Huskies hockey prepares for first CCHA series of season
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HOUGHTON -- With a 3-0 shutout Friday, and a 4-2 win Saturday, the No. 11 Michigan Tech Huskies hockey team swept the Alaska Nanooks last weekend in the final non-conference games for the Huskies until Great Lakes Invitational in late December. This weekend, the Huskies hit the road to open CCHA play in Big Rapids against the Ferris State Bulldogs.
The Huskies' returners learned a key lesson last season in a loss to the Nanooks in Fairbanks, Alaska. This season, the Huskies got the job done.
"Anytime you can sweep in college hockey, mission accomplished," Huskies coach Bill Muckalt said. "It’s definitely the goal. It’s hard to sweep every weekend. Give Alaska credit. I thought they played hard, but (I am) really proud of our effort as a group, especially on Saturday. (We) faced some adversity, and the way we handled it, I was really proud of our group."
The message to the team was to "control what you can control."
"Obviously, the implications of NPI, out-of-conference play, of the national tournament at the end of the year, you want to take care of your business," Muckalt said. "Control what you can control."
Friday, the Huskies got goals from sophomore forward Matthew Van Blaricom, junior forward Connor Roulette, and junior defenseman Tyler Miller. Saturday, the Huskies bounced back from a 2-1 deficit to earn the win,
"Great effort on Friday," said Muckalt. "I thought 'Bart' (senior goaltender Owen Bartoszkiewicz) was outstanding. Thought we started a little sluggish on Friday, but the last two periods were excellent. Give their goaltender credit. I thought Tyler Shea played extremely well and made some saves that he just found a way to keep some pucks out of the net.
"But the resolve, the resiliency in our group, the maturity to, if we’re not getting a call or that, to fight through that. Down 2-1, we had a bobble puck, and created a turnover. That’s going to happen in the game. Guy made a heck of a play on Bart, and it’s 2:1. But, we made the most of our opportunities, and I loved the bounce back in our group. The rest of the game, we kind of took control of it and found a way to close it out."
A big reason for the Huskies' comeback Saturday was the third period play of sophomore defenseman Luke Shipley. Shipley, who scored two goals all last season at Massachusetts-Lowell, scored twice in the final frame.
"He’s fun to coach," Muckalt said. "He’s grown a lot since he’s been here. He’s starting to fit in and feel comfortable. I think him and Tyler Miller have some chemistry, but on his first goal, on the power play in particular, he got to a great spot to shoot the puck. Elias Janssen did an unbelievable job taking away the goalie’s eyes, and I think he got a lot on that shot. It was the location, top glove was fantastic.
"The same with the game-winner. He got down into a great area to shoot pucks. That’s something that we’ve been working on as a group, as a team, a location that is a Grade 'A' scoring chance. Those two goals, I think, give players confidence moving forward. You can see him get more comfortable in practice every day, and it’s nice to see him get rewarded."
While Van Blaricom has thrived in an expanded role, and Shipley is settling in on the blue line, the Huskies are going to have their depth tested again this weekend as sophomore forward Teydon Trembecky is likely to miss time with an injury.
"It’ll be the next man up mentality," said Muckalt. "He’s, obviously, a special player. He’s going to be a hard guy to replace. But, we have depth on this team, and it’s an opportunity for somebody else to step up and take advantage of that ice time."
The Huskies have already played this season without co-captain Isaac Gordon, and they swept the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the process.
"That’s our mentality as a group, and that’s the challenge," Muckalt said. "As a coach, you say, 'Play better, I’ll play you more.' As a player, you say, 'Play me more, coach. I’ll play better.' Take advantage of that opportunity."
Scouting the Bulldogs
The Ferris State Bulldogs are still searching for their first win of the season after opening the season with a loss and a tie against Canisius and a pair of losses to Western Michigan in their first two weekends of the season.
Five different Bulldogs scored in a 5-5 tie with Canisius Saturday, Oct. 3. Junior forward Zach Bade, senior forward Owen Mehlenbacher, freshman forward Hudson Darby, sophomore defenseman Brian Morse, and sophomore forward Justin Stupka all helped put the Bulldogs up 5-3.
The Bulldogs have used two goaltenders, junior Martin Lundberg, and freshman Alan Lendak. Neither has taken the reins and run with it yet.
Game times
The Huskies and Bulldogs will face off both Friday and Saturday night at 7:07 p.m. at the Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapids.