It wasn’t a stereo. It was trombones, trumpets and tubas.

The Michigan Tech pep band had marched into the Huskies locker room shortly their 4-3 triple-overtime win Saturday against Northern Michigan.

The win completed a sweep of the rival Wildcats in the WCHA first round playoffs.

Members of the band high-fived players. Logan Pietila, a quiet freshman who has quietly asserted himself as one of the Huskies’ go-to players in big moments, clapped in front of his locker as the pep band reveled in the victory. The postgame locker room was a mix of exhaustion and elation, fatigued faces with big smiles.

David Archambeau/For the Gazette Michigan Tech winger Logan Ganie (14) makes a pass while being chased by Northern Michigan’s Andre Ghantous (11) and Griffin Loughran (16) give chase, Also pictured is Michigan Tech’s Raymond Brice (23).

Pietila had scored the winning goal in the third overtime, 104:41 after the opening face-off, to send Tech into the next round of the WCHA playoffs. It was the longest game in Northern Michigan’s history.

“I was just trying to get it on net,” he said with a grin. “It went high glove. I was lucky enough to go in. I was just excited with the guys.”

By 19 seconds, Saturday’s game became the 17th longest game in NCAA Division I history and fifth-longest in WCHA history. Tech’s 1-0 win in triple-overtime against Alabama-Huntsville on March 13, 2015 went 118:49, the seventh-longest in NCAA Division I history.

Pietila’s winning goal was his eighth of the season. It helped assert him as one of the team’s go-to players in big moments. The 5-foot-11 center scored a hat trick to help the Huskies win the Great Lakes Invitational against Michigan in December.

Junior left wing Justin Misiak took the puck along the right wing half-wall and was cycling towards the corner when he stopped on a dime at the hash marks and passed over to Pietila, about 20 feet in from the boards, set up just inside the face-off dot. The pass came across and Pietila snapped a one-timer past Wildcats goalie Nolan Kent nearly five minutes into the game’s sixth period.

Huskies on the bench jumped the boards and mobbed Pietila before they all glided to center ice and all planted the flag. It was an ode to Northern Michigan senior right wing Darien Craighead’s gesture after he scored the winning goal in a Wildcats’ 3-2 victory Feb. 29 in the regular season finale.

But on Craighead’s birthday Saturday, all the Huskies planted the flag on the yellow Wildcat at center ice.

“No one was really happy about that. Everybody was pretty ticked off, so we got the boys together after we finished it tonight and slammed our sticks on the ice,” Huskies senior goaltender Matt Jurusik said. “We didn’t really like that. It was a sign of disrespect. But we got the last laugh.”

Tech made the Berry Events Center theirs this season, winning all four games there including the postseason. Tech won 4-1 on Friday night.

Tech controlled the overtime offensive chances. The Huskies outshot the Wildcats 20-16 in the three overtime periods. Parrottino had a chance five minutes into the second overtime when he poke-checked Wildcats freshman defenseman Michael Van Unen at the point and took off for a breakaway. Kent thwarted Parrottino’s wrist shot with a blocker save.

In the first overtime, one of Northern’s few scoring chances could have forced game three Sunday. Junior center Joseph Nardi got the puck at the top of the crease with an open net and shot it wide.

Had Northern won, both teams would have had to turn around, with a night further shortened by the time change, and play a pivotal third game on Sunday. Huskies head coach Joe Shawhan said playing a winner-take-all game after a triple-overtime game the night before would have been difficult.

“To be honest with you I was thinking about that on the bench,” Shawhan said. “We already had to go with the short bench. It would’ve been very difficult doing it differently had we gone tomorrow. Our guys would’ve found a way to dig in, but tonight we went for it. That’s how I was coaching — to end it tonight. That’s the reason teams earn home ice, to have that advantage on the game they need it. I didn’t want it to get to that.”

The bench was shortened when sophomore left wing Trenton Bliss went down with a shoulder injury

The game got to overtime partly because Alec Broetzman’s would-be winning goal halfway through the third was waved off after an official review for offsides. Broetzman received a pass just inside the blue line, skated to the top of the left circle and let fire a wrist shot that cleanly beat Wildcats goaltender Nolan Kent high glove side, ringed loudly off the far post and buried into the back of the net.

