Huskies Hockey Insider

You know it is been brutally cold when Easton Brodzinski has not even thought about going ice fishing. The senior from Blaine, Minn., is an avid hunter and fisherman. He talks about the two teammates he has gone hunting and fishing with this season, gives updates on his three hockey playing brothers, how often his dad asks him to help out working at their hockey equipment store, his season and career with the St. Cloud State men's hockey team and more on this episode with The Rink Live's Mick Hatten.

Brendan Bushy is from a hockey family in Thief River Falls. His dad, Jon, played college hockey for Minnesota State University-Mankato. His younger brother, Evan, is a St. Cloud State commit and is playing juniors for the Minnesota Wilderness in the North American Hockey League. They also have a younger brother who is playing at the bantam level of youth hockey.

Brendan's grandfather, Joe Bushy, was on the committee to get the Ralph Engelstad Arena (The Mini Ralph) built in Thief River Falls in 2003. Bushy talks about his hockey-rich family, growing up in Thief River Falls, playing junior hockey for the Dubuque Fighting Saints and playing in the state hockey tournament in St. Paul.

St. Cloud State men's hockey forward Zach Okabe discusses his strong start to the season, how his offseason work has helped, living in five countries, scoring four goals in a game with his dad and sisters in attendance, what it is like to play on a line with two players from Finland, his family's history at SCSU and more.

Nolan Walker thinks his last four-goal game happened in youth hockey. But the junior center from Anchorage, Alaska, had four in a game Saturday in a win over Miami and is the reigning NCHC Forward of the Week.

Walker has bounced back from a challenging sophomore season and already has more goals (7) and points (14) than he had last season. He discusses some keys to the turnaround, how he spent the offseason and also discusses his career from growing up watching Alaska-Anchorage games to playing for Culver Military Academy and the Sioux Falls Stampede before joining the Huskies.

Eric Rud spent four seasons (2006-10) as an assistant men's hockey coach for former St. Cloud State head coach Bob Motzko. Rud returned to be the head coach for the Huskies women's hockey team from 2014-19.

His wife, Amy, and son, Max, are still living in St. Cloud as Max plays for the St. Cloud co-op boys hockey team. Their daughter, Gabbie, was supposed to be playing her freshman season of college hockey at Cornell University, but their season got cancelled because of COVID-19 concerns. Their son, Sam, is living in an apartment with Eric and is working in Oxford, Ohio. Rud talks about that juggling act as a parent as his team prepares to play St. Cloud State this weekend at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.

Rud also discusses recruiting during the pandemic, his experiences in the NCHC Pod, progress the RedHawks are showing and what they expect when they play the Huskies. He does all of this as he is driving through Indiana to get back to St. Cloud with The Rink Live's Mick Hatten.

On Jan. 8, Chase Brand scored on a set play off a faceoff to snap a 15-game streak without a goal. Brand talks about his season to this point with The Rink Live's Mick Hatten. He also discusses his winding road to get to the St. Cloud State men's hockey team: four junior teams in two leagues, de-committing from Miami and going through the recruiting process a second time.

He also talks about fun subjects like who the Huskies' best golfer is, some of the intricacies of fly fishing, his athletic family (mom and dad were college athletes, his sister plays in the NWHL), his love of baseball and what it was like growing up in Nevis, Minn.

Former St. Cloud State captain and current Huskies assistant coach Nick Oliver discusses his experiences of working in the NCHC Pod, getting to know new assistant Dave Shyiak and recruiting during the pandemic.

Oliver also gives a scouting report on recent Huskies signees Jack Peart, Mason Salquist and Josh Luedtke, previews the second straight series against Minnesota Duluth and discusses how a Fathead of him keeps popping up in new places of the two-part podcast with the Rink Live's Mick Hatten.

The sixth-ranked St. Cloud State and fourth-ranked Minnesota Duluth men's hockey teams' next four games against one another. So The Rink Live's Mick Hatten and Matt Wellens take a look at how the teams match up, what we saw out of both teams in the NCHC Pod and also take a look at the second half of the NCHC season in this episode.

OMAHA, Neb. — Joey Lamoreaux joins the podcast and talks about the St. Cloud State men's hockey team bonding over his decision to bring a puzzle down to the NCHC Pod and he describes what his experience has been like in the first two weeks. He also discusses his first college start on Sunday, growing up in Wisconsin and playing for the Milwaukee Jr. Admirals and then the Madison Capitols of the USHL.

One of Lamoreaux's Jr. Admirals teammates was Grant Cruikshank, who is the son of two four-time Olympic speed skaters. Cruikshank's mother is Bonnie Blair and Lamoreaux shares a couple of fun anecdotes about the five-time gold medalist.

The good news is, Brady Ziemer's arm is feeling a bit better a day after blocking a shot in a game against Western Michigan. The freshman from Caver, Minn., said that he skated on Thursday and plans to be ready to play when the Huskies

Ziemer talked about a variety of subject on this episode of the podcast, including his college debut, his unusual first college goal, playing for former Huskies forward Noel Rahn at Holy Family in high school, playing for the Merritt Centennials in the BCHL and the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL.