St. Cloud State surrenders five points to Omaha as McLaughlin carted off ice
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ST. CLOUD —The St. Cloud State men's hockey team faltered on the road against Omaha, going 0-1-1 this weekend to fall to 3-5-1 overall.
In the first game, the Huskies battled back from a one-goal deficit to earn a 2-2 tie against the Mavericks on Friday night at Baxter Arena, but Omaha claimed the NCHC standings points with a 1-0 victory in a shootout following a scoreless overtime period.
The Huskies struck early on the power play when freshman defenseman Will Sharpe scored his first collegiate goal just 1:49 into the contest. Omaha swiftly answered on a goal from Gavin Hodnett before Ryan McCleary paced the Mavs ahead in the second period.
St. Cloud State responded in the third period after generating sustained pressure and capitalizing on another power-play opportunity. Following a 5-on-3 advantage, freshman forward Hayden Paupanekis generated a scoring opportunity, leading to sophomore defenseman Finn McLaughlin burying the tying goal into an open net. The Huskies looked much more polished in the final period, outshooting Omaha 17-6, but could not find the go-ahead goal.
McLaughlin added an assist for his first career multi-point game while goaltender Yan Shostak continued his strong play in net with 31 saves, highlighted by 17 in the second period, as the Huskies outshot Omaha 44-33 and converted 2-of-3 power-play chances.
In the second game of the road trip, the Huskies continued their power play barrage with three additional PP scores from William Ahlrik, Nolan Roed and Carson Pilgrim, but could not keep up with the Mavs in a 5-3 loss, surrendering five points total for the weekend.
St. Cloud State showed plenty of fight, erasing a two-goal deficit to pull even with Omaha in the third period, but a go-ahead score from Maxime Pellerin on the power play with 3:53 remaining and an empty-netter late handed the Huskies a hard-to-swallow loss. Shostak had 19 saves in the loss.
To make matters worse for the Huskies, in the midst of the best weekend of his collegiate career, McLaughlin was carted off the ice behind the net after a heavy collision.
SCSU Athletics does not have an update on McLaughlin's status at this time.
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SCSU player taken off the ice. Looks like McLaughlin. https://t.co/ePx32Dnu7h
— Mavpuck (@Mavpuck) November 8, 2026
McLaughlin transferred in from Minnesota, where he played in 31 games as a true freshman. The Canmore, Alberta, native has recorded two goals and three assists this season to pair with 10 blocks.
The Huskies host No. 8 Minnesota Duluth next weekend in what is bound to be another competitive, but difficult weekend for a St. Cloud squad in the midst of gathering its footing in the early part of the season.
You can reach St. Cloud Times sports reporter David Jacobs and send story ideas and tips to [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @By_DavidJacobs, and on Instagram @ByDavidJacobs.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: St. Cloud State surrenders five points to Omaha as McLaughlin carted off ice