SCSU Hockey Hosts Miami In Critical Series

The St. Cloud State men's hockey is facing a critical weekend series with Miami-Ohio tonight and Saturday night.  SCSU head coach Brett Larson joined me on WJON.  He says the Huskies are ranked in the #16 or #17 spot in the NCI (formerly Pairwise) which determines entry into the NCAA tournament.  The top 15 make the tournament.

Remaining Schedule

Larson says their goal each year is to make the NCAA tournament.  The Huskies have 4 series remaining in the regular season.  Home against Miami, at Arizona State, home vs. Colorado College and at North Dakota.

Records

Larson says the Huskies want to keep climbing in the standings and he's pleased with how they've played in the 2nd half.  SCSU is 13-13 which includes wins over top 10 ranked North Dakota and Denver this month.  Miami is 14-8-2 which includes wins over many top ranked programs in the nation.  Larson says Miami plays a very aggressive and physical style.  He explains they need to create as many 2 on 1s and 3 on 2s that they can and take advantage of those.

Importance of this Weekend

Due to the toughness of the NCHC, Larson says it's tough to get a sweep against their conference.  He says their goal is to get better every weekend.  Larson believes it is so important to win their home games late in the season.  Tonight's game starts at 7pm with tomorrow night's faceoff set for 6pm.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Brett Larson, click below.