Up to that point, the Wildcats set the pace offensively. They scored first in a back-and-forth second period with five combined goals.

NMU junior left wing Mitchel Slattery scored to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

Huskies freshman center Logan Ganie tied it seven minutes later with assists from Jake Crespi and Colin Swoyer. Craighead gave Northern the lead three minutes after Ganie’s goal. MTU sophomore right wing Tommy Parrottino tied it 23 seconds later with assists from Pietila and Keegan Ford.

Freshman Andre Ghantous gave Northern the lead late in the second.

Ganie answered two minutes into the third period with a tying goal, his fourth of the season. Eric Gotz and Raymond Brice assisted.

From then until Pietila’s goal, both teams had scoring chances. But Tech controlled puck possession and had more shots combined in the first and second overtimes than the three regulation periods combined. It was the kind of resiliency Shawhan has highlighted all season.

“That’s just a great testament to our group. It’s a hard place to play, big ice that we’re not used to,” he said. “I thought Northern came out and played very hard both games. They certainly didn’t pack it in. Our guys just have a little bit inside them that never gives up. It’s a pleasure for me. I’m thankful every day I get to be around this group.”

It wasn’t a perfect night for Jurusik. Even on some saves he made, he reacted late and thought he had the puck in his glove when it actually bounced off and slid into the corner.

“I felt good early. Actually it was the second period I got beat on a couple shots. It’s uncharacteristic for me,” Jurusik said. “I was not disappointed, but I think I could’ve played better in that second period and avoid the overtime.

“I just got beat, plain and simple. It happens. I’m planning to get better in practice and move on.”

Jurusik finished with 43 saves, including 16 combined in overtime. Kent made 32 saves for the Wildcats, including 19 in the overtime periods.

After the pep band played in the locker room, the band members assembled on each side of a narrow corridor outside the locker room. Shawhan returned from a press conference and shook each band member’s hand.

“Great support here,” Shawhan said. “It was very good. They’re always spectacular.”

Huskies senior co-captain Alex Smith said the pep band performing in the locker room was a special moment.

“That was pretty cool. They were coming out and and we got them to come in. I think our equipment manager Harry (Anthony Harris) got them to come in. It was pretty cool and organic which makes it so awesome.”

Up next

Tech (21-15-3) visits Minnesota State (31-5-2) in the WCHA semifinals. The Mavericks swept the Huskies on Nov. 8-9.

MTU 0 2 1 0 0 1 — 4

NMU 0 3 0 0 0 0 — 3

Second Period–1, NMU, Slattery, 1:25. 2, MTU, Ganie (), 8:11. 3, NMU, Craighead (Beaulieu, Voltin), 11:13. 4, MTU, Parrottino (L. Pietila, Ford), 11:36. 5, NMU, Ghantous (Yaremko), 15:33. Penalties–MTU, Ganie (hooking), 5:38. MTU, Smith (roughing), 9:49. NMU, Loughran (holding), 9:49. NMU, de Mey (kneeing), 17:56.

Third Period–6, MTU, Ganie (Gotz, Brice), 2:02. Penalties–NMU, Yaremko (cross-checking), 2:02. MTU, Swoyer (hooking), 5:36. NMU, Klee (boarding), 8:29. MTU, Datema (interference), 8:40.

First Overtime–Penalties–MTU, Bliss (10-minute misconduct), 10:27. MTU, Crespi (too many men), 13:25.

Second Overtime–NMU, Palmer (holding), 5:17. NMU, Loughran (slashing) 19:59.

Third Overtime–MTU, L. Pietila (Misiak), 4:41.

Shots on Goal–MTU 6-5-5-9-8-3–36. NMU 9-13-8-7-7-2–46.

Power-play Opportunities–MTU 0 of 6. NMU 0 of 4.

Goalies–MTU, Jurusik 9-10-8-7-7-2–43 saves. NMU, Kent 6-3-4-9-8-2–32.

Penalties-minutes–MTU 6-20. NMU 6-12.

A–3,765. T–4:30.

Referees–Shane Paskey, Jamie Grace. Linesmen–Marty Shaffer.

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