Huskies hockey debuts fresh faces along with veteran lineup
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HOUGHTON -- Saturday morning, fans of the Michigan Tech Huskies hockey program had a chance to see a sneak peek into the upcoming college hockey season as the Huskies took part in their second annual McCarthy "Meet the Hockey Huskies" Community Mixer at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
In the end Team Black emerged with the win, 4-3, in a lengthy shootout.
The Huskies debuted four transfers in sophomore defenseman Luke Shipley, junior forward Giovanni Morneau, junior defenseman Lucas Brenton, and junior forward Conner Roulette. Add to that group four freshmen in defensemen Austin Moline and Morgan Brady, along with forward Tristan Delisle and goaltender Joey Costanzo, and the Huskies showed off less than half the total of freshmen and transfers that they added to last year's roster.
Keeping the core together was something that the coaching staff wanted to do, and that showed in the growth of the core from last season to now.
"Obviously, just really excited about the returning players," said Huskies coach Bill Muckalt. "I think they’ve taken a step. They look a little faster, a little stronger. It’s made practice run a little bit smoother, just with the majority knowing the drills."
Muckalt loves what he is already seeing from the four players who joined the program this season with real-world college hockey experience, whether in the U.S. or Canada.
"(We're) excited about the pieces that we added," he said. "I thought we have improved down the middle with Gio Morneau and Tristan Delisle. Conner Roulette is, obviously, a big-time playmaker, so, (we) really like that.
"On the back end, we have some timber back there. We have some lumber. Lucas Brenton and Morgan Brady and Austin Moline, are all big-body, heavy, and can defend. So (we) really like it."
Brenton, who played last season for the University of Manitoba, is listed on the Huskies' roster as standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 220 pounds, but Muckalt jokes he might be even bigger than that.
"I love what he brings," said Muckalt. "He’s heavy. (He) defends. He has good feet for a big guy. He seems to be really coachable. He’s got a presence about him. I think he’s bigger than 6-foot-4. He’s a big man, and I think he’s just scratching the surface on the player that he can be."
At 6-foot, Luke Shipley, who played last season for Massachusetts-Lowell, shows a mobility that matches well with junior defenseman Tyler Miller, who had a quiet summer this offseason after dealing with injuries previously.
"Tyler had a healthy summer," Muckalt said. "He had an ACL (tear) two years ago, comes off of that and then has an appendix. So, (for) him to have a summer to train, he just looks like he’s taking a step. He’s a pleasure to coach. He’s fun to watch.
"Shipley, he was better in the game (Saturday) than he’s been in practice, and he’s been good in practice. You could really see some of his vision and poise, and, obviously, had a good release there on the goal he scored too."
Between Roulette and Morneau, the Huskies are hoping to make up for a lot of what they lost with the graduation of Stiven Sardarian, who scored 12 goals and 44 points to lead the team last season. Roulette is a 5-foot-10 forward who played for the University of Saskatchewan last year, while Morneau is 5-foot-9 and was with Lindenwood last season.
"Somebody’s got to pick up the workload, and I think it’ll be between Roulette and Gio Morneau," said Muckalt. "You can see how poised they are with the puck. We have a lot of returning players that can finish too, with 'Koski' (Max Koskipirtti) and 'Trem' (Teydon Trembecky) and (Noah) Reinhart, and that group."
Another key piece of the core did not skate Saturday, but captain Isaac Gordon is back for his fourth season in Black and Gold. He finished third on the team in scoring last season with eight goals and 29 points.
"(I'm) excited," he said. "I think the group is a pretty special group. Just the feeling around Houghton, the locker room, is a pretty confident one. I think, going into this year, we can set some pretty high expectations for ourselves."
Considering how many new faces the Huskies had last year, Gordon feels confident that this year's team is coming into the season with a better sense of itself.
"I think last year we might have just lacked a little bit of experience in the college game," he said. "I think we dropped some games early in the year that, looking back on it, if we would have won those, we were probably in the NCAA tournament last year. So, I think with that experience under our belt, especially for the guys who came in last year as freshmen, just going to some of those games this year, we will be able to take a little bit of a step from there, win those games, and just realize how important every weekend is."
Also scoring in Saturday's intersquad game were sophomore forward Michael Cicek for Team Gold in the first half, Morneau for Team Black in the second half, and Koskipirtti and junior defenseman Luca Fasciano for Team Gold during 3-on-3 play. In the shootout at the end, senior forward Owen Baker scored for Team Black, along with Delisle.
One goaltender stood out above the rest in the shootout, and that was senior Owen Bartozskiewicz. He led the Huskies last season, appearing in 34 games, sporting a 2.58 goals against average and a .911 save percentage.
"I thought he was phenomenal in the shootout," Muckalt said. "I think (he was) really solid there. Even the one that did beat him, I think was a pass on that 2-on-1, the one that 'Cheech' (Cicek) scored. I don’t even know if it was a shot. You’re going to get a bounce there.
"But, he’s rock solid. I mean, he’s going to be the backbone of our team, and he’s phenomenal. I have a lot of confidence, a lot of trust in him, and he’s a great goalie."