Fourth-ranked SCSU rallies, beats second-ranked Denver in OT to snap skid at Magness Arena

_L6A4857 — St. Cloud State wing Veeti Miettinen (29) skates with the puck against Bemidji State in the second period Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022, at the Herb Brooks National Center in St. Cloud.

By Mick Hatten

November 04, 2022 11:09 PM

DENVER — The losing streak for the St. Cloud State men's hockey team at Magness Arena is over.

The fourth-ranked Huskies got a goal by Veeti Miettinen at 3:22 of overtime to beat second-ranked Denver 4-3 in the NCHC opener for St. Cloud State. The win snaps an eight-game losing streak for SCSU at Magness, where they had not won since a 6-2 victory on Dec. 12, 2015.

A thrilling Finnish! 🚨

Miettinen strikes in OT to give @SCSUHuskies_MH the win#NCHChockey // #HuskyHockey pic.twitter.com/A6foZC6CzP
— The NCHC (@TheNCHC) November 5, 2022

St. Cloud State came from behind to get the win. Denver led 2-1 going into the third period and got a goal from Massimo Rizzo with 2:11 left in the third period to take a 3-2 lead.

The Huskies got an extra attacker goal by senior Zach Okabe with 1:17 left in the third period to tie the game at 3-3.

Back and forth we go... @SCSUHuskies_MH's Okabe rips a shot to force overtime at Magness in a top-5 tilt

📺: @AltitudeTV
🎥: https://t.co/ZyUdpPaF0J #NCHChockey // #HuskyHockey pic.twitter.com/FuziA9DMJK
— The NCHC (@TheNCHC) November 5, 2022

Before overtime, St. Cloud State challenged a hit by Mazur on Huskies forward Chase Brand late in the third period to see if a major penalty should be called. The Huskies lost the challenge, which put the Pioneers on the power play for the first two minutes of overtime.

St. Cloud State was able to kill the penalty. And then, on a rush Miettinen scored on a wrist shot from near the top of a faceoff circle off a pass from Grant Cruikshank. Cruikshank, a fifth-year senior center, also had a goal on a one-timer at 9:43 of the third period to tie the game at 2-2.

St. Cloud State (1-0 NCHC, 8-1 overall) and Denver (2-1, 6-3) play the second game of the series at 7 p.m. Saturday at Magness (NCHC.tv).

SCSU 4, DENVER 3, OT

SCSU 1-0-2-1—4
DU 1-1-1-0—3

First period scoring — 1. SCSU, Jami Krannila (Chase Brand, Zach Okabe) 4:05; 2. DU, Mike Benning (Carter Mazur, Casey Dornbach) 17:49 . Penalties — DU, Owen Ozar (tripping) 13:39; SCSU, Jack Rogers (slashing) 18:35; DU, Bench (too many players) 19:52.

Second period scoring — 3. DU, Justin Lee (Massimo Rizzo, Kyle Mayhew) 7:24. Penalties — None.

Third period scoring — 4. SCSU, Grant Cruikshank (Dylan Anhorn, Micah Miller) 9:43; 5. DU, Rizzo (Sean Behrens) 17:49; 6. SCSU, Okabe (Spencer Meier, Jack Peart) 18:43 (ea). Penalties — SCSU, Bench (losing coach's challenge) 20:00.

Overtime scoring — 7. SCSU, Veeti Miettinen (Cruikshank, Jack Peart) 3:22. Penalties: None.

Goalie saves — SCSU: Jaxon Castor 5-9-7-2—23 (3 GA); DU: Magnus Chrona 10-5-5-1—21 (4 GA).

Penalties-minutes — SCSU 2-4, DU 2-4.

Power plays — SCSU 0-2; DU 0-2.

Faceoffs — 28-28.

READ MORE ST. CLOUD STATE HUSKIES COVERAGE:

By Mick Hatten

Mick Hatten is a reporter and editor for Forum News Service and helps manage TheRinkLive.com, a website dedicated to hockey. He began working for Forum Communications in November 2018 and has covered St. Cloud State University hockey since 2010. A graduate of St. Cloud State, he has more than 30 years of experience as a journalist and has been a youth hockey coach since 2014. mhatten@forumcomm.com

Fourth-ranked SCSU rallies, beats second-ranked Denver in OT to snap skid at Magness Arena

Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick Veeti Miettinen scored on a rush in overtime to help the Huskies to their first win over the Pioneers in Denver since 2015.