2023–24 St. Cloud State Huskies men's ice hockey season

2023–24 St. Cloud State Huskies men's ice hockey season
Conference	T–3rd NCHC
Home ice	Herb Brooks National Hockey Center
Rankings
USCHO	#18
USA Hockey	#18
Record
Overall	17–16–5
Conference	11–9–4
Home	9–8–2
Road	6–7–3
Neutral	0–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Brett Larson
Assistant coaches	Dave Shyiak R. J. Enga Clark Kuster Matt Bertram
Captain(s)	Dylan Anhorn
Alternate captain(s)	Josh Luedtke Joe Molenaar Zach Okabe
St. Cloud State Huskies men's ice hockey seasons « 2022–23 2024–25 »

The 2023–24 St. Cloud State Huskies men's ice hockey season was the 89th season of play for the program, the 27th at the Division I level and 11th in the NCHC. The Huskies represented St. Cloud State University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, played their home games at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center and were coached by Brett Larson in his sixth season.

Entering the season, St. Cloud was set to have Dominic Basse as the primary starter while returning luminaries like Veeti Miettinen and Zach Okabe were expected to shoulder the load up front. Unfortunately, the Huskies didn't play well to start the season. Basse looked pedestrian in net while the offense struggled to get on track. However, after starting 2–4, St. Cloud picked up its game once conference play began. The Huskies went undefeated in their 8 NCHC matches during the first half of the season and planted themselves firmly atop the standings.^[1]

The team's outlook improved after the winter break when they swept Bemidji State to finish with a respectable non-conference record and only had to play well in the second half to give themselves a shot at the NCAA tournament. However, January was not kind to the Huskies; St. Cloud went through a 3-week stretch where they could not buy a win and the team began to see their postseason chances slip away. Basse's play was not up to par and twice the team turned to one of its freshmen goaltenders, but neither was able to seize the job. The Huskies recovered a bit in February, earning splits with both Colorado College and Western Michigan but Basse's poor play eventually led to him being replaced in goal by Isak Posch.

The change in goal seemed to work initially as Posch earned his first career shutout against the Broncos. However, he was less than effective over the final two weeks of the regular season. St. Cloud lost every game largely because they couldn't keep the puck out of the net. Basse was reinserted as the starter for the season finale but he proceeded to allow 6 goals on 30 shots and was back on the bench when the playoffs began. The losses to end the year cost St. Cloud a conference championship and dropped the team to 3rd in the NCHC standings.

Due to their tumble, the Huskies began the postseason facing Western Michigan, who were all but guaranteed a spot in the tournament at the time. Posch shook off his recent struggles and played a solid game while the offense got contributions for up and down the lineup. The combination allowed St. Cloud to take the first game but Western replied with a convincing win of their own in game two. With their season on the line, the Huskies leapt out to a fast start in the rubber match and had a 3-goal lead before the 12-minute mark. Posch stopped 32 of 33 shots to backstop a quarterfinal victory and keep the Huskies' alive.

As they were preparing for Denver in the semifinals, St. Cloud was right on the bubble of the NCAA tournament. Depending on how other games played out, it was possible for the team to earn an at-large bid if they could knock off the Pioneers even though they team was only 2 games above .500. Knowing that a loss would be the death knell for their season, the Huskies fought hard against the nation's top offensive team and tried to beat Denver at its own game. St. Cloud got four separate 1-goal leads in the match but they were unable to pull away from the Pioneers. Overtime was needed to settle the score and both teams fought hard to get the winning goal. Just past the 6-minute mark, Denver got a partial break in on Posch and deke right at the goal caught the netminder out of position. Josh Luedtke tried to sweep the puck away from the goal but he fanned on the attempt and could only watch as it slid into the net and ended their season.^[2]

Player	Position	Nationality	Cause
Chase Brand	Forward	United States	Graduate transfer to Augustana
Brendan Bushy	Defenseman	United States	Graduation (signed with Kalamazoo Wings)
Jaxon Castor	Goaltender	United States	Graduation (signed with Florida Everblades)
Grant Cruikshank	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with Toronto Marlies)
Jami Krannila	Defenseman	Finland	Graduation (signed with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins)
Spencer Meier	Defenseman	United States	Graduation (retired)
Micah Miller	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with Tucson Roadrunners)
Aidan Spellacy	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with Kalamazoo Wings)
Ondřej Trejbal	Defenseman	Czech Republic	Graduation (signed with SaiPa)
Brady Ziemer	Defenseman	United States	Transferred to Augustana

