Michigan Tech junior goaltender Blake Pietila is shown in action against Bowling Green on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022, in Houghton, Mich. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — On Friday night at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena, the No. 14 Michigan Tech Huskies hockey team saw two players reach career milestones and another break a school record as part of a 4-0 win over the visiting Bowling Green State Falcons.

Saturday night, the Falcons turned the tide, bouncing back from a pair of one-goal deficits to earn a 4-2 victory of their own.

The Huskies (18-9-2, 15-6-1 CCHA) retained the MacInnes Trophy, however, as they won the two-game, total-goal series 6-4.

Senior winger Brian Halonen, who finished the weekend with a goal and two assists, was named Most Valuable Player for the series. For the fourth-year player who leads the Huskies in scoring, winning the award was an honor, but a sweep of the Falcons would have been better. Winning the team trophy was also important to him and his teammates as it carries the name of the legendary Michigan Tech coach John MacInnes and his family.

“It’s a cool thing,” said Halonen about the award. “It’s nice to see Jerry MacInnes get honored. She’s done a lot for Tech hockey.”

Pietila breaks record

While Halonen and co-captain Trenton Bliss both reached 100 career points, the Huskies’ player who stole the show on Friday was goaltender Blake Pietila. The junior stopped all 25 shots that the Falcons (14-13-3, 11-10-1) threw his ways en route to his seventh shutout of the season, which broke the single season school record set by his goaltender coach, Jamie Phillips. The shutout also pulled him even with Phillips for the career shutout record in the process.

“I think that just shows how good of a team we have,” Blake Pietila said. “I think we play well defensively, and not give the (opposing) team an opportunity to score goals. It’s cool beating Jamie’s record.”

Pietila’s twin brother Logan got the Huskies on the board just 3:39 into the contest. He jumped onto the ice during a sustained shift in the offensive zone and skated hard to the net. Assistant captain Colin Swoyer found him with a pass that he buried with a quick wrist shot.

Halonen then pushed the lead to 2-0 with a power play goal at 8:02 when he found a loose puck near the goal line and he reached around the net to bat it home. He then picked up his 100th career point on a goal by Bliss at 18:43 to give the Huskies a 3-0 lead before the first period ended.

“It’s a lot of fun to do it with a guy I’ve played with for four years in Bliss and (Tommy Parrottino),” he said. “It’s been nothing but fun playing with these two all year.”

The game remained 3-0 in favor of the Huskies despite the Falcons settling down and actually carrying some of the play. Huskies coach Joe Shawhan felt that his team, which played its seventh game in 15 days, showed some signs of wear and tear during the second half of the game.

“I don’t think we were mentally sharp, but I do think that we got better,” he said. “I thought we did a good job in the third period, made them go through numbers, and played pretty well with the lead, for the most part. I certainly think that there’s improvement to be made.”

During their seventh power play of the night early in the third, the Huskies struck again when Swoyer found the net off a pass from sophomore center Arvid Caderoth. Bliss picked up his 100th career point on the tally.

“For Brian and I, this is where our first games…at the Mac against Duluth,” said Bliss. “Through the years, just playing in front of one of the best fan bases in the country, if not the best… it’s great. 

“Just the atmosphere around Carnival, it’s a special week for Tech. We’re glad to be able to do in front of that (crowd), and, especially, get a win.”

From there, Blake Pietila shut down the Falcons the rest of the way, making eight of his 25 saves over the game’s final 20 minutes to seal the win.

BGSU 0 0 0 — 0

MTU 3 0 1 — 4

First period–Scoring–1, MTU, Logan Pietila (Colin Swoyer, Tommy Parrottino), 3:39. 2, MTU, Brian Halonen (Parrottino, Tristan Ashbrook), 8:02, pp. 3, MTU, Trenton Bliss (Halonen, Michael Karow), 18:43.

Third Period–Scoring–4, MTU, Swoyer (Caderoth, Bliss), 5:31, pp.

Saves–BGSU, Stoever 12-11-7–30. MTU, Pietila 6-11-8–25.

Power-plays Opportunities–BGSU 0 of 5. MTU 2 of 7.

Penalties-minutes–BGSU 8-27. MTU 5-10.

Falcons bounce back Saturday

Saturday night, the Huskies again jumped out to a lead quickly as Halonen grabbed a hold of the puck in the offensive zone and waited for assistant captain Eric Gotz to find some open space alongside the left boards. Halonen fed Gotz the puck and he found the back of the net from a tough angle just 5:20 into the contest.

The Falcons responded almost four minutes later when Nathan Burke drove around a Huskies’ defender and beat Blake Pietila at 9:15.

Senior winger Matthew Quercia regained the one-goal lead for the Huskies 37 seconds later when he pounced on a rebound and buried it.

From there, however, the game turned in favor of the Falcons.

Evan Dougherty evened things at 11:56 of the second when he took advantage of a pass that bounced off a Huskies’ defender and kicked straight out in front of the net.

In the third, Ryan O’Hara struck just after a power play ended to give the Falcons their first lead of the weekend at 7:59. He found space on the back door before getting a pass from Austen Swankler before one-timing the pass.

The Falcons got another play shortly after the tally, and on that advantage, Coale Norris put the game out of reach with a goal in close at 10:57.

The Huskies struggled with the relentless pressure of the Falcons in the final frame as they only managed three shots at the other end after struggling consistently to get the puck out of their own end.

Shawhan decided against pulling Blake Pietila at any point in the game’s final three minutes due, in large part, to the Huskies’ inability to create much offensively in the period.

BGSU 1 1 2 — 4

MTU 2 0 0 — 2

First Period–Scoring–1, MTU, Gotz (Halonen), 5:20. 2, BGSU, Burke (Pitters, Dougherty), 9:15. 3, MTU, Quercia (Broetzman, Caderoth), 9:42.

Second Period–Scoring–4, BGSU, Dougherty (Burke, Pitters), 11:56.

Third period–Scoring–5, BGSU, O’Hara (Swankler, Coyle), 7:59, 6, BGSU, Norris (Schneider, Parker), PP, 10:57.

Saves–Stoever, BGSU, 9-12-3=24. Pietila, MTU, 10-8-8=26

Power-plays Opportunities–BGSU: 1/4. MTU: 0/1

Penalties-minutes–BGSU 2-4. MTU 5-10