Say what you want about SCSU goaltender Charlie Lindgren, but the guy is like a brick wall between the pipes.
Thanks to another shutout victory for him and the Huskies, they were able to continue their hot start and keep struggling Minnesota State off its game.
Lindgren made 24 saves to bring his total to 68 on the season without allowing a goal. Three different Huskies recorded goals to complement his effort as St. Cloud State blanked Minnesota State, 3-0, Saturday night at the National Hockey Center to complete the nonconference home sweep.
When asked about whether he gets nervous playing hockey, Lindgren laughed and said, “No, not really.”
He certainly hasn’t played nervous. In his third start this season, Lindgren has recorded three consecutive shutouts, becoming the first St. Cloud goaltender to accomplish that feat.
“Charlie Lindgren’s playing awfully good hockey,” said Huskies coach Bob Motzko, who’s off to his best start as St. Cloud coach. “He looks good doing it too, and I think everyone else sees that.”
Cole Huggins made 21 saves for Minnesota State, which was unable to get a single goal on the weekend. The Mavericks have only scored twice on the season, in two different periods. They’ve been scoreless in the other ten.
“It’s a lack of execution on a consistent basis,” said Mavericks defenseman Carter Foguth.
St. Cloud once again drew first blood, as it has in all four of its games this season. Patrick Russell fired one through heavy traffic in front of Huggins, and the puck somehow managed to find its way in 4:20 into the game, giving the Huskies a 1-0 lead.
Minnesota State, meanwhile, remained unable to score. Since a C.J. Franklin goal with 15:23 left in the third period of their first game of the season at home against Omaha, they’ve been unable to light the lamp. Meanwhile, in the second period, they fell even further behind after the Huskies struck with three minutes left thanks to a Robby Jackson rebound goal. It was the third of the season for the freshman.
Judd Peterson, who assisted on the Jackson goal, put the icing on the cake with an empty-netter with 3:44 left to send the crowd of 4,235 into a frenzy.
St. Cloud is off to a 4-0 start, outscoring its opposition 16-2. The start is a personal best for 11th year coach Motzko. The last time the Huskies came out this hot was the 2001-02 season, when then-coach Craig Dahl coached the team to a 9-0 start.
The victory was a somewhat costly one for the Huskies, however. Just 13 seconds into the third period, Ethan Prow was on the receiving end of a cross check from Minnesota State forward Bryce Gervais, and he fell hard to the ice. While Gervais ended up serving a minor for the hit, Prow was motionless for a few minutes. He was able to get up with a little help, and skated into the locker room on his own, where he was tested for a concussion. As of late Saturday night, Motzko had no update on Prow’s condition.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks, who were swept in St. Cloud for the second straight time, fell to 0-4 for the first time since 2005-06, when they began 0-6. It was the first time in program history that Minnesota State was shut out in three consecutive games. Mankato has now been scoreless in their last 195 minutes and 23 seconds of play. Their last 94 shots have been wide of the mark.
“We’ve gotta find ways to score goals; they just have to be a number, something that breaks the egg,” said Mavericks coach Mike Hastings, who fell to 0-5 against his alma mater.
Minnesota State will try to get back to its scoring/winning ways next weekend at Bemidji State, while St. Cloud State will play at Quinnipiac.
These two teams have at least one more meeting this season, at the North Star College Cup in January.
