Huskies hockey takes four of six points from Vikings
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HOUGHTON -- The No. 14 Michigan Tech Huskies hockey team held their ground at home all weekend in a pair of ties against the No. 8 Augustana Vikings. The Huskies took four of a possible six points on the weekend by winning both shootouts in three rounds each night.
With the ties, the Huskies improved to 6-2-2 on the season overall and 1-1-2 in CCHA play.
Huskies 2, Vikings 2 (Saturday)
For the second night in a row, the Huskies and Vikings skated to a 2-2 tie, and Michigan Tech earned the extra CCHA point with a shootout win after overtime. The Vikings remain undefeated at 7-0-3 overall and 2-0-2 in conference play.
“It was a great weekend of college hockey. We made each other better,” Huskies coach Bill Muckalt said. “They gave us all they could handle, and I loved our character, our heart, and our resolve. We found a way to get the extra point in the shootout. It was a heck of a hockey game on both sides.”
Michigan Tech never trailed in the game. Senior forward Lauri Raiman was in the lineup for the first time this season and opened the game’s scoring 12:58 into the second period. Junior defenseman Tyler Miller worked the puck to the net. Junior forward Carson Latimer got a stick on it before Raiman put it five-hole for his sixth career goal.
The Huskies were whistled for three straight penalties, and the Vikings finally capitalized on the last one with a goal by Brett Meerman with 1:03 left in the second. The puck deflected off a Tech skate and into the net. Owen Baumgartner and Leonid Bulgakov assisted.
Michigan Tech regained its lead 7:44 into the third period with a power-play goal by Miller. His initial shot was blocked, and he put his own rebound with a shot through traffic. Sophomore defenseman Luke Shipley and co-captain Max Koskipirtti assisted on Miller’s fifth career goal.
Augustana tied the game up again at 10:26 when Hunter Bischoff scored from Brett Meerman and Easton Young. It was another deflection goal that snuck in.
The Vikings controlled most of the overtime, outshooting Tech 6-0. The visitors got a power play with 1:41 left, but alternate captain Owen Bartoszkiewicz kept the puck out to get to the shootout.
Koskipirtti scored in the shootout for the second straight night. Bartoszkiewicz stopped Jacob Jastrzebski and Brett Meerman, and then co-captain Isaac Gordon scored to send the 3,507 Michigan Tech fans happy.
Shots favored Augustana 38-35. Bartoszkiewicz made 36 saves, and Mathis Langevin stopped 33 shots on the other end of the ice.
Michigan Tech was 1 for 2 on the power play and 4 for 5 on the penalty kill.
Huskies 2, Vikings 2 (Friday)
The Huskies and Vikings skated to a 2-2 tie Friday at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The Huskies earned the extra CCHA point with a shootout win after overtime
“It was nice to get the extra point in the shootout,” Muckalt said. “Give them credit. They’re a really good hockey team. It was a really good hockey game that went back and forth all night. We had a lot of guys play well up and down the lineup, but we need to clean up our penalties and manage the puck better.”
The Huskies twice came back from a one-goal deficit. Sophomore forward Teydon Trembecky tied it with 0.9 of a second left in the first period. Bartoszkiewicz made a glove save on a 2-on-1 on the other end of the ice, and it led to a rush. Koskipirtti took a shot on a 2-on-1 for the Huskies, and Trembecky tapped in the rebound for his fourth of the season and 19th of his career. Sophomore forward Matthew Van Blaricom added the second assist.
Neither team scored in the second period, and the Vikings began the third on the power play. Baumgartner scored on the ensuing man advantage 22 seconds into the third to put the visitors back in front.
The Huskies again tied it with an odd-man rush that turned into a 3-on-1. Trembecky dropped the puck back to Shipley, who wristed in his third of the season and fifth of his career. Miller added the second assist.
Michigan Tech had to kill off a minor penalty with 2:19 left. Shots favored the Vikings 10-5 in the third and 4-1 in the overtime, but Bartoszkiewicz kept the score tied.
Koskipirtti and Trembecky scored in the shootout. Meerman found the back of the net for the Vikings before Bartoszkiewicz stopped the final two shooters to secure the extra conference point.
Joey DelGreco opened the game’s scoring 9:23 into the game with assists going to Baumgartner and Easton Young.
Shots were tied at 26 at the end of the game. Langevin had 24 saves for the Vikings, and Bartoszkiewicz also finished with 24.
Up next
The Huskies remain at home next weekend, hosting Lake Superior State for another CCHA series.