Hockey Series of the Week

Story posted January 9, 2018 in CommRadio, Sports by Christopher Hess

After being shutout at the hands of the Minnesota Golden Gophers, the St. Cloud State Huskies flipped from No. 1 to No. 2 in the USCHO poll with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

With that being said, the Huskies look to rebound at home on Friday and Saturday with a pivotal series against NCHC foe Western Michigan.

The Huskies enter the game with a record of 13-3-3 and the Broncos are currently ranked 12th in the USCHO poll with a record of 11-8-1.

This will be Western Michigan’s first game since they demolished Bowling Green 5-2 back on December 28th.

St. Cloud State enters the series averaging just a hair under four goals per game while holding its opponents to just over two goals per game.

The Huskies are also extremely dominant when it comes to crunch time in the third period. They have outscored their opponents 33- and that is a major reason as to why they have been so successful.

Junior forward Mikey Eyssimont is the leading scorer for the Huskies tallying eight goals on the season so far while also being tied for the second most points alongside junior forward Robby Jackson.

Junior defensemen Jimmy Schuldt is the points leader for the Huskies this season so far racking up six goals alongside 16 assists. The smooth stick handler will be an integral part of the Huskies’ success this weekend.

Freshman goalie David Hrenek and junior goalie Jeff Smith have both seen a lot of action in net this season.

The freshman net-minder Hrenek has seen action in seven games while allowing 12 goals, saving 217 shots, allowing 1.71 goals per game, racking up a save percentage of .948, and a record of 5-2.

Junior Jeff Smith has seen action in 12 games while allowing 26 goals, saving 331 shots, allowing 2.13 goals per game, a save percentage of .927 and a record of 8-1-3.

Western Michigan averages about three and a half goals per game while surrendering an average of just under three goals per game.

Sophomore forward Wade Allison is the points leader for the Broncos racking up 15 goals and 13 assists so far and he is one of the better players in a stacked up NCHC.

It can also be noted that the Broncos have a record of 8-1-1 when they score first and a record of 3-7 when they don’t score first.

In net, sophomore Ben Blacker has started 19 of the team’s 20 games this season and has held his own.

Blacker has allowed 49 goals, saving 443 shots, allowing 2.77 goals per game, holding a save percentage of .900, and a record of 9-8-1.

Both teams are in need of quality wins in order to keep themselves afloat in an extremely difficult conference where NHL level talent runs rampant.

The Huskies have yet to lose at home this season as they sit pretty with a 10-0-1 record with the lone tie coming against North Dakota and this series is in the friendly confines of Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.

 

Christopher Hess is a freshman majoring in Broadcast Journalism. To contact him, email christopherhess22@gmail.com