FARGO, N.D. – Once again, the Huskies withstood the best of an opponent playing for their season, and a second Frozen Four berth in three years is now within reach.
After surviving a heavy forecheck by third-seeded Minnesota State for most of the first 30 minutes, second-seeded St. Cloud State withstood the onslaught, turned the game around on a Veeti Miettinen goal after drawing a penalty, and went on to defeat the Mavericks 4-0 on Thursday night at Scheels Arena. The Huskies advance to their second regional championship in three years while also ending Mankato’s season for the second time in three years.
“Obviously for us a good game tonight against a really good team. Could’ve gone either way,” said Huskies head coach Brett Larson. “Proud of how hard our guys fought through a lot of adversity.”
The real star of the game was SCSU goaltender Jaxon Castor, who has made a remarkable turnaround following a rough game in last year’s tournament. Castor made 34 saves, but half of them came before the Huskies got their scoring started, and if it weren’t for him standing strong, Thursday’s game could have gone much differently.
“He played well tonight,” defenseman Jack Peart, who scored the game’s second goal, said of his goaltender teammate.
The CCHA regular season and conference tournament champion Mavericks, who reached the NCAA tournament on a tremendous late rally last week – and would not have made it otherwise – controlled play for most of the first period with a tremendous forecheck and almost broke through a number of times. But they just couldn’t push one across.
“Tonight’s not easy,” said Mavericks head coach Mike Hastings, as his program exited the NCAA tournament in the first round for the first time since their 6-3 loss to the Providence Friars in 2019.
“Couldn’t find a way, and at the end of the day that’s what you have to do.”
Castor, who had a rough game in last year’s 5-4 loss by SCSU to Quinnipiac in the NCAA first round, played very well in the period and game this time and made 10 saves in the first 20 minutes to keep the Mavericks off the board. Meanwhile, the Huskies finally showed some life late in the first period after not recording their first shot on goal until nearly halfway through.
Minnesota State continued its fierce forecheck and forced St. Cloud into long defensive shifts through the first ten minutes of the second period, but the Mavericks still could not break through Castor or his line of defense.
Then, after Brendan Furry took a holding penalty to put the Huskies on their second power play of the game, the vaunted top line went to work again for the NCHC Frozen Faceoff champions. Veeti Miettinen launched a seeing-eye shot from the right circle past Keenan Rancier to give St. Cloud State a hard-earned 1-0 lead and leaving Mankato slightly shellshocked.
“I had a lot of room there,” Miettinen said.
“You get on them there consecutive shifts, that’s the style we play. Unable to find one. Give them credit,” said Mankato forward Cade Borchardt.
SCSU took advantage again and nearly five minutes after the Miettinen goal, Jack Peart joined the party and sniped in a laser from the left circle off the post and in to increase the Huskies’ advantage to two goals after two periods. The former Fargo Force player playing in his ex-USHL home had scored in the building before and had two others previously this season, but was the most recent one the biggest?
“For sure,” he said. “That was a big goal for us.”
While the Mavericks weren’t completely slowed down by the 180 the game seemed to take, a fluttering puck that fell in behind Keenan Rancier off the stick of Zach Okabe to make it 3-0 did seem to leave them stunned. The game was essentially over by then, and Grant Cruikshank finished things off with an empty-net goal.
Castor earned his second consecutive shutout with the victory. Rancier made 17 saves in defeat.
St. Cloud State will play the Canisius/Minnesota winner at 5:30 CT Saturday night for a spot in the Frozen Four in Tampa.
