This story is courtesy of MTU Athletics
MARQUETTE— Pheonix Copley stopped 37 shots, and Tanner Kero scored the game-winning goal in the third period to give Michigan Tech a 3-2 victory at Northern Michigan tonight and the home-and-home series sweep of the Wildcats.
The Huskies (14-16-6, 12-10-4 WCHA) killed off 1:35 of 4-on-3 power play and another :25 of 5-on-3 for NMU in a frenetic final four minutes to hang on for the victory.
"It wasn't our best game tonight, and a large part of that was Northern," said coach Mel Pearson. "They came out with a lot of urgency. It was a great, gutsy effort by our guys."
Tanner Kero broke up a 2-all tie 4:49 into the third period on a tip-in of an Alex Petan centering pass. The goal stood up as the game winner although it wasn't for lack of chances.
The hosts put 13 shots on goal in the final frame. Copley was up to the challenge. He made an incredible toe save on Reed Seckel to keep the Huskies in front midway through the frame.
NMU's Dominik Shine was whistled for a five-minute major for contact to the head at the 12:32 mark. The Huskies had two great chances on the extended power play before Jacob Johnstone was called for goaltender interference at 15:58. Tech was also assessed a bench minor at that time, leading to the 4-on-3 and 5-on-3 situations.
With Blake Pietila and David Johnstone both in the penalty box as well serving 10-minute misconducts, Tech was extremely shorthanded.
NMU (12-18-2, 10-13-1 WCHA) applied as much pressure as it could muster, but Copley kept the puck out of the net for the final 4:02 to preserve the victory.
"Sometimes you get outplayed, and you need your goaltender to steal one for you. He did," said Pearson. "This was his best performance of the season."
Opposite of last night's game, Tech was the team scoring the early goal. Pietila fired a pass from the half wall to Reid Sturos on the back door. Sturos tapped it in at the 3:56 mark for this fourth goal of the weekend.
The teams skated 6:12 into the second period before NMU tied the score with a power-play goal from Shine.
The Huskies regained their lead at the 14:04 mark when Daniel Holmberg tallied his second goal of the season. Blake Hietala won the puck behind the net and fed it to Holmberg, who took his time and picked the upper corner over Mathias Dahlstrom's shoulder.
The Wildcats again used the power play to even the score. Ryan Daugherty poked in a rebound past Copley with 2:23 left in period two.
NMU had two good scoring chances to start the third period before the Huskies pushed back and scored the game winner.
The final shot totals favored the Wildcats by a 39-21 margin. Dahlstrom finished with 18 saves in the NMU net.
Tech, which has now swept three of its last four league series, moved into third place in the WCHA standings by itself with the two points tonight.
The Huskies will have to sit and watch other teams go for points next weekend, however, as they have a bye week. Tech wraps up its regular season March 7-8 at Minnesota State.
FRIDAY NIGHT'S STORY, courtesy of MTU Athletics
HOUGHTON---Neither a blizzard outside the Student Development Complex nor arch rival Northern Michigan inside the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena could spoil Michigan Tech hockey's regular season home finale.
While six seniors were honored after the game, it was a pair of freshman who posted four points apiece to lift Tech to a 7-4 victory in a crucial league tilt.
Rookie forward Reid Sturos posted his first career hat trick with three goals and an assist while defenseman and classmate Shane Hanna notched one goal and three assists.
Perhaps the most impressive number of the night was the attendance. A crowd of 3,062 fans braved the blizzard conditions that canceled University classes at 2 p.m.
"A big shout out to our crowd, especially our students, to come out in this weather," said coach Mel Pearson. "They were a factor. They created a lot of noise, and the players feed off of that."
Despite having good energy to start the game, Tech (13-16-6, 11-10-4 WCHA) found itself trailing just 34 seconds into the opening period. Dominik Shine slid a pass across the crease to Reed Seckel for a tap-in and a 1-0 lead on NMU's first shot of the game.
