Nick Perbix scored with 3:54 remaining in the third period to lift No. 6 St. Cloud State to a 2-1 victory over Colorado College Friday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the 2021 NCHC Tournament.
 
The Tigers, playing shorthanded from the start with just 17 available players, got a valiant team effort and a near-flawless performance from netminder Matt Vernon to almost pull the upset of the season.
 
Despite missing its top three scorers, two of its top three veteran defensemen and starting goalie for most of the season, CC kept the high-scoring Huskies at bay from the drop of the puck.
 
"I am really proud of how my guys played today," head coach Mike Haviland said. "We competed right to the end and shut down a pretty potent team."
 
Vernon was spectacular the entire game, stopping a couple of breakaways and open looks throughout the contest. He finished the game with 42 saves, one shy of his career high set last season vs. Minnesota Duluth.
 
Senior defenseman McKay Flanagan, playing just his second game of the season, opened the scoring at the 2:08 mark of the second period, sending a shot from the red line that eluded SCSU goalie David Hrenak for his first career goal.
 
The Huskies (16-9-0) pressured CC after the goal and Vernon kept the Tigers in the lead with a spectacular post-to-post save on Chase Brand just over a minute later.
 
The already shorthanded Tigers suffered a blow late in the middle frame when senior co-captain Zach Berzolla was whistled for a 5-minute major and game misconduct call for kneeing, leaving the Tigers with just four defensemen, including Chad Sasaki, who also made his second appearance of the season.
 
The Huskies, who outshot CC 44-7, capitalized on the power play as Zach Okabe scored to even the game with 1:01 left in the second period, but the Tigers did not allow another goal during the major.
 
CC nearly took the lead during a power-play early in the third period, but Chase Foley's wrister from the slot hit the inside of the left post and stayed out of the net. Later in the period, Vernon stoned Micah Miller on a partial breakaway, then made his best save of the night by knocking away a Sam Hentges shot with his blocker while falling down.
 
"Matt played great in the cage," Haviland said. "He was just really dialed in today. It was nice to see him perform like that and give us a chance."
 
With the Tigers noticeably tired and unable to put a shot on net in the final period, the Huskies took advantage when a Vernon save on Kevin Fitzgerald's shot found Perbix, who got just enough of the puck to barely slide it past the goal line.
 
"I have been in a lot of situations being down a couple of guys, but we had to ask guys to play positions they haven't been in before," Haviland said. "I'm just really proud of them."
 
CC's season ends with a 4-17-2 record.