ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey team played in their final regular season game of the 2020-21 season this afternoon against St. Cloud State University, with a chance at the No. 2 seed in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Frozen Faceoff tournament on the line. UMD fell to the Huskies in overtime, 4-3. The Bulldogs needed to win in regulation to take the No. 2 seed, but with the game going past regulation, UMD pulled the No. 3. UMD finished the regular season with a 13-9-2 record overall while SCSU finished with a 15-9-0 record on the year.
 
Freshman goaltender Zach Stejskal started the game this afternoon, and despite having a shaky start, finished the game with 30 saves. Stejskal finished the regular season with a 4-3-0 record, a .923 save percentage and a 1.98 goals against average. Huskies goaltender David Hrenak started today, finishing the day with 31 saves.
 
The Huskies found the back of the net first in the contest. After getting the puck deep into the Bulldogs' zone, SCSU applied heavy pressure. The Huskies got the puck to the front of the net where forward Chase Brand fired it by Stejskal for a 1-0 lead 5:12 into the first period. SCSU made it 2-0 on the man advantage with just over five minutes to go in the frame. A shot from forward Jami Krannila from the lower dots zipped passed Stejskal. SCSU's forward Veeti Miettinen made it 3-0 off of a wrist shot just inside the blue line with 2:04 in the period.
 
"We got punched in the mouth in the first period which we knew was coming and then kind of reset," said UMD Head Coach Scott Sandelin. "I thought our guys played a really good second and third. We got back in it, got it to the overtime, and they made a good play at the end, but I really liked our game. If we play like that for three periods, we have a good chance to meet a lot of teams."
 
UMD found their way onto the board in the second period. Senior forward Kobe Roth was in front, firing a shot on net. He swiped at the rebound and the puck found its way to junior forward Jackson Cates, who ripped it in on a diving Hrenak at 8:22 of the second. J. Cates struck again on a tip in between the circles right in front on a shot coming from senior forward Koby Bender.
 
Freshman defenseman Connor Kelley tied things at three a side at 7:32 of the third period. Kelley received a pass from junior defenseman Hunter Lellig. He ripped it off the far side post and into the net.
 
The two sides were in a stalemate after the first 60 minutes, with the game headed to overtime. SCSU would score just 18 seconds into overtime. The Huskies rushed into UMD's zone, driving down below the net. Forward Easton Brodzinski received a pass from forward Nolan Walker and put it by Stejskal's right pad.
 
"I think that's just how the game goes sometimes. It's tough to defend a team when they're firing on all cylinders like that," said senior forward Kobe Roth. "Going into the playoffs, that's something we have to work on, we have to be a better starting team. It's tough being down three after the first, but I thought that was a lot of character from us to come back being down 3-0."
 
J. Cates lead the way with two goals tonight, with Kelley scoring the other. Senior defensemen Matt Anderson and Louie Roehl, Bender, Lellig and sophomore forward Quinn Olson all finished with an assist. Junior forward Cole Koepke finished with a team high seven shots on goal and Anderson blocked three shots on the day.
 
The Bulldogs will head to Grand Forks, N.D. to play next weekend in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Tournament, taking on Western Michigan in the first round.