Huskies hockey opens season with victory over Minnesota
Van Blaricom racks up three points in win
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HOUGHTON -- With the season-opening delayed by nearly 24 hours, the No. 19 Michigan Tech Huskies took advantage of the extra rest, and skated to a 3-2 victory in their game Saturday against the No. 14 Minnesota Golden Gophers at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
Sophomore winger Matthew Van Blaricom, who had 10 points in his freshman year in 2025-26, scored twice and added an assist in the victory.
"Like I said to our guys, different guys are going to get rewarded on different nights," said Huskies coach Bill Muckalt. "We had only one power play, and I think they only had maybe two power plays, so it wasn’t one of those games. I thought the officials did a really good job, but you’re going to have nights where you get offense from different guys, or different matchups."
Van Blaricom broke through for the first time at 16:19 of the opening period off a feed from sophomore winger Carson Birnie, when he found space in the slot and buried a wrist shot. His second came on a very similar-looking play in the third period to break a 2-2 tie at 11:41 when he buried a pass from sophomore defenseman Kalem Parker.
"It was a surreal feeling, especially hearing my name chanted, that’s pretty sweet," he said, "but, I mean, all the credit goes to the rest of the team. We played our hearts out tonight, stuck to the game plan, just made it happen."
He admitted that he was not so much looking to score as he was just trying to get pucks on net.
"The first one just kind of popped out," he said. "I was just trying to get it on net, and I found a way in there. The second one is a great feed by 'Parks' there. He fed it over to me. (I) just got her and ripped it. Same thing, (it) just found a way to get in.
"Just get it on net and see what happens."
As if the two goals scored weren't enough, Van Blaricom also added the primary assist on junior center Elias Janssen's tally 6:29 into the middle frame. Van Blaricom got the puck to Janssen in the slot, and Janssen beat Minnesota goaltender Luca Di Pasquo with a wrist shot.
"I thought Elias had a great game," said Muckalt. "That’s what we’re going to need on a nightly basis is those contributions, for sure."
The Huskies (1-0 overall) started the game tentatively, and the Gophers jumped all over them for the first five or so minutes of the game, taking advantage of early turnovers.
"We want to play fast," Muckalt said. "We want to break it out. Kudos to them with the forecheck. I think we turned over a couple of pucks and mismanaged. They’re a great transition team, so they got some chances there."
After that initial surge, the Huskies settled down, started to complete passes, and then they pushed back.
"I feel like we settled in well," said alternate captain Lucas Brenton. "I feel like we played our game, and we played our style of hockey. We brought it to them, physical, gritty, hard on the forecheck, and we took it to them."
That adjustment led to Van Blaricom's first goal. From there, the Huskies kept the pressure on for the better part of the second half of the opening period.
Minnesota scored their first goal, tying the game at 1-1, just 1:25 into the second period when a miscue at center ice saw Tate Pritchard get loose and skate between the Huskies defenders before beating alternate captain Owen Bartoszkiewicz with a wrist shot on a breakaway.
After Janssen regained the lead for the Huskies, the Gophers found a way to answer 2:27 later when Beckett Hendrickson attempted a wraparound, and then kept poking at the loose puck under Bartoszkiewicz until he pushed it through and into the net at 8:46.
Minnesota held a slight shooting advantage heading into the third period, but the Huskies kept putting pressure on in the frame until Van Blaricom struck. From there, Bartoszkiewicz shut the door for the remainder of the net, finishing with 29 saves.
"He made a couple big saves early where we turned pucks over," said Muckalt. "They pushed back, but he stayed in it. I thought in the third, he made some sharp saves for us.
"Not giving up that one-goal cushion, I think, was huge. Even at the end, he just looked calm, cool, and collective. So, good for him. I’m sure it’s got to feel good for him."
Di Pasquo finished with 25 saves for Minnesota.
Taking a bigger role
With co-captain Isaac Gordon hurt, Van Blaricom stepped up in a big way for the Huskies. Muckalt said that, in practice, he has been working hard to take on a bigger challenge in his second season in Black and Gold.
"He’s taking tremendous steps," Muckalt said. "He looks like a different hockey player. He’s stronger, he’s faster, he’s healthy. But, he’s been that way since Day One this year. That’s a good bonus, especially with having Isaac Gordon out right now. He’s kind of stepped up and been a pleasant surprise after not being able to play yesterday (due to ice conditions)."
Experiencing the 'Mac'
Breton, sophomore defenseman Luke Shipley, and junior forwards Connor Roulette and Giovanni Morneau all took the ice for Michigan Tech for the first time Saturday night. With the Pep Band rocking, and the Misfits making noise, the four transfers all had their first experience with everything the MacInnes Student Ice Arena had to offer.
"It felt unbelievable," said Brenton. "Obviously, it was a long training camp with the boys there and just getting to know the group. New group of guys, new coaching staff, and we were ready to go. It was amazing with that fan base and that group of guys."
Returning players did the best they could to prepare the new faces for that first game.
"That’s all the talk’s been about the last month, is how good this town is, how good the crowd is, how good the community is," Brenton said. "So to step out and see it ourselves, I mean, or for myself, it was everything I could ask for."