Alex Petan hit the cross bar later in the period, and it wasn't until a power play later that the Huskies tied it up. David Johnstone found the net on a one-timer from atop the left circle to knot the game heading into the first intermission.
The Wildcats (12-17-2, 10-12-1 WCHA) took a 2-1 lead 4:19 into the second period, but Tech answered immediately. Blake Pietila picked off a Wildcats pass at neutral ice, skated in and found Sturos in the slot. Sturos' first of the game and fourth of the year came just 10 seconds after NMU's tally.
Sturos added another off a Wildcat turnover in their own end. A Northern Michigan defenseman fanned on a clear, and Pietila wasted no time in firing a quick pass in front to Sturos who was all alone in front of netminder Mathias Dahlstrom. The goal came at 7:18 and gave the Huskies their first lead of the game.
Five minutes later, Tanner Kero made it 4-2 with a rebound off Hanna's initial shot from the right point.
The score remained 4-2 for the next 22 minutes of game play spanning the second intermission before Hanna netted the insurance goal on the power play at 14:16 of the third period.
Four more goals would be scored in the final 5:08 as the margin bounced between two and three goals. Tech's sixth was scored by Blake Hietala, who recorded his third goal in as many games with a wrap-around. Sturos completed the hat trick by getting a piece of Cliff Watson's power-play shot from the left point with 36 seconds remaining in the game.
"We came out, worked hard, and put last weekend behind us," said Sturos, who now owns 6-13=19 in 25 games on the season. "I'm happy to get the hat trick, but we played hard as a team. We got the win. That's what matters."
Pheonix Copley started his fifth consecutive game in net for the Huskies and stopped 21-of-25 Wildcats shots. Dahlstrom finished with 28 saves on 33 shots before giving way to Michael Doan.
Tech's special teams sparkled by scoring three times on five power plays and stopping NMU on all five of its man advantages.
"I'm really pleased with how we bounced back from a tough series here last weekend," said Pearson. "I'm most happy for the seniors. You want to play well and send them out with a win.
MARQUETTE— Pheonix Copley stopped 37 shots, and Tanner Kero scored the game-winning goal in the third period to give Michigan Tech a 3-2 victory at Northern Michigan tonight and the home-and-home series sweep of the Wildcats.
The Huskies (14-16-6, 12-10-4 WCHA) killed off 1:35 of 4-on-3 power play and another :25 of 5-on-3 for NMU in a frenetic final four minutes to hang on for the victory.
"It wasn't our best game tonight, and a large part of that was Northern," said coach Mel Pearson. "They came out with a lot of urgency. It was a great, gutsy effort by our guys."
Tanner Kero broke up a 2-all tie 4:49 into the third period on a tip-in of an Alex Petan centering pass. The goal stood up as the game winner although it wasn't for lack of chances.
The hosts put 13 shots on goal in the final frame. Copley was up to the challenge. He made an incredible toe save on Reed Seckel to keep the Huskies in front midway through the frame.
NMU's Dominik Shine was whistled for a five-minute major for contact to the head at the 12:32 mark. The Huskies had two great chances on the extended power play before Jacob Johnstone was called for goaltender interference at 15:58. Tech was also assessed a bench minor at that time, leading to the 4-on-3 and 5-on-3 situations.
With Blake Pietila and David Johnstone both in the penalty box as well serving 10-minute misconducts, Tech was extremely shorthanded.
NMU (12-18-2, 10-13-1 WCHA) applied as much pressure as it could muster, but Copley kept the puck out of the net for the final 4:02 to preserve the victory.
"Sometimes you get outplayed, and you need your goaltender to steal one for you. He did," said Pearson. "This was his best performance of the season."
Opposite of last night's game, Tech was the team scoring the early goal. Pietila fired a pass from the half wall to Reid Sturos on the back door. Sturos tapped it in at the 3:56 mark for this fourth goal of the weekend.
The teams skated 6:12 into the second period before NMU tied the score with a power-play goal from Shine.
The Huskies regained their lead at the 14:04 mark when Daniel Holmberg tallied his second goal of the season. Blake Hietala won the puck behind the net and fed it to Holmberg, who took his time and picked the upper corner over Mathias Dahlstrom's shoulder.
The Wildcats again used the power play to even the score. Ryan Daugherty poked in a rebound past Copley with 2:23 left in period two.
NMU had two good scoring chances to start the third period before the Huskies pushed back and scored the game winner.
The final shot totals favored the Wildcats by a 39-21 margin. Dahlstrom finished with 18 saves in the NMU net.
Tech, which has now swept three of its last four league series, moved into third place in the WCHA standings by itself with the two points tonight.
The Huskies will have to sit and watch other teams go for points next weekend, however, as they have a bye week. Tech wraps up its regular season March 7-8 at Minnesota State.
FRIDAY NIGHT'S STORY, courtesy of MTU Athletics
HOUGHTON---Neither a blizzard outside the Student Development Complex nor arch rival Northern Michigan inside the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena could spoil Michigan Tech hockey's regular season home finale.
While six seniors were honored after the game, it was a pair of freshman who posted four points apiece to lift Tech to a 7-4 victory in a crucial league tilt.
Rookie forward Reid Sturos posted his first career hat trick with three goals and an assist while defenseman and classmate Shane Hanna notched one goal and three assists.
Perhaps the most impressive number of the night was the attendance. A crowd of 3,062 fans braved the blizzard conditions that canceled University classes at 2 p.m.
"A big shout out to our crowd, especially our students, to come out in this weather," said coach Mel Pearson. "They were a factor. They created a lot of noise, and the players feed off of that."
Despite having good energy to start the game, Tech (13-16-6, 11-10-4 WCHA) found itself trailing just 34 seconds into the opening period. Dominik Shine slid a pass across the crease to Reed Seckel for a tap-in and a 1-0 lead on NMU's first shot of the game.
Alex Petan hit the cross bar later in the period, and it wasn't until a power play later that the Huskies tied it up. David Johnstone found the net on a one-timer from atop the left circle to knot the game heading into the first intermission.
The Wildcats (12-17-2, 10-12-1 WCHA) took a 2-1 lead 4:19 into the second period, but Tech answered immediately. Blake Pietila picked off a Wildcats pass at neutral ice, skated in and found Sturos in the slot. Sturos' first of the game and fourth of the year came just 10 seconds after NMU's tally.
Sturos added another off a Wildcat turnover in their own end. A Northern Michigan defenseman fanned on a clear, and Pietila wasted no time in firing a quick pass in front to Sturos who was all alone in front of netminder Mathias Dahlstrom. The goal came at 7:18 and gave the Huskies their first lead of the game.
Five minutes later, Tanner Kero made it 4-2 with a rebound off Hanna's initial shot from the right point.
The score remained 4-2 for the next 22 minutes of game play spanning the second intermission before Hanna netted the insurance goal on the power play at 14:16 of the third period.
Four more goals would be scored in the final 5:08 as the margin bounced between two and three goals. Tech's sixth was scored by Blake Hietala, who recorded his third goal in as many games with a wrap-around. Sturos completed the hat trick by getting a piece of Cliff Watson's power-play shot from the left point with 36 seconds remaining in the game.
"We came out, worked hard, and put last weekend behind us," said Sturos, who now owns 6-13=19 in 25 games on the season. "I'm happy to get the hat trick, but we played hard as a team. We got the win. That's what matters."
Pheonix Copley started his fifth consecutive game in net for the Huskies and stopped 21-of-25 Wildcats shots. Dahlstrom finished with 28 saves on 33 shots before giving way to Michael Doan.
Tech's special teams sparkled by scoring three times on five power plays and stopping NMU on all five of its man advantages.
"I'm really pleased with how we bounced back from a tough series here last weekend," said Pearson. "I'm most happy for the seniors. You want to play well and send them out with a win.
