HOUGHTON — Sometimes it takes a few games for a college hockey player to have an impact on his new team as a freshman.

For Michigan Tech Huskies forward Nick Nardella, it took just two games for him to have an impact. Nardella helped the Huskies overcome a sluggish first period by picking up a goal and an assist in the middle frame, lifting the Huskies to a 4-0 win over the visiting Alabama Huntsville Chargers Saturday afternoon at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

For Nardella, just getting back into the lineup meant a lot. Being able to chip in and help spark a three-goal second period was the proverbial icing on the cake.

“I have been working really hard in practice to try and make the lineup,” he said. “To get that first one and help the team win feels really good.”

His efforts did not go unnoticed by the Huskies coaching staff. After a timid first period, where it seemed he was trying to find his legs, coach Joe Shawhan was pleased to see the Rosemont, Illinois, native make big strides in the second.

“I thought Nardella did a great job for us, as did some others did, filling in and making some big plays at the right time,” said Shawhan.

“I thought he was a little step behind, a little hesitant in the first. Then he made a play and got some confidence. That’s why we put him in. He has the ability to do that. He did exactly what we hoped that he would do.”

Nardella picked up his first career point 6:42 into the middle frame when he held onto a pass from freshman winger Carson Bantle until junior winger Brian Halonen found space on the back door. Nardella waited out a Chargers defenseman before feeding a pass to Halonen for the one-timer.

Sensing that Nardella was starting to pick up his play, Shawhan and his staff continued to show confidence in his game. Nardella responded less than six minutes later by notching his first career goal.

After taking a pass from junior defenseman Colin Swoyer, Nardella drove through the left circle, beating a Chargers defenseman to the crease. He fired a shot that Chargers goaltender David Fessenden stopped, but the rebound bounced out and off another Chargers defender and into the net at 12:11.

The Huskies (5-3-1 overall, 1-0-0 WCHA) continued to keep the pressure on from there, drawing a second power play, which led to their third goal of the period.

Senior defenseman Tyler Rockwell moved along the blue line looking for options before feeding the puck over to his partner, junior Eric Gotz. Gotz wound up and blasted a one-timed slap shot that Fessenden kicked away. The rebound bounced right to assistant captain Trenton Bliss, who was crashing the net. Bliss got his stick on the rebound and redirected it back into the net at 18:32.

After struggling to be successful with their first power play chance, the Huskies found success by moving with the puck before making passes, which helped open up passing lanes in the Chargers’ penalty kill.

“They kind of collapse in the middle, so we knew that we were going to have to move (the puck) around the perimeter,” said Bliss, “get them moving a bit (and) kind of open up lanes…They started to come out more, and that opened up the lanes. (I was) just kind of in the right place at the right time for that goal.”

Bliss and Rockwell were both involved in the Huskies’ fourth and final goal at the 13:22 mark of the third period, which sealed the contest.

Bliss moved the puck over to junior winger Tommy Parrottino in the right circle along the boards. Finding no path to the net, Parrottino looked back towards the blue line and found Rockwell with space. He fed the puck quickly to Rockwell, who turned and fired a low wrist shot that beat Fessenden and extended the Huskies’ lead to four.

The fourth tally could not have come at a better time for the Huskies, who had held the Chargers (0-4-1 overall, 0-1-0 WCHA) to just nine shots through the first two periods before giving up nine more in the third.

“I thought we played well,” said Shawhan. “I didn’t think we played great, we didn’t have the jump that we had when we went into the break. I thought we played well. We really got some good efforts out of some supporting guys. We didn’t rely on our top (guys).”

The goal sparked the Huskies to finish the game strong.

Sophomore goaltender Blake Pietila held down the fort for the Huskies, stopping all 18 shots that made it through to him over the course of the night. The reigning WCHA Goaltender of the Month earned his fifth win, and second by shutout, on the season.

The two teams go back at it Sunday at 2:07 p.m. at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

Scoring

UAH 0 0 0 – 0

MTU 0 3 1 – 4

First period

None

Second period

1, MTU, Brian Halonen (Nick Nardella, Carson Bantle), 6:42

2, MTU, Nardella (Colin Swoyer), 12:11

3, MTU, Trenton Bliss (Eric Gotz, Tyler Rockwell), 18:32

Third period

4, MTU, Rockwell (Tommy Parrottino, Bliss), 13:22

Saves

Fessenden, UAH 9 14 3 – 26

Pietila, MTU 4 5 9 – 18

Power plays

UAH: 0/2; MTU: 1/3

Penalties

UAH: 3/6; MTU: 2/4