NCAA Championship Preview
St. Cloud State vs. UMass
6 p.m. Saturday • PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh (ESPN)
OT winners meet for the title
St. Cloud State: The Huskies (20-10), runners-up in the NCHC tournament, have defeated Boston University, Boston College and Minnesota State Mankato in the NCAA tournament. St. Cloud State has been a Division I team since 1987-88 and this is its second Frozen Four appearance. In Thursday's semifinal win, the Huskies scored the game-winner on Nolan Walker's deflection with 54 seconds remaining. Walker, a junior forward, is the Huskies' co-leader in points with 24 on 10 goals and 14 assists. Other leading scorers include freshman forward Veeti Miettinen (11-13-24), junior defenseman Nick Perbix (7-16-23), sophomore forward Jami Krannila (11-12-23) and sophomore forward Zach Okabe (6-16-22). Senior goalie David Hrenak stopped 25 shots Thursday and is 17-9 with a 2.57 goals-against average and .908 save percentage.
Massachusetts: The Minutemen (19-5-4), who won the Hockey East tournament, defeated Lake Superior State, Bemidji State and Minnesota Duluth to reach the NCAA title game. A Division I program since 1993, UMass is in its second consecutive national title game, after falling 3-0 to UMD in the 2019 final. In Thursday's semifinal, the Minutemen outshot UMD 13-2 and won on a tap-in goal by Garrett Wait, an Edina native who transferred from the Gophers. UMass's leading goal-scorer, Carson Gicewicz, and top goalie, Filip Lindberg, missed Thursday's game because of COVID-19 protocols but traveled to Pittsburgh on Friday and would be available to play if they pass their COVID-19 tests Saturday, coach Greg Carvel said. Gicewicz has 17 goals, while Lindberg's 1.33 GAA and .946 save percentage lead the nation. Goalie Matt Murray filled in admirably Thursday, making 36 saves.
Randy Johnson
