Huskies hockey settles for split against Ferris State
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BIG RAPIDS -- The No. 11 Michigan Tech Huskies went into Big Rapids this weekend to battle the previously-winless Ferris State Bulldogs. The Huskies took Friday night's game in a come-from-behind fashion, 3-1. Saturday, the Bulldogs flipped the script on the Huskies, as they were the ones to overcome a 1-0 deficit to win, 2-1, at Ewigleben Ice Arena.
With the split, the Huskies improved to 6-2 overall, and are 1-1 in CCHA play.
Huskies 3, Bulldogs 1
The Huskies opened CCHA play with a 3-1 victory at Ferris State Friday night. The Huskies trailed after the first and scored the game’s final three goals.
“Winning on the road in this league is tough, and we had a tough start, getting down early,” Huskies coach Bill Muckalt said. “Carson (Latimer) had that big goal to get us started, and then Conner (Roulette) made a great play to Isaac (Gordon) on the second goal. Give Ferris credit. They played well, and we finally got that empty-netter.
“Things happen quick in this rink, and they’re coming off a bye with fresh legs. We can build on some of the things we did well tonight and touch on the things we need to be better at tomorrow.”
Trailing 1-0 entering the second period, the Huskies turned up the offensive pressure and outshot the Bulldogs 11-4 in the frame. Latimer, a sophomore forward, tied the game 9:41 into the period with his first of the season from sophomore forward Carson Birnie and alternate captain Lucas Brenton. Latimer used speed to beat his defender on the outside, brought the puck in front, and buried his eighth career goal.
Gordon, Michigan Tech's co-captain, gave the Huskies the lead with 63 seconds left in the second, scoring his second goal of the season and the 35th of his career. Roulette, a junior forward, created an odd-man rush and fed the puck over at the last second to Gordon for a tap-in.
Ferris State pushed in the third and outshot the Huskies 12-6, but senior goaltender Owen Bartoszkiewicz, an alternate captain, was up to the task each time. Roulette sealed the win with an empty-net tally with seven seconds left for his second goal of the season and his second point of the night.
Owen Mehlenbacher opened the game’s scoring at 16:03 of the first period. Assists went to Christopher Lie and Ryan Kusler.
Shots favored the Huskies 28-25. Bartoszkiewicz made 24 saves for his sixth win of the season and the 40th of his career. Alan Lendak stopped 25 shots for the Bulldogs.
Both teams were whistled for two minor penalties, and both were 0 for 2 on the power play. Ferris State held a slight 30-29 edge in faceoff wins.
Bulldogs 2, Huskies 1
The Huskies fell 2-1 at Ferris State Saturday. Michigan Tech scored first, but surrendered a pair of goals in the first period and then couldn’t find the equalizer over the final two periods.
“We didn’t start well enough, but I liked our last 27 minutes of the game,” Muckalt said. “We lost the special teams’ game, and pucks weren’t going in for us. We have to learn to put a full 60 minutes together. They played extremely hard and desperate, and anybody can beat anybody in college hockey.”
Sophomore defenseman Reid Andresen opened the game’s scoring 9:20 into the game when senior forward Owen Baker found him open for his second goal of the season and the sixth of his career. Sophomore forward Noah Reinhart added the second assist.
The Bulldogs scored twice in the first period to take the lead. Nathan Mackie finished off a backdoor pass to tie the game at 15:58. Mehlenbacher and Jack Mesic assisted.
Akseli Pulkkanen put in a loose puck at the side of the net on the power play at 18:53 to put the home team in front, with Nathan Leek and Zach Bade getting credited with the assists.
Michigan Tech led in shots 31-26, including a 15-5 advantage in the third period.
Bartoszkiewicz made 24 saves for the Black and Gold, and Lendak earned the win with 30 saves.
The Huskies were 0 for 3 on the power play, and Ferris State was 1 for 2.
Up next
Michigan Tech has next weekend off before hosting Augustana in the CCHA home opener on Nov. 6-7.