money No. 1 SCSU hockey begins conference play at Colorado College on Friday
ST. CLOUD — No. 1-ranked St. Cloud State hockey heads west this weekend for a two-game series against Colorado College in their National Collegiate Hockey Conference opener.
The NCHC has six of its eight teams ranked in the top-11 of the most recent national poll, which placed the Huskies at the top for the second consecutive week.
Unranked Colorado College will look to play spoiler when they host SCSU in their beautiful new on-campus facility at Ed Robson Arena.
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Remember: late start time on Friday night with the time zone change of 8:30 p.m. central. The puck will drop at 6 p.m. local time in Colorado Springs on Saturday, 7 p.m. central.
Colorado College
The Tigers are 2-4-2 to begin the season, starting winless in their first four games before a 5-3 upset win on the road at (previously) No. 10-ranked Boston College.
They returned home last weekend to face rival Air Force, losing 4-5 in overtime on Friday before a record-setting performance on Saturday in an 8-1 win.
Colorado College got their first-ever win at Ed Robson Arena while tying an NCHC record with six goals on the power play. Eight different players scored goals, and former St. Cloud Norsemen forward Brett Chorske provided one goal and one assist in his first collegiate game.
Sophomores Matthew Gleason and Logan Will each lead the team with three goals and four assists apiece, and sophomore goalie Dominic Basse has provided solid marks of 2.24 goals allowed and a 91.3 save percentage while playing every minute in goal this year.
The Tigers are 4-16-2 all-time at home against St. Cloud State, last beating the Huskies in Colorado Springs back in February of 2013. Colorado College has only won four of the 29 total meetings since that game, with all four wins coming in St. Cloud.
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The first period could be huge this weekend, as St. Cloud State has still allowed zero goals in the opening 20 minutes of games this season. Colorado College has only managed four first-period goals in their opening eight games.
SCSU hockey numbers to know
1: starts in which David Hrenak has allowed more than one goal. Hrenak was honored as the NCHC Goalie of the Month for October earlier this week, posting a 1.36 goals against average in seven starts last month.
1.38: scoring defense average for SCSU. They've given up only 11 goals in eight games, which is the top mark in the country for teams that have played more than one series in 2021.
46.9: power play percentage for SCSU. They've converted on an incredible 15 of 32 opportunities this year, which ranks first in the nation. Only six teams in the country are even at 30 percent or higher.
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Zach Dwyer is a sports reporter and photographer for the St. Cloud Times. Reach him at 320-406-5660 or zdwyer@stcloudtimes.com. Follow him on Twitter @sctimeszach.
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This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: St. Cloud State hockey begins conference play at Colorado College
