SCSU Men's Hockey Travels To Massachusetts

Huskies prepare for Northeastern, UMass.

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Nov. 20, 2000

UPCOMING GAMES: The St. Cloud State menıs hockey team (6-3-1, 3-3-0 WCHA) will play for travel to Massachusetts for Thanksgiving. On Nov. 24, the Huskies will play at Northeastern University (6 p.m. CST), and on Nov. 25, the Huskies will play at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Game time there is 6 p.m. CST. In the last Division I polls (Nov. 13), SCSU was ranked #5 by the USA TODAY/American Hockey Magazine poll and #6 by the USCHO poll. Northeastern was ranked 11th in the last USA TODAY poll and 10th in the USCHO poll.

THE RESULTS: In action on Nov. 17 at the National Hockey Center, Minnesota charted a 2-0 win over SCSU. Troy Riddle scored the game winner for UM at 9:57 of the second period. John Pohl added an insurance goal at 0:38 of the third. SCSUıs Scott Meyer had 27 saves as UM outshot the Huskies 29-25, with 13 of those shots coming in the third period. On the power play, both teams went scoreless with UM going 0-of-8 and SCSU going 0-of-6. The Huskies had 14 penalties for 47 minutes in the game - a new season high for the Huskies in penalty minutes. The team record for penalty minutes is 102 when the Huskies played the Gophers on Dec. 19, 1992...on Nov. 18, SCSU suffered a 4-3 loss at Minnesota. UM jumped to a 3-0 lead in the game before Mark Hartigan snapped the scoreless string with a power play goal at 9:39 with an assist from Keith Anderson. UM rebounded to make it 4-1 at 12:19 on a power play goal before Derek Eastman hit a power play goal with 14:46 left - assist credited to Brandon Sampair. Hartigan made things interesting with another goal at 17:31 of the third with assists from Eastman and Colin Peters. Meyer started the game but stepped out after one period due to an illness. He was replaced by Jake Moreland.

FINAL 1999-2000 RECORD: In 1999-2000, the Huskies continued their tradition of excellence with a 23-14-3 overall record and a 16-9-3 third place record in the always rugged WCHA. The Huskies advanced to the Final Five of the WCHA tournament last season, which included a 6-4 third place win over Minnesota. The icing on the cake was a trip to the 2000 NCAA Division I East Regional, and a number 12 ranking in the final Division I national poll. The 23 wins ties a school record for most wins in a season. The Huskies also had 23 wins during the 1997-98 campaign.

HEAD COACH: SCSU coach Craig Dahl (Pacific Lutheran, 1976) in his 14th season as head coach for the Huskies. He is the only coach that SCSU has had since moving to the NCAA Division I level in 1987-88. Dahl has a career record of 235-236-38 at SCSU and a 20-year career coaching mark of 311-324-40. Dahl won his 300th career game on 2/19/00. In 1997-98, Dahl was named the WCHA Coach of the Year. He has won more games than any SCSU hockey coach. In 2000-01, Dahl will be assisted by Doc DelCastillo (SCSU, 1992) in his third season and first year coach Brad Willner (Lake Superior State, 1995).

ALL-TIME RECORD: The Huskies and Coach Dahl both own a 235-236-38 record since the program went Division I in 1987-88. This is the first season that the Huskies have gone above .500 with their overall record since going Division I.

500th GAME AT SCSU: The Ferris State game on Oct. 13th was the 500th Division I hockey game in the history of the program at SCSU. The game was also Dahlıs 500th as a coach at SCSU. SCSU.

THE FIVE FRESHMEN: Due to an injury to senior Brian Gaffaney and a game DQ to Duvie Westcott, the Huskies skated with five freshmen on defense. Frosh walk-on Ryan Johnson, a grad of Anoka High School and former member of the Twin Cities Vulcans USHL squad, made his first collegiate start on Nov. 18. Sophomore Derek Eastman was the lone veteran among the SCSU defenders and responded with his second goal of the season and an assist. SCSU is still tight on defense allowing only 20 goals in 10 games this season for an average of 1.97 goals per game - the best overall GAA in the WCHA (overall games played)!

