St. Cloud State University hockey ranked No. 10 after sweep of St. Thomas
ST. CLOUD — The St. Cloud State men's hockey team opened the regular season with a sweep against St. Thomas last weekend.
The Huskies won 3-1 Saturday at St. Thomas and again on Sunday 4-0 in their home opener at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.
St. Cloud State is currently ranked No. 10 in the USCHO Division I men's poll.
After a serious injury to sophomore defenseman Josh Luedtke about 7 minutes into the game Saturday, Dylan Anhorn, Zach Okabe and Adam Ingram all scored for the Huskies in the remaining minutes of the first period for the 3-1 win.
The Huskies have a big hole to fill after the departure of five-year starting goaltender David Hrenak. Senior Jaxon Castor stopped 10 shots Saturday, including two breakaways. Colorado College transfer Dominic Basse made his first start in goal for the Huskies Sunday recording the shutout with 15 saves.
Union transfer Anhorn leads the Huskies in points with one goal and four assists. Anhorn was named NCHC Defenseman of the Week. Veeti Miettinen was named NCHC Forward of the Week with a goal and three assists in the opening weekend series.
Senior defenseman and Sartell native Spencer Meier will captain the Huskies for the third consecutive year. Meier is the second player in program history to be captain for three seasons. Jimmy Schuldt wore the sweater from 2016-2019.
Forwards Jami Krannila, Micah Miller and Aidan Spellacy are the alternate captains this year.
This is the second-consecutive season of facing four non-conference opponents from Minnesota and the second season opener against the Tommies.
In addition to St. Thomas, the Huskies will face MSU-Mankato, Bemidji State and the University of Minnesota in non-conference play. SCSU will also head to Madison for the first time since 2013 when they take on Wisconsin Oct. 14-15.
SCSU will return from Madison for a home series against MSU-Mankato on Oct. 21-22 for homecoming weekend. They wrap up the busy month with a home-and-home against Bemidji State.
National Collegiate Hockey Conference play starts at Denver on Nov. 4-5, followed by the NCHC home opener against Western Michigan on Nov. 11-12.
Other key home games include North Dakota on Dec. 2-3, University of Minnesota on Jan. 7 and Minnesota-Duluth for the regular season finale March 3-4.
Minnesota State is ranked No. 5 in the USCHO poll. Denver leads at No. 1 with Minnesota following at No. 2 and North Dakota at No. 3.
The Huskies will play 17 home games this season as they attempt to make their fifth NCAA tournament appearance in the last six years.
A full schedule can be found here.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: St. Cloud State University men's hockey ranked No. 10
