Michigan Tech defenseman Jake Crespi controls the puck in the offensive zone during a game against St. Thomas Saturday, Jan. 14, at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — Coming off a four-point weekend against the Ferris State Bulldogs, the No. 13 Michigan Tech Huskies find themselves in striking distance of the CCHA-leading Bowling Green State Falcons with two games in hand. With a home-and-home on the horizon this weekend with the Northern Michigan Wildcats, the Huskies could go a long way towards closing that five-point gap.

The Huskies (16-7-4 overall, 9-5-4 CCHA) defeated the Bulldogs on Friday 1-0 and three times held one-goal leads on Saturday, but ultimately found themselves in a tie after regulation and also after the 3-on-3 overtime before surrendering the final point of the weekend in the shootout.

Getting a win and a tie at Ewigleben Arena is valuable for the Huskies.

“A win and a tie in a very tough building, it feels really good,” said Huskies coach Joe Shawhan. “The tough part is you come out of it, because of how it happened Saturday, you have the lead, you give up a late goal and you lose a shootout. NCAA-wise, it’s a tie, but you just come out with that sour taste.”

Shawhan felt that the Huskies’ 1-0 on Friday was one of the best performances the team has given all season.

“I thought Friday was one of our better overall team performances on the year, and I was really hoping that we would follow that up with another consistent effort game and (some) consistency,” Shawhan said. “In some ways, I thought we did a good job Saturday, and, in some ways, I didn’t think we did a very good job on Saturday. So it’s still a continued work in progress. It’s always gonna be. So long as our guys stick with it, keep working, and keep growing, we’ll keep working it.”

Given that Ferris State plays a similar style to St. Thomas, who beat the Huskies the preview Saturday, Shawhan was disappointed with the defensive effort on Saturday, since what he describes as “soft defensive zone coverage” led to all three Bulldogs’ goals.

“This week, we gave up three off of soft defensive zone coverage,” he said. “I often say that you can really judge the competitive level of a team, and of our teams over the years, by how we’re executing on faceoffs. That’ll usually transcend into how we’re defending. We lost three straight faceoffs when they had the goalie out.

“Even to take this a step further, when it was on the 3-on-3 overtime, where they had a faceoff with three seconds left, and the only real way they were going to get a scoring chance was to win the draw clean and get the shot, they did.”

Shawhan is worried about how his team is focusing when it comes to faceoffs of late.

“Everything is a concern, but everything is also an opportunity to grow,” he said. “So, when you get to those situations, those critical ones, they have their best out against what you feel is your best. So, our best needs to get better. I mean, and we have to help them do that.”

Shawhan has already been busy considering other options to help his centers succeed.

“On these particular ones, in some cases, they’re clean wins,” he said. “That’s the part we have to resolve is not these clean wins. So, maybe, we allow our wingers to help a little bit more in the faceoffs on some of these critical ones.”

Logan Pietila takes a step

One center who stood out all weekend for the Huskies was senior center Logan Pietila, twin brother of goaltender Blake Pietila, who won the CCHA Goaltender of the Week honors for his efforts against the Bulldogs.

Logan Pietila scored twice on Saturday after picking up an assist on Friday, giving him seven goals and 16 points in 27 games this season. Despite some struggles offensively this season, he is still in a position to finish his career with a new career high in points.

“It’s good to see him get rewarded with some points,” Shawhan said. “He’s really the guy that makes that line go. But, he often doesn’t get the points to show for it.

“Logan’s been a really good player for us, as a number of guys have. He’s given us four really good years. All of our seniors have given us what they have for four years to help grow the program. They’ve been part of a lot of success here.”

Logan Pietila is the type of player, according to Shawhan, who does everything the right way, even when it does not translate into points.

“He’s a tremendous player, tremendous individual,” said Shawhan. “It’s always nice to see people, (who) try to do everything the right way, have success. Your best players are your best people, and he’s certainly great there.”

Scouting the Wildcats

The Wildcats come into this weekend fresh off a split on the road with the Bemidji State Beavers. They are currently sixth in the CCHA with a record of 12-12 overall and 8-8 in conference play.

Senior A.J. Vanderbeck continues to lead the Wildcats with 12 goals and 27 points in 23 games. Senior Andre Ghantous leads the team in assists (18) and has 22 points in 24 games. Senior David Keefer is tied with Vanderbeck for the team lead in goals and has 16 points on the season.

Freshman goaltender Beni Halasz has appeared in 21 games between the pipes. He sports a 10-10 record with a 2.60 goals against average and a .911 save percentage.

Game times

Friday night’s opening faceoff is set for 7:07 p.m. at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton. Saturday’s rematch is set for 6:07 p.m. at the Berry Events Center in Marquette.