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One final push

Huskies look to seal 2nd in WCHA with strong finish against rival NMU

David Archambeau/Daily Mining Gazette Michigan Tech’s Matt Roy controls the puck Feb. 11 against Ferris State at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

MARQUETTE — While the Michigan Tech Huskies hockey team enjoyed an opportunity last week to catch up on things like rest and class load, the WCHA standings tightened around them thanks to a sweep by the Minnesota State Mavericks over the Northern Michigan Wildcats.

This weekend, the Huskies faceoff against the Wildcats in a home-and-home series that will open Friday at the Berry Events Center. The Huskies will need to match their intensity, something that is not always easy coming off of a bye week.

“I think the guys know what is at stake,” said assistant coach Gary Shuchuk. “They know they have to keep working hard and now we are preparing for Northern.”

For the Huskies, the bye week they enjoyed could not have come at a better time, considering the fact that they had played every weekend since the GLI and had several small injuries to heal up.

At the same time, the flu bug that has been making its way around the Copper Country; fortunately it has not ravaged the Huskies’ locker room the way it has the local high schools. Shuchuk credits much of that to the efforts of athletic trainer Brian Brewster.

“I think Brian Brewster has done an amazing job with the injuries, getting guys back,” said Shuchuk. “Brian has his thumb on the pulse of these guys.”

The Huskies hold a three-point lead on the Mavericks for second place in the WCHA standings with a conference record of 14-6-6-3, good for 51 points. The Huskies simply need to pick up two wins or a win and a tie to guarantee that the Mavericks cannot catch them in the standings.

Should the Huskies split and the Mavericks sweep the WCHA-leading Bemidji State Beavers, the Mavericks would steal the second seed.

Should the Huskies secure a second-place finish, they are guaranteed to play their second-round playoff series at home, provided they win their first. Also, should the Beavers lose in either of their first two playoff rounds, the Huskies would then host the WCHA playoff championship game as well, so there is plenty on the line for the Huskies this weekend.

“Coach Mel [Pearson] always says we can control what we can control,” said Shuchuk. “It is up to us. We cannot worry about what (Minnesota State) is going to do, or anybody else in the league. We can control what Michigan Tech does and that is what we have to do.

“We are in a good spot. If we want to end up second, it is up to us.”

With the two losses to the Mavericks, the Wildcats sit in eighth with a conference record of 9-14-3-1, good for 31 points, just one point better than the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers. They will need wins this weekend, or sweep of the Chargers by the Bowling Green Falcons and the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves earning five or less points against the Alaska Nanooks, to secure a playoff spot.

The Wildcats are led offensively by junior Robbie Payne. Payne has 12 goals and 15 assists, good for 27 points. He plays an antagonistic game that can be frustrating for opponents.

Senior Dominik Shine, who missed the season’s first six games, leads the team in goals (17) and power play goals (5) while sitting second in points (23). Classmate Shane Sooth has been limited to 14 games this season, but still has three goals and seven points in that stretch.

Senior Brock Maschmeyer quarterbacks the Wildcats’ power play very efficiently. Three of his four goals on the season have come on the man advantage.

In goal, sophomore Atte Tolvanen came within a handful of minutes of breaking the NCAA shutout minutes record prior to the series last weekend against the Mavericks. Tolvanen is 10-19-4 in 33 appearances this season. While his record is not impressive, he sports a 2.64 goals against average and a .917 save percentage.

LOCAL TIES

The Wildcats’ roster features two skaters from Calumet in Brendan Jacques and Jesse Junttila. Jacques has played in five games for the Wildcats, scoring his first career goal against Bowling Green on Nov. 12. Junttila has seen action in two games, picking up his first career point against the Chargers on Dec. 10.

GAME TIMES

Game times are 7:07 p.m. Friday at the Berry Events Center in Marquette and Saturday at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

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