At 15-14-6 overall and 12-10-2 in CCHA play, Huskies coach Joe Shawhan is very pleased with how his group found a way to band together in a big way late in the season.

“It worked out very well,” he said. “We ended up tied for second. We were picked to finish first in the league. We ended up tied for second. We beat the three teams that were ahead of us in the standings, four out of six down the stretch with Mankato, Bowling Green and St. Thomas.”

Shawhan admitted that the team might have felt out of the race prior to the Winter Carnival series against Minnesota State, especially with injuries to a number of key players, including sophomore forward Kyle Kukkonen and junior forward Austen Swankler.

“We were five points out of a home ice playoff spot,” Shawhan said. “Really, what were the odds we were going to get a home ice playoff spot two weeks ago with four games to go? We’re five points out, and we get to play a home playoff. (The) guys get to play another series at home.”

Michigan Tech defenseman Chase Pietila makes a pass to a teammate during a game against Bowling Green State Saturday, Dec. 2, at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

Shawhan, who has spent the entire season working to help his players understand that they would find success as a team through playing with consistency, is very excited to see his group get rewarded at the end of the year.

“You are what you are at the end of the year,” he said. “You are what your record is over a period of time. That’s what we are now. To finish second tied for second is a huge accomplishment in any year.

“I’m extremely proud of the group, the resiliency, the growth way they’ve come together.”

Despite the season-ending injuries the Huskies have been dealt, the rest of the lineup has found a way to get the job done.

“We’ve shored up a lot of our weaknesses that we had,” Shawan said. “We haven’t patched it together, but there’s guys that have grown and are playing much better. There’s some really good players out of the lineup, and other guys have shown what we’ve said all along, that we like our talent level.

Part of the battle, according to Shawhan, was simply getting the players to believe in themselves.

“We felt we had depth, at times,” he said. “I think we believed in our group, individually and collectively, maybe more than they believed in themselves, individually and collectively. When they needed to perform down the stretch, I think they performed. We played our best hockey. We’ve strung together consistent games of good hockey.”

A lot of the improvement the Huskies have seen, along with the growth, has been the play of the Huskies’ defensive corps. Coming into the season, senior Jed Pietila had the most experience, having played in 35 games as a junior. Junior Trevor Russell was second, with 34 games played, but he had missed half of 2022-23 with an injury. Others who were “experienced” in terms of what year of eligibility they were in, had little to no experience. Both sophomores Kasper Vaharautio and Matthew Campbell did not dress as freshmen. Sophomore Lachlan Getz played 16 games for Boston University as a freshman. Add to that mix freshmen Chase Pietila and Nick Williams, and the Huskies were going to have to grow on the fly.

After struggling with growing pains into January, things started to click for the Huskies at Winter Carnival. With the improved defense, has come more success for fifth-year goaltender Blake Pietila, who has returned to his All-American form late in the season. He finished the regular season sporting a goals against average of 2.29 with a save percentage of .921.

“The guys are playing well,” Shawhan said. “(The) defense are moving the puck efficiently. They’re defending well. We’ve given up two goals in the last four games, I guess, three, but really, Blake has given up two goals in the last four games.

“He’s within percentage points of leading the league in every statistical category. His league goals against, I don’t know what it was last year, but this year it’s like 2.15. I mean, his numbers have crept right back into where they are career-wise, save percentage is where it is career-wise. We led the conference in defensive categories and goals against.”

SCOUTING THE FALCONS

The Falcons come into this weekend as the sixth seed in the CCHA playoffs. Before facing the Huskies on Feb. 23 and 24, the Falcons were in the midst of a 6-1-1 run that vaulted them into second place in the conference standings.

The Huskies slowed their pace with a 7-0 win on Friday and followed that up with a 3-1 win the next night. The Falcons then traveled to Marquette last weekend and lost twice to the Northern Michigan Wildcats, 4-1 and 1-0.

The Huskies own a 3-1-0 record against the Falcons this season, with the lone loss coming in overtime, 2-1, on Friday, Dec. 1.

Junior forward Ryan O’Hara leads the team in goals (10) and points (18) in 26 games. Fifth-year forward Spencer Kersten, a transfer from Princeton has also been good, scoring eight goals and 15 points in 33 games. Fifth-year forward Josh Nodler leads the team in assists (10), and has 15 points in 33 games after transferring from Massachusetts.

The Falcons are leaning on freshman goaltender Cole Moore between the pipes. At 6-foot-6, he is an imposing figure between the pipes. In 26 games played, he has started 22, going 10-12-0 with a shutout. He has a 2.87 goals against average and a .916 save percentage.

Behind Moore stands junior Christian Stoever. Stoever has seen action in 16 games, starting 12. He is 3-8-0 overall with a 3.31 goals against average and a .893 save percentage.

GAME TIMES

The Huskies and Falcons will face off Friday at 7:07 p.m. at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton to open their quarterfinal series. The two teams will go back at it Saturday at 6:07 p.m. If a third and deciding game is needed, the two teams will play Sunday evening at 5:07 p.m.