Article by Felicity Harding. Photo by Felicity Harding
The Men’s Hockey team was back on home ice at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. They looked to end their losing streak on Friday night when they took on the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks.
The Huskies entered the game already on their longest conference losing streak in program history, but they were able to get on the board first after junior forward Ethan AuCoin was able to convert on a two-on-one breakaway, beating North Dakota’s goaltender TJ Semptimphelter glove side.
“Thankfully I was able to beat [North Dakota’s] defenseman and then it was a two-on-one with [Nick Portz] and I was able to put it past their goalie,” said Ethan AuCoin on his first goal of the game.
The Huskies’ lead did not last long though as North Dakota was able to tie the game off of a goal from freshman defenseman Jayden Jubenvill a little over a minute after AuCoin’s goal. Fighting Hawks’ senior forward Cameron Berg was then able to find the back of the net to give them the lead a little over two minutes after Jubenvill’s goal.
The Huskies went into the second period down by a goal and came out looking for the game tying goal at the beginning of the second and were even able to get some chances on the powerplay.
“Our powerplay got us some juice in the second. That was a good part of the second,” Head Coach Brett Larson said of the Huskies’ second period, “We actually, I thought, outplayed [North Dakota] for a good chunk of the beginning of the second.”
While the Huskies outplayed the Fighting Hawks for part of the second, they saw themselves fall behind another goal as Cameron Berg was able to get his second of the night for the Fighting Hawks. Fighting Hawks sophomore forward Jayden Perron also registered his second assist of the night, assisting on both of Berg’s goals.
The Huskies entered the third period down by two and desperately looking for a pair of goals to tie the game up.
Halfway through the third AuCoin was able to get the Huskies within one with his second goal of the night, going five-hole on North Dakota’s goaltender.
“I think it gives [AuCoin] a lot of confidence. He’s been a really good player for us as a role player, as a hard worker, as a guy that’s finishing his checks, and doing all the little things. To see him get rewarded tonight was big time,” said Larson of AuCoin after the game, “We’re going to need guys like [AuCoin] chipping in [as the season continues].”
With his two goals in the game, Ethan AuCoin saw himself earn his first collegiate multipoint game.
“I think I just stick to my game. It hasn’t gotten me on the goal sheet or point sheet. But I’ve been on the ice for multiple goals. I think I just continue to do my job, and I think it’s going to work out well for me,” Aucoin said of his play in Friday night’s game.
With less than four minutes left in the third, Huskies’ sophomore forward Barrett Hall was able to tie up the game for the Huskies and eventually force overtime.
“I think in the third period we really came together. In this stretch we’ve struggles to close leads and down two going into the third, it was important for us to climb back into that [game],” said Barrett Hall.
While the game is technically counted as a tie due to neither team scoring in overtime, the Huskies lost the extra point as they lost in the shootout. Austin Burnevik was the only Husky with a successful shootout attempt while North Dakota saw successful attempts from Jayden Perron and Cater Wilkie.
The Huskies ended the game being outshot 35-24 and won 29 of 63 faceoffs. St. Cloud’s goaltender, James Gray made 32 saves on 35 shots for a save percentage of .914 and was 1/3 in the shootout. North Dakota’s goaltender TJ Semptimphelter made 21 saves on 24 shots for a save percentage of .875 and was 2/3 in the shootout. The Huskies were 2/2 on the penalty kill while the Fighting Hawks were 3/3 with neither team allowing any powerplay goals.
While the Huskies have been going through a rough patch, their season is not over yet.
“This is a really young group. We knew we were going to face some challenges this year. I think going through this tough stretch is just going to help us get better going down the stretch,” said Coach Larson.
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