Player	Position	Nationality	Age	Notes
Warren Clark	Defenseman	Canada	18	Riverside, ON; selected 179th overall in 2023
Tynan Ewart	Defenseman	Canada	21	Duncan, BC
Karl Falk	Defenseman	Sweden	23	Värmdö, SWE; transfer from Alaska
Tyson Gross	Forward	Canada	20	Calgary, AB
Verner Miettinen	Forward	Finland	20	Espoo, FIN
Nick Portz	Forward	United States	23	St. Cloud, MN; transfer from North Dakota
Isak Posch	Goaltender	Sweden	21	Umeå, SWE
Jack Reimann	Forward	United States	20	Ham Lake, MN
Kaleb Tiessen	Defenseman	Canada	21	Leamington, ON

As of September 27, 2023.^[3]

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1		James Gray	Freshman (RS)	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2002-05-24	Toronto, Ontario	North York (OJHL)	—
2		Karl Falk	Junior	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2000-01-20	Västerås, Sweden	Alaska (NCAA)	—
4		Dylan Anhorn	Graduate	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-01-21	Calgary, Alberta	Union (ECAC)	—
5		Warren Clark	Freshman	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2004-08-31	Riverside, Ontario	Steinbach (MJHL)	TBL, 179th overall 2023
6		Mason Reiners	Sophomore	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2001-05-03	Edina, Minnesota	Waterloo (USHL)	—
7		Jack Reimann	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2002-10-10	Ham Lake, Minnesota	Des Moines (USHL)	—
8		Tynan Ewart	Freshman	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	2002-02-26	Duncan, British Columbia	Battlefords (SJHL)	—
10		Kyler Kupka	Graduate	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-05-11	Camrose, Alberta	Camrose (AJHL)	—
11		Grant Ahcan	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	2002-05-18	Savage, Minnesota	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	—
12		Ryan Rosborough	Sophomore (RS)	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2000-05-24	Mt. Brydges, Ontario	South Shore (NCDC)	—
13		Tyson Gross	Freshman	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2002-09-23	Calgary, Alberta	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	—
14		Zach Okabe	Graduate	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2001-01-04	Okotoks, Alberta	Grande Prairie (AJHL)	—
15		Barrett Hall	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2003-12-29	Apple Valley, Minnesota	Green Bay (USHL)	SEA, 164th overall 2022
16		Mason Salquist	Junior	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2000-03-21	Grand Forks, North Dakota	Fargo (USHL)	—
17		Ethan AuCoin	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2002-08-10	Calgary, Alberta	Lloydminster (AJHL)	—
18		Nick Portz	Junior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2000-05-15	St. Cloud, Minnesota	North Dakota (NCHC)	—
19		Verner Miettinen	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	2003-04-07	Espoo, Finland	Fargo (USHL)	—
20		Jack Rogers	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2002-09-23	East Northport, New York	Steinbach (MJHL)	—
21		Josh Luedtke	Junior	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2000-09-29	Minnetonka, Minnesota	Des Moines (USHL)	—
22		Joe Molenaar	Senior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1999-10-16	Minnetonka, Minnesota	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	—
23		Jack Peart	Junior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2003-05-15	Grand Rapids, Minnesota	Grand Rapids (USHS–MN)	MIN, 54th overall 2021
26		Cooper Wylie	Sophomore	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2001-10-26	Stillwater, Minnesota	Waterloo (USHL)	—
27		Kaleb Tiessen	Freshman	D	6' 5" (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	2002-06-03	Leamington, Ontario	Maryland (NAHL)	—
29		Veeti Miettinen	Senior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	2001-09-20	Espoo, Finland	Kiekko-Espoo (Nuorten SM-liiga)	TOR, 168th overall 2020
30		Isak Posch	Freshman	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	2002-01-03	Umeå, Sweden	Minnesota (NAHL)	—
31		Dominic Basse	Senior	G	6' 6" (1.98 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2001-04-22	Alexandria, Virginia	Colorado College (USHL)	CHI, 167th overall 2019
34		Adam Ingram	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2003-10-14	West St. Paul, Manitoba	Youngstown (USHL)	NSH, 82nd overall 2022

^[5]

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 and 25.^[6]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

† incoming freshman ^[10]