Photo by: Rob Simmons
SCSU Men’s Hockey Selected to Win Penrose Cup
9/15/2021 3:01:00 PM | Men's Hockey
St. Cloud State earns top spot in NCHC Preseason Media poll for first time in program history
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The St. Cloud State Men's Hockey team was selected to hoist the Penrose Cup and win National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), as the Huskies finished atop the NCHC Preseason media poll, announced by the league office on Wednesday. Despite winning three Penrose Cups (2013-14, 2017-18, 2018-19), this marks the first time in program history SCSU has been named the preseason favorite in the NCHC.
The Huskies received 20 of a possible 25 first-place votes, and totaled 195 points overall. Minnesota Duluth was narrowly picked to finish as the runner-up with 143 points, only one more than North Dakota, which came in third with 142 points. UMD collected three first-place votes, while UND garnered one. Denver claimed the final first-place vote and came in fourth in the poll with 123 points. Omaha was not far behind in fifth with 114 points, while Western Michigan landed sixth with 105 points. Miami was predicted to place seventh (45 points), while Colorado College rounded out the poll with 33 points.
A total of 25 ballots were submitted by local media members from each school, as well as select national media. Points were awarded on a descending scale with a first-place vote worth eight points, a second-place vote worth seven points and so on.
Head Coach Brett Larson and the Huskies put together a historic season in 2020-21, making its first ever appearance in the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey National Championship game in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 2020-21, the Huskies posted a 20-11-0 overall record with a 15-9-0 conference record to finish second in the always rugged NCHC. From there, St. Cloud State advanced to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship game and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Northeast Regional, where the team beat Boston University and Boston College for the championship to advance to the Frozen Four for just the second time in program history. The Huskies played in the Division I National Championship game for the first time in school history and finished as the runner-up.
Sophomore forward Veeti Miettinen (Espoo, Finald) and senior defenseman Nick Perbix (Elk River, Minn.) were each selected to the NCHC Preseason All-Conference Team on Sept. 15, as the Huskies were the lone NCHC team with two representatives. Miettinen exploded onto the scene in his freshman campaign in 2020-21, as he became the first player in program history to be named NCHC Rookie of the Year while also garnering Second Team All-Conference honors. The Toronto Maple Leads draft pick tallied 24 points (11 goals / 13 assists) in 31 games last season, a number which ranked first among NCHC freshmen and fifth among all skaters in the NCHC. Perbix was one of the top offensive blue liners in the nation in 2020-21, earning Second Team All-NCHC honors while leading the Huskies with 16 assists. The runner-up for NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year, Perbix finished tied for fourth nationally among defenseman, scoring with 23 points in 31 games, while scoring seven goals, which was fourth among NCAA blue liners. Perbix blocked 44 shots in 2020-21 and fired 84 on goal, tying for third among NCAA defensemen.
St. Cloud State will open the 2021-22 season with a home-and-home series with St. Thomas, who will be playing in their first season as a Division-I institution. The series will kick off at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 6:00 p.m. CT, followed by a road contest against the Tommies at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., on Sunday, Oct. 3 at 5:00 p.m. CT. Tickets for the Huskies/Tommies game at the Xcel Energy Center are available at ticketmaster.com.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Men's Hockey, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Season tickets for the 2021-22 season are available for purchase at www.scsutickets.com, downloading the St. Cloud State Huskies app or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX / 320-308-2137.
The Huskies received 20 of a possible 25 first-place votes, and totaled 195 points overall. Minnesota Duluth was narrowly picked to finish as the runner-up with 143 points, only one more than North Dakota, which came in third with 142 points. UMD collected three first-place votes, while UND garnered one. Denver claimed the final first-place vote and came in fourth in the poll with 123 points. Omaha was not far behind in fifth with 114 points, while Western Michigan landed sixth with 105 points. Miami was predicted to place seventh (45 points), while Colorado College rounded out the poll with 33 points.
A total of 25 ballots were submitted by local media members from each school, as well as select national media. Points were awarded on a descending scale with a first-place vote worth eight points, a second-place vote worth seven points and so on.
Head Coach Brett Larson and the Huskies put together a historic season in 2020-21, making its first ever appearance in the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey National Championship game in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 2020-21, the Huskies posted a 20-11-0 overall record with a 15-9-0 conference record to finish second in the always rugged NCHC. From there, St. Cloud State advanced to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship game and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Northeast Regional, where the team beat Boston University and Boston College for the championship to advance to the Frozen Four for just the second time in program history. The Huskies played in the Division I National Championship game for the first time in school history and finished as the runner-up.
Sophomore forward Veeti Miettinen (Espoo, Finald) and senior defenseman Nick Perbix (Elk River, Minn.) were each selected to the NCHC Preseason All-Conference Team on Sept. 15, as the Huskies were the lone NCHC team with two representatives. Miettinen exploded onto the scene in his freshman campaign in 2020-21, as he became the first player in program history to be named NCHC Rookie of the Year while also garnering Second Team All-Conference honors. The Toronto Maple Leads draft pick tallied 24 points (11 goals / 13 assists) in 31 games last season, a number which ranked first among NCHC freshmen and fifth among all skaters in the NCHC. Perbix was one of the top offensive blue liners in the nation in 2020-21, earning Second Team All-NCHC honors while leading the Huskies with 16 assists. The runner-up for NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year, Perbix finished tied for fourth nationally among defenseman, scoring with 23 points in 31 games, while scoring seven goals, which was fourth among NCAA blue liners. Perbix blocked 44 shots in 2020-21 and fired 84 on goal, tying for third among NCAA defensemen.
St. Cloud State will open the 2021-22 season with a home-and-home series with St. Thomas, who will be playing in their first season as a Division-I institution. The series will kick off at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 6:00 p.m. CT, followed by a road contest against the Tommies at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., on Sunday, Oct. 3 at 5:00 p.m. CT. Tickets for the Huskies/Tommies game at the Xcel Energy Center are available at ticketmaster.com.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Men's Hockey, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Season tickets for the 2021-22 season are available for purchase at www.scsutickets.com, downloading the St. Cloud State Huskies app or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX / 320-308-2137.
