By Kyle Ginsbach/Assist. Sports Director/@GinsbachKyle

St. Cloud State Men’s hockey dropped their exhibition game against the University of Minnesota on Saturday night.

For the first period, it seemed both teams were evenly matched. The Huskies would skate their more traditional lines in the first frame, with Isak Posch getting the nod in the net. Shots would be matched at seven apiece heading into the second frame, and the scoreboard featured zeroes for both squads. Both teams would come out firing in the second frame, with the pace of play noticeably quickening. Verner Miettinen would light the lamp on a breakaway, giving the Huskies a 1-0 lead 1:54 into the second period. That goal gave the Huskies their only lead of the night, and a lead that only lasted a handful of minutes. Halfway through the period, the Gophers would respond. Now in for Isak Posch, James Gray would be beaten by Gophers junior forward Connor Kurth to knot the game at one.

Penalties would begin to pile up on the Huskies as the second period went on, and the Gophers would capitalize. Jimmy Snuggerud and Ryan Chesley would add the second and third tallies for Minnesota to give them a 3-1 lead heading into the final break. Unfortunatley for the Huskies, it would be much of the same for SCSU in the third as well. Gavin Enright would be in net for this period, and the Huskies would begin experimenting with different line combinations. However, Mike Koster and August Falcon would notch another pair of goals for Minnesota, while the Huskies only generated a single shot outside the power play on the period. The final of the contest was 5-1.

On the loss, Huskies head coach Brett Larson remained positive, saying, “I thought we did a lot of good things tonight. It was fun to see some of the young guys playing at a really high pace against a really good team, and midway through the game, I thought it was an even game.” He also noted that the exhibition game didn’t have the same feel as one that would count, and that his team would experience that “real game” feeling when they take on St. Thomas for the season opener on Sunday.

Up next: St. Cloud State takes on St. Thomas at the St. Thomas Ice Arena. Puck drop is set for 5:00 pm CST, with pregame coverage on 88.1 FM KVSC starting at 4:30. Brian Moos and Carl Goenner will be on the call.