Michigan Tech forward Teydon Trembecky fires a shot during a game against Augustana Saturday at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — With a win in overtime Friday and a win in regulation Saturday, the No. 17 Michigan Tech Huskies hockey team took five of a possible six points from the then-No. 16 Augustana Vikings during Winter Carnival weekend. With the wins, the Huskies moved to within two points of No. 15 St. Thomas, the CCHA leader, in the race for the regular season title.

“It’s just that time of year, right? It all stacks up,” said Huskies coach Bill Muckalt. “We’re in a competitive race. Five teams are pushing for home ice. So, I was really happy with the weekend. I thought the crowd was electric.

“We have two weekends left, four games. It’s coming right down to the wire. So, every point that we can get is critical for our group.”

The Huskies improved to 20-10-2 overall and 15-5-2 in conference play. Even more impressively, they did it without the services of leading scorer Stiven Sardarian, a senior forward, who missed the series due to illness, and with captain Isaac Gordon’s ice time limited Friday before being ruled out for Saturday’s contest.

“I think it just talks about the character of our group,” Muckalt said. “We as coaches, all the time, talk about the strength of the pack. Packs thrive, lone wolves starve. We’re only as strong as our weakest link.

“Obviously, ‘Stiv’ and ‘Gordo’ have been so huge for us all year. It was another opportunity for guys to step up. I thought Lauri Raiman and Michael Cicek were excellent. They didn’t just fill a role. They added value to our group. The way we played 5-on-5 this weekend was outstanding, the group effort, really. Really proud of the guys.”

Raiman, a junior forward, had an assist Saturday, while Cicek, a freshman forward, had a goal Saturday to tie the game at 1-1. Playing alongside alternate captain Max Koskipirtti, the pair made it possible for Koskipirtti to score the game-winner on Friday and pick up two assists Saturday, one each on the tying and game-winning goals.

“No question, I think ‘Koski’ had three points on the weekend, so good for him, but (that was) just a credit to those guys,” said Muckalt. “They come to the rink. They work hard every day. They’re coachable. They want to get better. It says a lot.

“They haven’t played as much. Competition breeds success. But, they stuck with it, and when they got the opportunity, they took advantage of it. Everybody wants to play, but what are you going to do when you play? So, I was really happy with their game, obviously. Lauri with an assist, Mike with a really good goal on Saturday. So, good for them.”

Cicek is part of a 12-player freshman class that has been instrumental in the Huskies’ recent success.

“(There’s) just growth in them, for sure,” Muckalt said. “(We) don’t look them as freshmen anymore. They’ve been around. We’ve been on the road. They know what it takes to have success in college. But, they’ve done an outstanding job to a man. You can see the improvement, the growth. Just talking to them off the ice, you can see how they carry themselves. That’s an exciting part of kind of that first year of coming in, a new level, a lot of times, sometimes it’s being away from home or being truly on your own. So, to see that growth, and learning how to manage time, and everything else, and go to class and play, I’ve been really encouraged by that group. Even for some of the kids maybe coming from the CHL, that had to get back into it, they’ve excelled in the classroom. So, hats off to those guys.”

Running the gauntlet again

In the past month, the Huskies have beaten Bemidji State on the road, then-No. 17 Minnesota State at home, Northern Michigan on the road, then-No. 15 St. Thomas on the road, and then Augustana at home. In their second run through the CCHA gauntlet, the Huskies are 8-2, which is much better than the 3-3-2 run they had in November against Northern Michigan, Bemidji State, then-No. 14 Minnesota State, and St. Thomas.

“I feel like we played fairly well in those games, and we kind of got an education of sorts when things went wrong,” said Muckalt. “It was painful, and we were right there. I think it came down to a lot of one plays, or one mistake, and maybe the other team making one more good play.

“We found a way to kind of flip the script, turn the tide. We’re finding ways to play to our identity, and overcome that. So, that’s probably the difference, other than, maybe, the result.”

Scouting the Lakers

The Lake Superior State Lakers come into this weekend 9-18-1 overall and 6-14 in CCHA play coming off a bye week. They lost to Augustana, 6-1 and 4-1, in their most recent games.

They are led offensively by freshman forward Calem Magone, who has nine goals and 19 points in 28 games, and sophomore forward William Ahlrik, who has seven goals and 19 points in 28 games.

Senior forward Ryan Beck has also been good, scoring five goals and 16 points.

In goal, sophomore Rorke Applebee has appeared in 25 games, starting 22 of them. He has an 8-14 record with a 2.71 goals against average and a .921 save percentage with one shutout.

Game times

The Huskies and Lakers are set to battle Friday at the Taffy Abel Arena in Sault Ste. Marie, at 7:07 p.m. Saturday, the two teams will face off again, this time at 6:07 p.m.