earlier, a reduced schedule following those highs caused the team to fall on hard times by the late-60's. After successive 1-win seasons, Wink was replaced by Charlie Basch who set about a steady rebuild for the program.

Basch took almost twice as long as Wink had to turn the Huskies into consistent winners. Once he did, however, he was able to keep them at the top of their game for much longer. In 1978, the NCAA began sponsoring a Division II tournament. Because St. Cloud was one of the few western teams that did not participate in the NAIA Championship, they were invited to participate in a Western Championship Tournament, which would determine which two teams received bids. St. Cloud State played in the WCT for the first four years of its existence, unfortunately they were never able to win a single match and never received an invitation to the actual tournament.

In 1980, the Huskies finally ended their long run as an independent and helped found the NCHA. Poor results in conference play prevented the team from having a chance at an NCAA bid, a trend that continued as almost all Division II programs dropped down to Division III in 1984.

Swift climb to D-I[edit]

John Perpich took over for Basch in 1984 and led the team through two mediocre seasons before the athletic department decided to raise the profile of the program. Perpich stepped aside and allowed legendary Minnesota coach Herb Brooks to take over in 1986. News of the move spurred several prospects to join the program, including NHL draft picks Tony Schmalzbauer and Shorty Forrest. The Huskies went on to win the program's first conference title (tied) and the first conference tournament ever played by the NCHA. Brooks' team was one of the favorites for the national championship despite being a debutant but they were stymied by Oswego State and ended up 3rd in 1987.

Brooks left after the year to return to the NHL, but his time with the team had been a success. The very next year, St. Cloud promoted the program to Division I with Brooks' assistant, Craig Dahl taking over. The Huskies continued their rapid ascent with a winning record in 1989 and, due in part to the NCAA's policy of including a non-tradition team in the tournament at the time, St. Cloud made its first appearance in the D-I tournament in 1989.

WCHA[edit]

After three years as an independent, St. Cloud joined the WCHA in 1990. Widely regarded as the best conference at the time, the WCHA made it difficult for St. Cloud to compete for a further NCAA bid. In spite of the tough opposition, the Huskies thrived in their new conference and routinely finished in the top half of the standings. There were several near-misses for championships and tournament bids but, at the end of the 20th century, the Huskies finally returned to the national tournament. In three consecutive years, St. Cloud made the NCAA tournament but lost each game they played. The program then declined for a few years and Dahl stepped down after the 2005 season.

Bob Motzko, an alumnus of the team, took over and swiftly turned the team's fortunes. In his first five seasons he got the Huskies to appear in two WCHA championship games. Though he lost both, he was able to get the Huskies their first win in NCAA tournament play. Three years later, Motzko led the team to its first WCHA regular season title and led the Huskies to the Frozen Four.

NCHC[edit]

After the deep playoff run, St. Cloud State joined with seven other schools to form the NCHC in response to the Big Ten Conference joining the ice hockey ranks. The new league was built around traditional powerhouses and the Huskies looked right at home, winning the inaugural regular season title. Under Motzko, St. Cloud continued as one of the top teams in the conference, receiving 4 NCAA bids over a five-year span. In 2018, St. Cloud was the #1 team in the nation as it began the tournament but were upset in the first game by Air force.

Motzko left after the year to take over at in-state rival Minnesota and he was replaced by Brett Larson. The Huskies only seemed to get better under their new coach and were again the top-seeded team in 2019. Despite dominating play for most of their opening match, the Huskies were again felled by the lowest-seeded team. After a down year that was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Cloud returned with a strong 2021 and reached the championship game for the first time in its history.

Season-by-season results[edit]

Source:^[4]

Records vs. current NCHC teams[edit]

As of the completion of 2022–23 season^[4]

School	Team	Away Arena	Overall record	Win %	Last Result
Colorado College	Tigers	Broadmoor World Arena	63–53–9	.500	3-0 W
University of Denver	Pioneers	Magness Arena	51–57–6	.474	2-0 W
Miami University	RedHawks	Goggin Ice Center	30–19–6	.600	1-1 T
University of Minnesota Duluth	Bulldogs	AMSOIL Arena	79–61–10	.560	3-1 W
University of Nebraska Omaha	Mavericks	Baxter Arena	28–16–2	.630	2-6 L
University of North Dakota	Fighting Hawks	Ralph Engelstad Arena	49–79–17	.397	3-2 OTW
Western Michigan University	Broncos	Lawson Arena	18–13–5	.569	4-1 W

Head coaches[edit]

As of the completion of 2022–23 season^[4]

Tenure	Coach	Years	Record	Pct.
1931–1932	Ralph Theisen	1	1–7–0	.125
1932–1935	Ludwig Andolsek	3	42–4–1	.904
1935–1936	Robert DePaul	1	6–5–0	.545
1936–1937	Walter Gerzin	1	5–5–0	.500
1937–1938	Benedict Vandell	1	4–4–0	.500
1938–1942	George Lynch	4	20–15–2	.568
1946–1950, 1951–1952	Roland Vandell	5	39–25–2	.606
1950–1951	Ray Gasperline	1	5–3–0	.625
1952–1953	George Martin	1	8–3–0	.727
1953–1954	Brendan McDonald	1	2–2–0	.500
1954–1956	Jim Baxter	2	18–4–1	.804
1956–1968	Jack Wink	12	69–69–2	.500
1968–1984	Charlie Basch	16	181–193–7	.484
1984–1986	John Perpich	2	30–24–4	.554
1986–1987	Herb Brooks	1	25–10–1	.708
1987–2005	Craig Dahl	18	338–309–52	.521
2005–2018	Bob Motzko	13	276–192–49	.581
2018–Present	Brett Larson	5	106–60–16	.626
Totals	18 coaches	88 seasons	1175–934–137	.554

