David Archambeau/Daily Mining Gazette Michigan Tech celebrates after beating Bowling Green 3-2 in the WCHA Championship March 18 at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

HOUGHTON — In team sports, as in life, there is a tendency to judge a season on how a given team finished. The Michigan Tech Huskies hockey program’s last game this season came during the opening round of the NCAA Midwest Regional against the top-seeded Denver Pioneers. In that loss, the Huskies uncharacteristically surrendered five straight goals to open the contest en route to a 5-2 loss.

It would be easy to think of the season as a disappointment based on that performance.

The Huskies clearly did not play a very good hockey game for the entirety of that final 60-minute affair. The loss left an awful taste in the mouth of the players, the coaches and even the fans — those that made the trek to Cincinnati and those who stayed back in the greater Houghton area.

However, the 2016-17 season was actually a very successful one for the Huskies as they racked up 23 or more wins for the third straight season, won the WCHA Playoffs for the first time since 1962 and earned their second trip to the NCAA Tournament in three years.

Oh, and that WCHA Playoff title, which included the Huskies’ first-ever Broadmoor Trophy, which was won at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

“It was a phenomenal experience for so many reasons,” said coach Mel Pearson. “Number one, to win the Broadmoor [Trophy]. Number two, to secure an NCAA bid because of that. More important than all of that is being able to share that with your fans. That’s history! It was a very rewarding experience.”

The Huskies came into the season without the likes of a Tanner Kero, an Alex Petan or even a Blake Pietila, and that led to questions about where the offense was going to come from. To make matters worse, junior Joel L’Esperance, who scored 26 points as a sophomore, scored just two points in the first 10 games. Sophomore Jake Lucchini had just three points through the first 10.

Senior Tyler Heinonen had just 13 points all season.

It was no surprise that the Huskies’ blue line, which included three seniors and two juniors, overworked themselves trying to make up for the lack of offense, creating more problems than it solved.

“With the goals we were giving up, they were trying to do too much offensively,” said Pearson. “Consequently, they made mistakes, but that [showed] how much they cared. They were trying to do the right thing.”

Add to all of that the fact that junior Dylan Steman, who had missed significant time as a sophomore with a lower-body injury, suffered a concussion against Michigan State in the 12th game of the season and never returned. Senior Brent Baltus, who had just four points through his first 14 games of the season, was diagnosed with a blood-clotting problem that took him out of the lineup permanently as well.

Suddenly, Pearson and the Huskies found themselves putting their fingers in the cracks of the dam, plugging one hole only to discover another one just out of reach.

“We lost Baltus and Dylan Steman, who we thought were going to be key components and critical pieces,” said Pearson. “When we lost them…I had some reservations sometimes about how we were going to do it without those guys.”

With the team off to a 1-5-2 start, Pearson and the staff felt the team sat on the edge of a precipice where the season was either going to be lost or — if they acted immediately — saved by a singular decision to turn over the goaltending duties to freshman Angus Redmond.

The 20-year-old had been less-than-impressive in his Michigan Tech debut in an intrasquad scrimmage before the season began, and had surrendered two goals in 12 minutes of play against Alabama-Huntsville in his official debut.

Pearson asked a lot of his assistant coach, Joe Shawhan, in getting Redmond ready for his first career start, which was set to come against rival Northern Michigan at home. Shawhan’s hard work with Redmond paid off almost immediately as the youngster stopped all 19 shots he faced to earn a shutout win.

“We just had to try something different,” said Pearson. “Sometimes, as a coach, you have to make a decision to go in a different direction. It was tough. We did that, and Angus was ready.”

With Redmond settling in, the Huskies’ defense settled down and a freshman emerged, demanding playing time with his strong play. Mitch Reinke only put up eight points before the GLI, but his play in both ends of the rink was consistent, forcing Pearson’s staff to look for ways to keep him in the lineup.

The injuries to Steman and Baltus inadvertently created that space, as senior Chris Leibinger took on the Herculean task of making the transition to forward, a move that worked out better than anyone could have imagined throughout the remainder of the season.

“He might have been the most valuable player in a lot of different ways,” said Pearson. “He didn’t worry about it. He just went out and played. He did a fantastic job.”

Reinke remained strong throughout the rest of the season, scoring 20 points and earning All-WCHA Rookie Team honors.

“Mitch was outstanding, he was fantastic,” said Pearson. “You have to take that step. He was ready to make that step. He’s a hockey player.  A lot of guys think they are hockey players, but he is a hockey player.”

After that abysmal start, the Huskies turned around their season with a 12-3-1 run to close out 2016 that included a 2-0 shutout over Michigan to open the GLI. During that win against the Wolverines, another defender, sophomore Dane Birks, scored his first career goal.

Birks went on from there to finish the season with two goals and nine points.

“Birks has got some talent,” said Pearson. “He was one of those guys who needed a chance to play more. I think he has a lot more to give. Sometimes, he doesn’t realize how good he can be.”

The Huskies continued their strong play into 2017, and despite not having the record to show for it, closed the second half of their season strong. Going 5-5-4 officially, the Huskies were still playing good hockey, especially at home prior to a 5-3 loss on Senior Night to the Wildcats.

That was when the second season-defining moment took place, involving a speech captain Cliff Watson delivered to a dejected locker room after the loss on the final day of the regular season.

“That was a key,” said Pearson. “That showed the leaders [in the locker room] and how good they were. When we lost that game to Northern, I think that was a little bit of a wake-up call, so we refocused and everything and got our guys more interested in the hockey we had to play. They did a fantastic job.”

The next weekend, the Huskies opened the WCHA playoffs with a 6-4 win over Lake Superior State. They followed that up with an 8-0 win over the Lakers and a 5-1 win in the opener over Minnesota State the following Friday.

The offense had finally arrived.

“Being able to score some goals, it’s amazing what happens when you get a couple of goals,” said Pearson about the impact of scoring. “It gave us a lot of confidence. It gets a lot of guys going. Once you do it, you can see it is a great feeling.”

After a bump in the road that resulted in a 1-0 loss to the Mavericks, the Huskies figured out how to play like a team with their collective backs against the wall, and that helped them to a 4-1 win in a deciding Game 3 against the Mavericks and then to a 3-2 double overtime victory in the WCHA Playoff Championship over Bowling Green.

While the 2016-17 season did not have the pizazz of the 2014-15 campaign — where Michigan Tech started 10-0 — nor the thrill of a GLI victory like in 2012 or tie for the MacNaughton Cup on the final day of the regular season, it did feature the first Broadmoor in school history, which was won at the MacInnes in exciting fashion, and a second trip to the NCAA Tournament in three seasons.