GREAT BEGINNINGS: The St. Cloud State University men's hockey team got off to its best start in the history of the program at the Division I level this year. Through five games, the Huskies charted a 4-0-1 record, stopped by a 3-1 loss to DU on Oct. 28. The previous best five-game start of 4-1 was charted in 1996-97. The Huskiesı 3-1 start in the WCHA was the best four-game start in team history and its overall record of 6-1-1 was the teamıs best ever 8-game start at the Division I level.

MOVING UP ON THE CHARTS: Tyler Arnason ranks 31st in the all-time scoring charts at SCSU with 87 career points (36g/51a), while Brandon Sampair is 34th with 85 points (40g/45a)...Sampair now ranks 10th in the Division I charts at SCSU with 40 goals, while Arnason is 13th with 36 career goals...Nate DiCasmirro is tied for 23rd with 27 career goals and Mark Hartigan is making a quick climb with 30 career goals. His is tied for 18th place along with Vic Brodt, brother of SCSU womenıs coach Kerry Brodt Wethington...for assists, Arnason is 16th with 51 assists - only the 17th player in SCSU history to gain over 50 assists. Sampair now has 45 assists and ranks 21st, while Keith Anderson is next on the list with 39 assists (25th place). DiCasmirroıs three assist night vs. Denver also moved him up quickly and he now has 35 career assists - 30th in the records...of note, Arnason ranks 14th among SCSUıs Division I players for most career points with 87. Sampair is ranked 19th among SCSUıs Division I players with 84 points. Jeff Saterdalen is the Huskiesı all-time scoring leader with 179 career points (78g/101a) from 1988-92.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME: The Huskies were 14-6-1 at home in 1999-00. SCSU has posted a 124-69-20 all-time record at the National Hockey Center. St. Cloud State was 8-6-2 on the road and 1-2-0 in neutral site games last winter...so far in 2000-01, the Huskies are 3-2-1 at the National Hockey Center. In the friendly confines of the NHC, the Huskies own an all-time win percentage of .629.

ON THE RADIO: Husky hockey can be heard on KNSI Radio 1450 AM during the 2000-01 season. The broadcasts will also be available on the web at www.1450knsi.com. Don Lyons will call the play-by-play and former SCSU All-American Dave Reichel will provide the color commentary for home gamesŠselected games this season will also be broadcast live by KVSC FM 88.1...KNSI AM 1450 will also host the Craig Dahl Show each Monday at 5:05 p.m. during the season. The show will feature Coach Dahl, SC Times writer Kevin Allenspach and host Don Lyons. The show is sponsored by Plaza Park Bank/Investment Centers of America.

HUSKIES ON TV: A total of 18 Husky home games this season will be televised live on St. Cloud's Charter Communications cable channel 65 this season. Charter Communications are also slated to carry the games live on their systems in Alexandria, Willmar and Little Falls. KSTC channel 45 (Charter cable channel 17 in St. Cloud) out of the Twin Cities. Veteran announcer Wally Shaver will call the play-by-play along with color commentary from Doug Johnson. KSTC games slated for this season are Oct. 28 Denver, Nov. 17 Minnesota, Dec. 9 Wisconsin, Feb. 24 Mankato and Match 3 Minnesota.

ON THE NET: Can't get enough of Husky hockey news? Check out the Husky Home Page at www.stcloudstate.edu/~sports. The WCHA website is www.wcha.com For college hockey stats, please go to www.collegehockeystats.com.

TICKETS: For SCSU hockey ticket information, please call the Athletic Ticket Office at 320-255-2137 or 1-877-SCSUTIX.

HUSKY AUTOGRAPH DEN: SCSU fans can obtain autographs in the Husky Autograph Den after each home game this season. Players slated to appear in the autograph den after the game on Dec. 8 are Nate DiCasmirro and Derek Eastman.

HUSKIES READING FOR FUN: Each year the St. Cloud Public Library and the SCSU hockey teams combine to present the Husky Reading for Fun program. This popular childrenıs reading program at the St. Cloud Public Library in downtown St. Cloud, features SCSU players reading books on selected Saturday mornings prior to SCSU home games. The program continues on Dec. 9, and it will feature Jim McNamara and Jeff Finger. For more information, please call the Library at 251-7282.

