HOUGHTON – On Friday night, the No. 11 Michigan Tech Huskies battled their way back from a 2-0 deficit to the tie the game and followed that feat when trailing 3-2 before winning. Saturday night, they again spotted the No. 7 Bowling Green Falcons a lead, this time 3-0, but they could not quite get all the way back, falling 3-2.

Co-captain Blake Pietila had both goals in the comeback, giving him a three-point weekend.

“We are digging ourselves holes,” said Pietila. “(Friday) night it was 2-0 and we were lucky to get out of that. [We] went down 3-0 and we gave ourselves a chance in the third, but that was about it.”

After the Falcons jumped ahead 3-0, winger Malcolm Gould got loose in the slot after taking a pass from winger Patrick Anderson. Gould’s shot was stopped by Burke, but the rebound bounced to Pietila, who wasted no time burying the puck in the net at 11:30.

The assist for Anderson was his first career point in his first career game.

“It’s been a while since I have had an opportunity to play,” said Anderson. “I was just really excited and hoping to take advantage as much as I could.”

The sophomore was the first to admit that he was not flawless in the game.

“I need to take the positives and learn from my mistakes,” said Anderson. “I definitely had some mistakes out there, it was my first game.”

Pietila cut the Falcons’ lead to one at 17:32 when he took a pass from Gould in the left corner. Backing into the left circle, Pietila ripped a shot through Burke for his second of the night.

“Against good teams, it is going to be hard to score yourself back into games,” said Huskies coach Mel Pearson. “We just have to be sure we shore that up and play better.”

The Huskies had the game’s first good scoring chance when winger C.J. Eick fed the puck from the left corner to winger Joel L’Esperance cutting to the goal. His shot was stopped by Falcons goalie Tommy Burke.

With 17 seconds left in the period, the Huskies sprung Eick on a breakaway. He attempted a backhand deke, but Burke made the save, one of his 38 for the game.

The Huskies came out flying in the second period and dominated the first seven minutes of action despite not scoring. Over the next two minutes, the game changed significantly.

The Falcons (14-4-4 overall, 10-2-2 WCHA) finally had some sustained offense on their next shift and nearly scored when Adam Berkle cut in front of the net with the puck. He was stopped, but the next shot from Connor Kucera was not as he beat Phillips at 7:29.

After a penalty was called first on the Falcons and then on the Huskies, the teams played four-on-four. The Falcons enjoyed the challenge, striking twice.

The first goal came from Brandon Hawkins on a two-on-one at 9:04. They struck again with what would stand as the game-winner when Pierre-Luc Mercier found himself alone in front of Jamie Phillips after Huskies winger Brent Baltus missed him on a backcheck. Mercier took a pass and beat Phillips at 9:24.

“I am happy with the win, for sure,” said Falcons coach Chris Bergeron. “We knew coming up here was going to be very difficult Coming up here and getting the split, that’s something that is going to stick with us.”

Matt Wintjes was inserted into the Huskies’ goal to attempt to spark the team. The move galvanized the Huskies, who got the game’s next two goals.

The Huskies came out hard in the third looking for the equalizer and thought they had it when L’Esperance got open for a pass from center Dylan Steman. His one-timer from the left side of the net was stopped by Burke.

They had another great chance just over four minutes into the period when assistant captain Cliff Watson slipped down the left boards and fired a shot on goal. Kero tipped the shot, but Burke was there to make the stop.

The hosts were awarded a five-minute major power play with 3:15 remaining in regulation, but after Tanner Kero drilled a one-timer off the left post early in the penalty, Tech could not get a good scoring chance, even after pulling Wintjes with just over a minute remaining.