Players[edit]

Current roster[edit]

As of September 27, 2023.^[5]

No.	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1	James Gray	Freshman (RS)	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2002-05-24	Toronto, Ontario	North York (OJHL)	—
2	Karl Falk	Junior	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2000-01-20	Västerås, Sweden	Alaska (NCAA)	—
4	Dylan Anhorn	Graduate	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-01-21	Calgary, Alberta	Union (ECAC)	—
5	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	Mason Reiners	Sophomore	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2001-05-03	Edina, Minnesota	Waterloo (USHL)	—
7	Jack Reimann	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2002-10-10	Ham Lake, Minnesota	Des Moines (USHL)	—
8	Tynan Ewart	Freshman	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	2002-02-26	Duncan, British Columbia	Battlefords (SJHL)	—
10	Kyler Kupka	Graduate	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-05-11	Camrose, Alberta	Camrose (AJHL)	—
11	Grant Ahcan	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	2002-05-18	Savage, Minnesota	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	—
12	Ryan Rosborough	Sophomore (RS)	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2000-05-24	Mt. Brydges, Ontario	South Shore (NCDC)	—
13	Tyson Gross	Freshman	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2002-09-23	Calgary, Alberta	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	—
14	Zach Okabe	Graduate	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2001-01-04	Okotoks, Alberta	Grande Prairie (AJHL)	—
15	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	Mason Salquist	Junior	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2000-03-21	Grand Forks, North Dakota	Fargo (USHL)	—
17	Ethan AuCoin	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2002-08-10	Calgary, Alberta	Lloydminster (AJHL)	—
18	Nick Portz	Junior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2000-05-15	St. Cloud, Minnesota	North Dakota (NCHC)	—
19	Verner Miettinen	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	2003-04-07	Espoo, Finland	Fargo (USHL)	—
20	Jack Rogers	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2002-09-23	East Northport, New York	Steinbach (MJHL)	—
21	Josh Luedtke	Junior	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2000-09-29	Minnetonka, Minnesota	Des Moines (USHL)	—
22	Joe Molenaar	Senior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1999-10-16	Minnetonka, Minnesota	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	—
23	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	Cooper Wylie	Sophomore	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2001-10-26	Stillwater, Minnesota	Waterloo (USHL)	—
27	Kaleb Tiessen	Freshman	D	6' 5" (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	2002-06-03	Leamington, Ontario	Maryland (NAHL)	—
29	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	Isak Posch	Freshman	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	2002-01-03	Umeå, Sweden	Minnesota (NAHL)	—
31	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	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

Statistical Leaders[edit]

Source:^[4]

Career points leaders[edit]

Player	Years	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Ryan Lasch	2006–2010	161	79	104	183	98
Jeff Saterdalen	1988–1992	148	78	101	179	130
Garrett Roe	2007–2011	156	65	113	178	240
Tim Hanus	1988–1992	144	73	99	172	147
Mark Hartigan	1999–2002	119	86	79	165	84
Kalle Kossila	2012–2016	157	48	105	153	71
Drew LeBlanc	2008–2013	171	42	105	147	64
Mike Brodzinski	1984–1987		76	70	146
John Bergo	1980–1984		76	69	145
Joe Motzko	1999–2003	154	52	90	142	201

Career goaltending leaders[edit]

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Minimum 30 games

Player	Years	GP	Min	W	L	T	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
Charlie Lindgren	2013–2016	88	4891	51	29	3	180	8	.921	2.21
Bobby Goepfert	2005–2007	73	4412	37	24	11	165	6	.924	2.24
Scott Meyer	1996–2001	80	4585	47	22	5	182	9	.919	2.38
Dávid Hrenák	2017–2022	146	8370	82	44	14	335	14	.910	2.40
Jase Weslosky	2006–2009	73	4148	37	27	4	168	6	.920	2.43

Statistics current through the start of the 2020-21 season.

Awards and honors[edit]

Hockey Hall of Fame[edit]

Source:^[6]

Frank Brimsek (1966)
Herb Brooks (2006)

United States Hockey Hall of Fame[edit]

Source:^[7]

Frank Brimsek (1973)
Herb Brooks (1990)

NCAA[edit]

Individual awards[edit]

Hobey Baker Award

Drew LeBlanc: 2013

Tim Taylor Award

Andreas Nödl: 2007

All-Americans[edit]

AHCA First Team All-Americans

2001–02: Mark Hartigan, F
2012–13: Nick Jensen, D; Drew LeBlanc, F
2013–14: Nic Dowd, F
2016–17: Charlie Lindgren, G; Ethan Prow, D
2017–18: Jimmy Schuldt, D
2018–19: Jimmy Schuldt, D; Patrick Newell, F

AHCA Second Team All-Americans

1992–93: Fred Knipscheer, F
1996–97: Mark Parrish, F
1999–00: Mike Pudlick, D
2000–01: Scott Meyer, G
2005–06: Bobby Goepfert, G
2006–07: Bobby Goepfert, G
2007–08: Ryan Lasch, F
2018–19: Jack Ahcan, D; Blake Lizotte, F
2023–24: Dylan Anhorn, D