ABOUT SCSU: The 1999-2000 season marked the 13th year that SCSU has been a member of NCAA Division I hockey. SCSU joined the Division I hockey ranks in 1987-88 and became a member of the WCHA in 1990-91. That first year in the league, SCSU finished fifth with a 12-16-4 league record and an 18-19-4 overall record. SCSU's highest league finish has been third place, a standing that was reached in 1996-97 and again in 1999-2000...since going Division I, SCSU owns a 235-236-38 overall record.

2000-01 TEAM CAPTAINS: The 2000-01 team captain is senior forward Brandon Sampair (Mahtomedi). Assistant captains are senior forward Keith Anderson (Thief River Falls) and senior defenseman Ritchie Larson (Winnipeg, Mant.).

NOTES ABOUT UMASS/NORTHEASTERN: SCSU will be making its second trip to Mass. since becoming a Division I program. In 1987-88, SCSU dropped a 7-4 decision at Lowell...Graig Mischler leads NE with 11 points (2g/9a) while Chris Lynch and Mike Ryan each have 10 points (7g/3a) for NE. The NE Huskies dropped a pair of games against Providence (4-2, 3-1) this past weekend...UMass is led by Tim Turner (7g/4a) and Jeff Turner (3g/8a) with 11 points apiece. Yes, they are brothers from Saginaw, Mich.

TEAM NOTES/STREAKS: The Huskies and Gophers shutout each other on the power play on Nov. 17 with SCSU going 0-of-6 and UM going 0-of-8. The Huskies tallied a season-high 16 shots on the power play while UM hit 11 shots on the power play with none going in...the UM win on Nov. 17, snaps a five game unbeaten streak. The last time UM gained a win over SCSU was on 3/18/99 at Mariucci. The last time that the Huskies lost in the NHC to the Gophers was a 6-2 loss on 3-6-98...SCSU had not lost two consecutive games since a pair of setbacks at UW on Feb. 10-11 last year...the last time that SCSU lost two consecutive home matches as a 4-3 loss to UMD and a 4-3 loss to UW on Nov. 13 and Nov. 19 last year...Derek Eastman scored his second career goal during the Huskiesı 4-3 loss at UM on Nov. 18...Mark Hartigan has scored at least a point in seven of nine outings this season - including two goals vs. UM on Nov. 18...Hartigan leads the team with 8 goals, 8 assists and 16 points. Joe Motzko (5g/3a) and Duvie Westcott (2g/6a) ranked second with 8 points each...Westcott is tops on the team with 34 shots on goal...Derek Eastman leads the team with a +7 on the +/-...Jake Moreland made his second appearance this season in relief of Scott Meyer on Nov. 18. The game marked Morelandıs first career apperance vs. Minnesota...in his first college appearance, Ryan Johnson had one shot on goal vs. UM on Nov. 18...in WCHA games only, SCSU ranks 3rd in the league with 2.50 goals allowed per game and 5th in the league with 3.00 goals scored per game...Hartigan is 11th in the league with 12 points (6g/6a)...Scott Meyer is second in the league with a 2.05 GAA and a .930 save percentage...Northeasternıs Matthews Arena (aka the Boston Arena) was the site of the Boston Bruins first-ever home game in 1924.

BIG CROWDS: For the fifth straight year, Husky Hockey averaged over 5,000 fans per home game. 123,504 people attended SCSU home games in 1999-2000, an average of 5,881 per game. The attendance figure reflects a steady incline as SCSU averaged 5,736 in 1998-99, 5,593 in 1997-98, 5-473 in 1996-97 and 5,004 in 1995-96...in six games this season, SCSU has an attendance total of 34,746 for an average of 5,791 per game...On Nov. 17, SCSU was at capacity for the first time in 2000-01 with a crowd of 6,685.

WCHA FINAL FIVE: The 2001 WCHA Final Five tournament will be held on March 15-17 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. For ticket information, please call 651-989-5151...St. Cloud State made its fifth straight WCHA Final Five appearance and sixth in the last seven years. SCSU is 3-8 overall in Final Five games. SCSU reached the WCHA Final Five Championship game in 1994 after beating Wisconsin 3-2 in overtime in the semifinal. SCSU's other Final Five win was a 4-3 overtime win over Minnesota-Duluth in 1998 in the play-in game.

UP NEXT: The Huskies will play at Michigan Tech on Dec. 1 and Dec. 2. Game on Dec. 1 is 6:35 p.m. and on Dec. 2 it is 6:05 p.m.