As he recalls it, on the day he learned current St. Cloud State forward Grant Cruikshank entered the transfer portal ahead of his fifth season of eligibility, Huskies coach Brett Larson met Cruikshank for lunch.
Larson had been close to securing Cruikshank’s commitment before, but SCSU came up second to Minnesota after Cruikshank finished a three-year spell at Colorado College. He averaged a point every other game in 90 appearances with the Tigers, and when he left Colorado Springs after his junior year, Minnesota saw the same potential in the son of speedskating legend Bonnie Blair that Larson did.
So, when Cruikshank became available once again, Larson didn’t waste time. He grabbed his keys and made the hour’s drive down Interstate 94 to Minneapolis.
“Once we found out he was in the portal, it was the first call I made,” Larson said. “That was a main area of focus for us, losing (former SCSU forwards Kevin) Fitzgerald and (Nolan) Walker down the middle, and we knew a freshman wouldn’t be able to fill those types of minutes or that type or role right away, so we thought in order to be good, we’d need to find a guy to get us better down the middle quick, and Grant has definitely done that.
“I was very thankful to be able to get him this year. (Second-year SCSU assistant) R.J. Enga had a relationship with him, coaching him at Colorado College, we built a relationship with him last year in the recruiting process and he’s been exactly what we expected. He’s an all-around, 200-foot player that you can play in any situation. His leadership skills are high-end, and his dedication, work ethic and commitment to getting better are as high as pretty much anyone I’ve ever been around. I think that rubs off on the guys around him.”
Six goals and 16 points through six games for St. Cloud says plenty, and Cruikshank played a big role again for the undefeated Huskies last weekend as they swept a home series against second-ranked Minnesota State.
Cruikshank scored the game-tying goal in the second period of SCSU’s 3-2 win Friday, and he set up Kyler Kupka’s winner on a power play 35 seconds into the third. When the Huskies won 4-3 in Saturday’s rematch, Cruikshank scored the opener shorthanded, then broke a 3-3 tie with 3:26 left, off a feed from Kupka.
Larson knew from prior experience against MSU that nothing would come easy last weekend.
“We played Mankato a few times over the last few years, two down there last year, and the games were similar,” Larson said. “Mankato is a team that has a great ground game, and they spend a lot of time in your end and protect pucks and make you defend a lot. Our goal was to just not get frustrated, hopefully defend well, protect the middle of the ice and then be able to make a play when we got our opportunities.
“I was proud of our guys that they were able to do that without getting frustrated. It seems like every game we play against them like that. Friday was a really good, even hockey game, and I thought it could’ve gone either way. On Saturday, Mankato dominated long portions of that game and we were able to hang on through goaltending, and being able to take advantage of our few opportunities. Without the goaltending we got, that could’ve gone a different way.”
For his efforts against MSU, Cruikshank was named Monday as the NCHC forward of the week. He’s already in even more rarified air, though, within the Huskies’ program. His six goals scored in the first six games of the season made him the first SCSU player to do that in 21 years.
He’ll be looked to again this weekend as SCSU, up six spots to second in the latest DCU/USCHO Division I Men’s Poll, plays a home-and-home series with another Minnesota nonconference rival, Bemidji State. The Beavers are fresh off earning a win and tie against Michigan Tech, and Larson knows the Huskies can’t take votes-receiving BSU lightly.
“The thing I’ve noticed about college hockey is it’s almost a race to see who can keep getting better, and we’re going to have to be better this weekend than we were last weekend,” Larson said. “Bemidji’s clearly a good team that has added some nice offensive pieces that blend in well with their hard-working defensive style.
“It’s just the continued push every week to get better at college hockey, because if you don’t, you’re going to get beat.”
