TEMPE, Arizona — With a shutout win over Alaska-Anchorage Saturday, the Michigan Tech Huskies hockey team salvaged a third-place finish in the Desert Hockey Classic at Mullett Arena. That effort followed a disappointing loss to Air Force Friday in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

With the split, the Huskies improved to 12-8-2 overall and 7-3-2 in CCHA play.

Huskies 5, Seawolves 0

The Huskies shutout the Seawolves, 5-0, Saturday at Mullett Arena in the third-place game at the Desert Hockey Classic. Alternate captain Jack Anderson scored a hat trick, and junior goaltender Owen Bartoszkiewicz earned the shutout with 25 saves.

“It was a bounce back. We had great effort right from the start and controlled the game early,” Huskies coach Bill Muckalt said. “We just have to hold each other accountable every day. Consistency is hard, but we need to get out of our comfort level and be a championship team. I’m proud of the effort today. We had a lot of guys play really well.”

Anderson scored 23 seconds apart early in the game to get the momentum into the Huskies’ favor. He put in a centering feed from freshman forward Carson Birnie 3:16 into the game for his third goal of the season. Sophomore forward Tom Leppa also assisted.

Captain Isaac Gordon set up Anderson moments later for a 2-0 advantage, finding himself alone in front of the net and roofing in his eighth NCAA goal. Alternate captain Max Koskipirtti added the second assist.

Freshman forward Teydon Trembecky then scored two of his own goals for a commanding 4-0 lead. He took a long shot through traffic on the power play at 14:30 of the first period for his seventh goal of the season and fourth on the man advantage. Freshman forwards Reid Andresen and Noah Reinhart assisted on the play.

Trembecky and Reinhart had a 2-on-1 in the second period, and Trembecky ripped a wrist shot in with the assist going to alternate captain Joe Prouty at 8:51.

Anderson finished off the hat trick with 2:44 left in the game, catching a cross-ice pass from Reinhart and firing it five-hole. Sophomore forward Elias Jansson also assisted on the goal.

Bartoszkiewicz secured his second shutout of the season and the fourth of his career, stopping seven shots in the first and nine in each of the last two periods. He made a tremendous save in the late stages of the game to keep the Seawolves scoreless.

Michigan Tech was 1-for-2 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.

Falcons 8, Huskies 2

Michigan Tech fell 8-2 to Air Force in the first semifinal at the Desert Hockey Classic Friday at Mullet Arena. The Falcons scored five goals in the first period to take control in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

“We were off tonight. No excuses, and I’m not sure why,” Muckalt said. “We had a couple of really good practices down here to begin the trip, but credit Air Force. They capitalized on their chances early, and we dug ourselves a deep hole.”

Jansson had a goal and an assist for the Huskies. He scored his fourth of the season and 16th of his career 17:24 into the second to get the Black and Gold on the scoreboard. Freshman forward Reid Daavettila and Anderson assisted. Anderson extended his point streak to four games.

Sophomore forward Carson Latimer scored for the second game in a row 16:48 into the third. His fourth goal of the season was assisted by Leppa and Jansson.

Air Force had seven different goal scorers in the game. Sam Stitz had a pair of goals, both in the first period. Nick Sajevic scored 45 seconds into the game. Mason McCormick gave the Falcons a 3-0 lead before the 3:00 mark. Chris Hedden also scored in the first.

Will Staring, Aidan Willis, and Nolan Cunningham scored for Air Force in the third.

Shots favored the Falcons 38-31. Bartoszkiewicz started the game and had four saves, and sophomore goaltender Ryan Manzella made his first appearance of the season between the pipes with 26 saves.

Tech was 3-for-5 on the penalty kill and 0-for-3 on the power play.

Up next

The Huskies return to CCHA play next weekend with a pair of games at Bemidji State.