The Michigan Tech men’s hockey team celebrates its double-overtime win against Ferris State during the CCHA quarterfinals on Saturday, March 5, 2022, in Houghton, Mich. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — With a pair of 3-2 victories in overtime last weekend over the seventh-seeded Ferris State Bulldogs, the No. 13 Michigan Tech Huskies, who entered the CCHA playoffs as the No. 2 seed, return to the friendly confines of the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena on Saturday for a semifinal matchup with No. 3-seed Bemidji State.

Puck drop is 6:07 p.m. Saturday.

The Beavers enter the weekend after eliminating Bowling Green in three games.

Michigan Tech is coming off a sweep against Ferris State, but it was far from easy. On Friday, the Huskies’ 1-0 lead turned into a 2-1 deficit, before tying the game midway through the third period and winning in overtime. On Saturday, the Huskies’s 2-0 lead evaporated in the third period and leading to a lot of extra hockey. Junior winger Parker Saretsky scored 6:34 into the second overtime for the win.

For Huskies coach Joe Shawhan, the important thing was his team advanced.

“You know, we survived,” he said. “That’s all you are trying to do at this point of the year. It’s just getting on to the next round and then trying to figure that out.

“Ferris State played really well. Watching on video, we find some similarities between what they do and what Bemidji is doing right now. Finding out what we may or may not have been able to do against, in that series, lends itself a little bit to what we’re going to face now. That’s probably, hopefully, a good thing for us.”

The Huskies last faced the Beavers on Jan. 28-29 when they swept with a pair of 5-2 wins. For the Beavers, that weekend fell in the middle of a stretch where they lost six games in a row. They lost 12 of 16 over a stretch from Dec. 10 through Feb. 19. 

In the two wins against the Falcons last weekend, sophomore winger Lukas Sillinger scored a goal and an assist on Saturday and added another on Sunday while his older brother Owen had an assist Saturday and a goal and assist on Sunday.

“I think the biggest thing is your top players need to perform, and they did,” Shawhan said. “They came back. They lost the first game to Bowling Green. They came back. Those guys scored. They performed.”

Shawhan knows that depth will be a key component of Saturday’s matchup, provided the Huskies can contain the Sillingers.

“If they’re able to exert their will, then Bemidji will have confidence in their game,” Shawhan said. “If they’re not, then it’ll come down to depth, as it was for us last weekend.”

In the series in January, Lukas had three goals and an assist over the course of the weekend, while Owen was held off the scoresheet entirely.

“We have to play our game,” Shawhan said. “We have to play our game. We’re not going to go out there and just watch two guys, three guys. We’re going to try to get the players that we feel can best give us a complete shift against those individuals, and go from there.”

The Huskies’ depth factored heavily last weekend, especially in the double-overtime win. The line of Saretsky, junior center Logan Ganie, and junior winger Jake Crespi saw a lot of playing time throughout the night, as Shawhan and his staff worked hard behind the scenes to get the team’s other three lines to play with similar pace. Typically slotted as the fourth line on the depth chart, Shawhan was extremely pleased with what he saw out of the trio.

“I don’t think they were fourth line this weekend,” he said. “They weren’t a fourth line. They were, arguably, our most productive line. So 5-on-5, they weren’t our fourth line. We didn’t use them as our fourth line. I know, characteristically, people identify that, but to me, whoever’s going is our (top line). They weren’t our fourth line. They were one of our top two lines on the weekend.”

Saretsky found himself on Ganie’s line once sophomore winger Tyrone Bronte took his spot on a line with sophomore winger Ryland Mosley and sophomore center Arvid Caderoth. The move actually worked in Saretsky’s favor, however, as he was the recipient of a pass from Ganie, in the second overtime, that led to the series-winning tally.

It was Saretsky’s first goal since Oct. 9 at Wisconsin during the season-opening weekend.

“I think he’s (Saretsky) been good all year, in that regard, in bringing a real positive energy,” said Shawhan. “I give him total credit, because he had a really good start that first weekend, and then he’s been battling, battling through some things. He missed a week here and there because of illness and stuff, and then trying to get it back.”

Shawhan likes what he sees in his winger’s attitude.

“When I’m around, I see an energy level and excitement, a focus,” Shawhan said. “It was good to see him get rewarded for that, because he has been upbeat with whatever personal frustrations he may have.”

Scouting the Beavers

Senior forward Owen Sillinger leads the Beavers with 16 goals and 45 points in 37 games. Senior winger Alex Ierullo has 14 goals and 39 points in 37 games. Lukas Sillinger has 15 goals and 35 points in 35 games.

Junior defenseman Elias Rosen leads the blue line corps with seven goals, including a team-high four power play tallies, and 24 points in 36 games.

Freshman Mattias Sholl has started 23 games out of the 24 he has seen action in this season between the pipes. He carries a 2.82 goals against average and a .901 save percentage into the weekend.

Other semifinal in Mankato

In the other CCHA semifinal, the fifth-seeded Northern Michigan Wildcats, who made a surprise run last year to the WCHA Tournament title game, are back in the same position again, facing the top-seeded Minnesota State Mavericks on their ice. 

The Wildcats dropped both games to the Mavericks in Mankato on Oct. 29 and 30, but beat them, 4-2, at the Berry Events Center on Jan. 14. The Mavericks responded with a 4-1 win the following night.

A.J. Vanderbeck led the way for the Wildcats with two goals and an assist on the weekend. Alex Frye picked up a goal in each game as well.

The Mavericks advanced to the semifinals by sweeping the St. Thomas Tommies. On Friday, the Tommies held leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but eventually fell, 3-2. Saturday, the teams were tied, 1-1, heading into the second period before Ryan Sandelin scored on the power play, which opened the floodgates. The Mavericks scored six more times before the final buzzer to win, 8-2.