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Knot again

Tech, Anchorage play to antoher tie; Huskies get extra point in shootout win

David Archambeau/Daily Mining Gazette Michgian Tech’s Jake Lucchini beats Alaska Anchorage’s Rasmus Reijola in the shootout Saturday at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

HOUGHTON — The previous three contests between the No. 20 Michigan Tech Huskies and the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves were decided by just a goal, so it was no surprise to see Saturday’s matchup go to overtime again. The fact that it took longer than 65 minutes to solve things was not surprising, either.

The teams skated to a 1-1 tie, with the Huskies earning the second WCHA point on a shootout goal by center Jake Lucchini.

The theme from both locker rooms after the game was a simple one: missed opportunities.

“I thought it was a lot like [Friday’s] game,” said Huskies coach Mel Pearson. “We didn’t have many ‘Grade As’, but they didn’t either. They play a style that is effective. It’s hard to play against.”

The Seawolves were awarded eight power plays in regulation and one more in the 3-on-3 overtime, but were unable to convert on any of them.

“If there has been a theme to our season, it has been the biggest factor,” said Seawolves assistant coach Louis Mass. “In close games especially, we have not been able to complete anything on the power play.”

Pearson was not pleased with the nine penalties the Huskies took, despite how the penalty kill fared.

“We shot ourselves in the foot with all the penalties,” said Pearson. “It’s going to be hard to win hockey games when you are putting yourself at that disadvantage.”

The problems for the Seawolves’ power play surfaced during their first advantage and only built on themselves over the course of the night.

“I think the frustration level set in early,” said Mass. “We weren’t able to shake it. Largely, it was a big mental thing. We got off of our gameplan and guys started playing as individuals.”

The Huskies controlled play for much of the opening 20 minutes, but found themselves behind again for the second straight night when Nicolas Erb-Ekholm outmuscled Huskies defender Mark Auk and fired what appeared to be a harmless shot at goaltender Angus Redmond. Cam Amantea drove the net hard and just chipped the puck enough to sneak it through Redmond at 14:11 of the first period.

For the Huskies, the problems began before Friday, as they played four straight games against high-level opponents, and the players might have overlooked the Seawolves towards next weekend’s matchup with Minnesota State.

“I did not like our week in practice,” said Pearson. “It carried right over into the weekend.”

Even on the tying goal, the Huskies had a miss before they found the back of the net.

Winger Chris Gerrie, who did not play on Friday, got loose and took a lead pass from defenseman Chris Leibinger. Gerrie skated in alone on Seawolves goaltender Rasmus Reijola and attempted a move to his forehand but he could not lift the puck over Reijola’s leg pad. He tracked down his own rebound and attempted to feed it back out front only to have it bounce back to himself. He fired a quick shot to beat Reijola with 21.6 left in the second period.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for that,” said Gerrie. “I’ve had a lot of ‘Grade A’ chances throughout the year. It’s been a long process for me.”

In the final 20 minutes of regulation, the Huskies were much better. They were more responsible with the puck, and that led to them out-chancing the Seawolves, 28-6, in the frame.

No opportunities were bigger than the one manufactured by winger Reid Sturos’ with about 5:47 left; Sturos picked up a rebound in front and rang a quick wrister off the crossbar.

Wingers Tyler Heinonen and Alex Gillies each had chances on 2-on-1s, but both missed the net.

“Our third period was really good,” said Pearson. “We out-attempted them something like 28-6. We were hitting posts, crossbars, missing great scoring opportunities. We had a chance to win the game.”

In the 5-on-5 overtime, the Huskies had the best scoring chance when a Seawolves defender lost his stick, but assistant captain Shane Hanna’s backhand that had beaten Reijola did not beat the right post, keeping the game even.

Winger Joel L’Esperance also had a quality scoring chance with 21.8 seconds left, but while he made a power move to get from the left corner to the front of the net, his wrister was stopped by Reijola, who made 35 saves on the night.

NOT HAPPY HANDSHAKE: During the handshake after the game, it appeared that Seawolves winger Tad Kozun had words with Pearson, and was over-aggressive with his handshake with the Tech coach.

Scoring

Alaska-Anchorage  1  0  0  0 – 1

Michigan Tech  0  1  0  0 – 1

First period

1, UAA, Cam Amantea (Nicolas Erb-Ekholm), 14:11

Second period

2, MTU, Chris Gerrie (Chris Leibinger), 19:39

Third period

None

Overtime

None

Saves

UAA, Reijola  12  10  11  2 – 0

MTU, Redmond  6  8  4  2 – 0

Penalties

UAA: 5/10; MTU: 9/18

Power plays

UAA: 0/8; MTU: 0/5

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