St. Cloud State defeated Denver in the first game of men’s hockey

Well. 4 St. Cloud State men’s hockey rode a four-goal second period to a 7-3 win over Denver at home in the first game of a pivotal NCHC series on Friday.

Jami Krannila scored twice for the Huskies (17-6-0, 9-4-0 NCHC) and Grant Cruikshank and Zach Okabe each added a goal and an assist. Jack Rogers and Veeti Miettinen each scored a goal, and Dylan Anhorn and Josh Luedtke each had two assists. Dominic Basse made 28 saves.

.@SCSUHuskies_MH partly after Krannila’s goals#NHC puck // #HuskyHockey pic.twitter.com/VVvG1KsqxR

NCHC (@TheNCHC) 21 January 2023

Carter King, Jack Devine and Brett Edwards each scored for the Pioneers (19-6-0, 10-3-0 NCHC). Magnus Chrona stopped 24 of 30 shots, and Matt Davis made two saves in relief.

Okabe opened the scoring on a power play 6:35 into the game when he deflected Spencer Meier’s shot from distance.

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King tied the score 1-1 right in the middle of the first game. Casey Dornbach cut into the gap and shoveled a backhand into the goal before King won the ball.

Devine gave Denver the lead early in the second period, directing Aidan Thompson’s pass from a sharp angle, but Krannila pulled SCSU back to even 2-2 moments later when she tipped over Okabe’s shot from the point.

Rogers gave the Huskies the lead back, making it 3-2 just over three minutes later on a layup at the top of the rush. Krannila made it 4-2 shortly after St. Cloud State killed off a long 5-3 run that saw Chrona’s gloves hit with Cruikshank.

Edwards pulled Denver back to 4-3 just 45 seconds into Krannila’s second of the night, but Miettinen picked off the upper right corner of the power play at 3:37 and went for the second to add SCSU’s insurance.

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4 goals in the second period #Huskies! #GoHuskies | #HuskyHockey pic.twitter.com/Z4gJDxxz0Y

St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey (@SCSUHuskies_MH) 21 January 2023

Cruikshank scored the second for St. Cloud to make it 6-3 with 8:04 left, going in regulation with a one-timer from the slot after Anhorn drew defenders to open up a layup opportunity.

Mason Salquist scored into an empty net from the defensive zone 46 seconds into the 7-3 final.

The Huskies went 3-5 on the power play and the Pios went 1-3-3.

Game 2 between Denver and St. Cloud is Saturday at 7 PM ET.