Michigan Tech forward Noah Reinhart turns after crossing the blue line during an intrasquad game on Saturday, Sept. 13, at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — After earning a split on the road against then-No. 8 Minnesota, the Michigan Tech Huskies hockey team has spent the last week battling with each other, rather than preparing for another opponent. While the time to work with the 18 new faces, 13 freshmen and five transfers, has been good for first-year head coach Bill Muckalt and his staff, it has also been a bit of a frustration.

The good news? The Huskies hit the road this weekend to face the Alaska Nanooks in Fairbanks, Alaska.

“I think having a bye week’s tough this early in the year, watching other teams play, as much as you can try and replicate in practice the intensity, I don’t think there’s any substitute for playing,” he said. “Having said that, I think we had a good week of practice. I thought we had an awesome morning today (Monday). We look ready to play, and now it’s get there, obviously it’s a long travel trip, but they’re in our way.”

Muckalt and his staff have been working to stress the type of culture they want the Huskies to have.

“That’s the culture that we’re trying to establish, the standard, the expectation, the execution in practice and then the growth, continuing to get better, continuing to play faster, play connected, really execute at a high level, you know, between special teams and 5-on-5 play,” Muckalt said. “Just really trying to work on all our systems.”

The Huskies debuted their forecheck against the Golden Gophers during their series two weeks ago, and, at times, they hemmed the Gophers in their own end for stretches.

“Well, hockey is a physical game, it’s a contact sport, but we have to really be hungry about winning races and battles, and the route that we’re taking,” said Muckalt. “It’s a five-man unit. Everybody’s got a job to do. You have to run your route. You have do your job for the system to be successful.

“Then, that just helps us play into our identity. So, the better job that we can do with that, then we’re going to get pucks, and we’re going to be able to be creative and go on offense.”

With so much practice time, the Huskies have had a lot of time to focus on building comradery.

“Obviously, there are a lot of new faces, so a lot of freshmen, a lot of new players,” Muckalt said. “They’re learning what it takes to be successful at this level. We’ve seen a lot of growth up and down the lineup throughout to date. But, having said that, we’re just embarking on our journey. If we are running a triathlon, we might be a couple hundred yards into, or a couple hundred meters into the pool. So, there’s a lot left here. This is just the start.”

With 33 players on roster, the Huskies have competition at every position. Muckalt figures that there will be changes made to the lineup even this weekend.

“Yeah, we’ll see where that goes,” he said. “I think there’s some real healthy competition up and down the lineup. One of the toughest parts with coaching and lineup is decisions and travel roster. That makes it really difficult.

“I wish we could bring everybody we have. I really, really like everybody in that locker room. Our staff does. They add value to our group. So, rosters are like weather. They can change at times. It’s not sunny and 70. We’re not in San Diego.”

Scouting the Nanooks

The Nanooks enter this weekend 1-3 on the season, but with losses to Minnesota-Duluth and then-No. 15 Arizona State wrapped around a 2-1 win over then No. 8 Quinnipiac as part of the Icebreaker Tournament at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona.

They are led offensively by fifth-year forward Michael Citara, who has scored a goal in each of the team’s last three games. He has four points already in four games.

Sophomore defenseman Nathan Rickey has three assists in his last two games, including a pair against the Sun Devils. His three assists lead the team.

Senior goaltender Lassi Lehti has started three of the four games the Nanooks have played. He has a 3.07 goals against average and a .911 save percentage.

Muckalt is impressed by how hard on pucks the Nanooks are.

“They’re heavy,” he said. “They just knocked off No. 8 Quinnipiac. They found a way to win the game, obviously. Played Duluth twice, and then Arizona State, it was 2-1 with eight and a half minutes to go in the third period. I think Arizona had five power play goals, and kind of pulled away from that game. But, they’re heavy. They’re physical. They compete hard.

“We’re going to get their best game.”

Game times

The Huskies and Nanooks are set to play both Friday and Saturday night at 11:07 p.m. Eastern time in Fairbanks, Alaska.