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GameCenter final: SCSU 3, UND 2, OT

Zach Okabe scored at 5:45 of overtime to lift St. Cloud State to an NCHC semifinal win over UND.

SCSU vs UND_1153.jpg
St. Cloud State defenseman Jack Peart (23) and North Dakota defenseman Chris Jandric (7) battle for the puck in the third period Friday, Dec. 2, 2022, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud.
Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Zach Okabe scored at 5:45 of overtime to lift St. Cloud State to a 3-2 win over UND in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference semifinals. The Huskies advance to the NCHC title game against Colorado College, while UND's season comes to an end.

Herald three stars

First star: Veeti Miettinen, SCSU, 1 goal, 2 assists.
Second star: Zach Okabe, SCSU, game-winning goal, assist.
Third star: Judd Caulfield, UND, goal.

First period

UND 1, SCSU 0 — Ethan Frisch (Jake Schmaltz, Jackson Blake) 6:18 (pp). UND converts its first power-play chance of the night. Blake has the puck in the right circle and dishes to Schmaltz along the goal line. Schmaltz makes a no-look backhand pass to Frisch in the opposite circle and the Moorhead product puts it away for his seventh of the season.

UND 1, SCSU 1 — Veeti Miettinen (Cooper Wylie, Grant Cruikshank) 17:16 (pp). St. Cloud State also converts its first power-play chance of the night quickly after a zone entry. Wylie finds Miettinen open in the right circle for a one-timer. He blasts it past UND goalie Drew DeRidder for his 10th point in the last nine games.

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Second period

UND 2, SCSU 1 — Judd Caulfield (Mark Senden, Gavin Hain) 12:29. Hain has the puck at the top of the right circle and throws a shot toward the top of the crease, where Senden and Caulfield are hanging out. Caulfield wins the battle for the rebound and puts it away for his 10th goal of the season.

Third period

UND 2, SCSU 2 — Jami Krannila (Zach Okabe, Veeti Miettinen) 5:06. After two good cycling shifts by St. Cloud State, the Huskies convert off the rush. Krannila gets the puck from the left side to Okabe in the high slot. Okabe spots Krannila wide open in the right circle and he doesn't miss. It's Krannila's 20th goal of the season.

Overtime

SCSU 3, UND 2 — Zach Okabe (Jami Krannila, Veeti Miettinen) 5:45. Okabe gets behind UND's defense and Krannila hits him with a pass from the right side. Okabe makes a move to his backhand and puts it away.

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UND's lines

Forwards
9 Jackson Blake—27 Louis Jamernik V—17 Riese Gaber
26 Dylan James—19 Mark Senden—29 Jackson Kunz
10 Gavin Hain—8 Jake Schmaltz—28 Judd Caulfield
13 Carson Albrecht—22 Owen McLaughlin—11 Griffin Ness
20 Nick Portz

Defensemen
25 Tyler Kleven—15 Ethan Frisch
7 Chris Jandric—2 Ryan Sidorski
4 Cooper Moore—3 Ty Farmer

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Goaltenders
34 Drew DeRidder
32 Jakob Hellsten

Not in lineup: F Dane Montgomery (inj), F Ben Strinden, F Matteo Costantini, D Luke Bast, D Brent Johnson, G Kaleb Johnson

St. Cloud State's lines

Forwards
29 Veeti Miettinen—13 Jami Krannila—14 Zach Okabe
10 Kyler Kupka—19 Grant Cruikshank—15 Micah Miller
27 Chase Brand—8 Aidan Spellacy—20 Jack Rogers
34 Adam Ingram—16 Mason Salquist—22 Joe Molenaar

Defensemen
5 Ondrej Trejbal—18 Brendan Bushy
23 Jack Peart—6 Mason Reiners
26 Cooper Wylie—9 Spencer Meier
21 Josh Luedtke

Goaltenders
40 Jaxon Castor
31 Dominic Basse
1 James Gray

Not in lineup: F Ryan Rosborough, F Ethan AuCoin, F Grant Ahcan, D Dylan Anhorn (inj), D Brady Ziemer

Pregame notes

UND is going with the same lineup as Sunday night in Omaha. . . St. Cloud State is starting Castor in net. Castor had better numbers against UND than Basse during the regular season. . . St. Cloud State D Josh Luedtke, who missed Sunday's Game 3 against Minnesota Duluth, is back in.

Schlossman has covered college hockey for the Grand Forks Herald since 2005. He has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors as the top beat writer for the Herald's circulation division four times and the North Dakota sportswriter of the year once. He resides in Grand Forks. Reach him at bschlossman@gfherald.com.
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