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PREVIEW: Husky Hockey Travels to Ferris State

PREVIEW: Husky Hockey Travels to Ferris State

 

MICHIGAN TECH at FERRIS STATE
Dates Friday-Saturday, Oct. 24-25, 2014
Times 7:07 p.m. | 7:07 p.m.
Location Big Rapids, Mich. | Ewigleben Ice Arena
Radio Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ (Dirk Hembroff)
Online Audio Pasty.net
Video Stream wcha.com/men/mtu/tv.php
Game Notes Michigan Tech | Ferris State
Live Stats CollegeHockeyInc.com
Live Tweeting Twitter.com/mtuhky
Tech's Record 2-0-0 | 2-0-0 WCHA 
FSU Record 2-1-0 | 0-0-0 WCHA 

 

THIS WEEKEND'S NOTES

THE GAMES
The Michigan Tech hockey team continues WCHA action this weekend with a pair of games at Ferris State. The Huskies and Bulldogs face off at 7:07 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday at Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapids, Michigan.

SERIES INFO
Tech and Ferris State have met 18 times. The Huskies are 9-8-1 all-time but 3-6 in games played in Big Rapids. Before last season, the two teams hadn't met since 1995.

LAST TIME THE TWO TEAMS MET
Tech played Ferris State four games in a row in three weekends. The Huskies fell 1-0 and 3-2 in Big Rapids on Jan. 10-11. Two weekends later in Houghton, Tech won 3-2 and fell 3-0.

AGAINST THE BULLDOGS
Reid Sturos and David Johnstone both scored two goals against the Bulldogs last season. Alex Petan had a goal and an assist, while Blake Pietila and Shane Hanna both have three assists in games against FSU. Jamie Phillips played all four games.

THE BULLDOGS
• Ferris State is 2-1-0 on the season and ranked No. 8 in the USCHO.com Poll and No. 7 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll. The Bulldogs defeated Michigan in their season and home opener and split at St. Lawrence last weekend. Ferris was picked second in both the coaches' and media polls.
• Ferris State finished 29-11-3 overall in 2013-14 and 20-6-2 in the WCHA to win the MacNaughton Cup as the league's top team. The Bulldogs lost in the NCAA regional final to North Dakota.

TOP RETURNERS FOR FERRIS STATE
• Ferris State senior goaltender C.J. Motte, a returning Hobey Baker Award finalist, was selected as the league's Preseason Player of the Year by WCHA coaches after tallying a 19-6-2 record, .927 save percentage and 2.29 goals-against average in conference play last year.
• Justin Buzzeo is the top offensive weapon returning. He was tied for the team lead with 32 points last year, scoring 14 goals and adding 18 assists.

DOGS VS DOGS ALL WEEKEND
Four Michigan Tech teams battle the Bulldogs over the weekend. Tech football and soccer host Ferris State at home, while the hockey and volleyball teams play at Ferris.

NEW VOLUNTEER ASSISTANT
Mark Maroste has been added to the Michigan Tech hockey staff as a volunteer assistant coach. Maroste played for the Huskies from 1981-85 and spent 10 years in Germany and Switzerland playing professional hockey. He served as an assistant coach for the Huskies from 2001-04.

BALANCED OFFENSE
Nine different players have scored Michigan Tech's 10 goals this season. Fifteen Huskies have recorded a point after the first two games.

AGAINST RANKED TEAMS
Michigan Tech was 3-10-1 against ranked teams last year. Two of the wins were over Lake Superior State and the other was Ferris State.

COACH PEARSON
Mel Pearson is in his fourth season as Michigan Tech's head hockey coach in 2014-15. His record with the Huskies is 45-58-15. He was named WCHA Coach of the Year in his inaugural campaign in 2011-12 and has guided the Huskies to their best three-season stretch in the last 20 years with 43 wins.

A FAMILY AFFAIR
It's the fourth year in a row Michigan Tech has a pair of brothers on the team. When senior Blake Pietila (Brighton, Mich.) was a freshman, his brother Chad was on the team. David Johnstone (Grand Ledge, Mich.) and brother Jacob played three years together from 2011-12 to 2013-14. This season, senior Tanner Kero (Hancock, Mich.) is playing alongside freshman goaltender Devin Kero (Hancock, Mich.).

CAPTAINS
Senior forwards Blake Pietila and Tanner Kero were voted as captains by their teammates. Pietila was a captain last season while Kero was an assistant captain. This year's assistant captains are junior forward Alex Petan and sophomore defenseman Cliff Watson.

PRESEASON POLLS
Michigan Tech was selected third in the Mankato Free Press Coaches' Poll and fourth in the Bemidji Pioneer Media Poll. Minnesota State, the defending Broadmoor Trophy champion, was tabbed as the favorite to win the MacNaughton Cup in both polls.

PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE
Shane Hanna was named to the Preseason All-WCHA Teams as a defenseman in the media poll. David JohnstoneTanner KeroAlex Petan, and Blake Pietila all received votes at the forward position.

NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Michigan Tech's non-conference schedule consists of five—possibly six with the GLI—games against teams from the Big Ten conference and a team from the NCHC. The Huskies play their home opener against Michigan on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Tech welcomes Minnesota Duluth to the John MacInnes Student Ice Area on Dec. 12-13. The opening game of the 50th GLI is again versus Michigan. The final non-conference series is Jan. 2-3 at Wisconsin.

ON THE RADIO
Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ broadcasts all Michigan Tech hockey games. Dirk Hembroff will call all the action in his 13th year behind the mic. You can also listen to the game online at Pasty.com. Dave Ellis will color commentate on Friday.

MEL PEARSON SHOW
The Mel Pearson Show can be heard every Monday morning at 10 a.m. on Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ. Host Dirk Hembroff and Coach Pearson talk about the previous weekend and the upcoming matchup. You can also listen live online at Pasty.com or visit MichiganTechHuskies.com for the full audio recording.

NHL DRAFT PICKS
• Senior forward Blake Pietila was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the fifth round (129th overall selection) of the 2011 NHL Draft.
• Junior goaltender Jamie Phillips was drafted in the 2012 NHL Draft in the seventh round (190th overall) by the Winnipeg Jets.
• Sophomore defenseman Cliff Watson was selected in the sixth round of the 2012 NHL Draft by the San Jose Sharks (168th overall).
• Freshman defenseman Dane Birks was drafted in the sixth round (164th overall) by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2013 NHL Draft.

FRESHMEN
Tech welcomes 10 freshmen to the 2014-15 roster. Five forwards, four defensemen and a goaltender make up the class. It is coach Pearson's largest freshmen class.

LAST YEAR'S HONORS
Shane Hanna was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team last season. Alex Petan and Riley Sweeney were named to the GLI All-Tournament Team.

WCHA PRESEASON PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Matt Lietner from Minnesota State was the media's pick for WCHA Player of the Year, while CJ Motte from Ferris State earned the honor from the coaches. The media tabbed Mark Friedman  from Bowling Green State as the WCHA Rookie of the Year, while the coaches picked CJ Franklin and Brad McClure, both from Minnesota State.

#FOLLOWTHEHUSKIES
The Michigan Tech hockey team is on Facebook and Twitter. You can like the Huskies on Facebook at Facebook.com/michigantechhockey. Follow the Huskies on Twitter at Twitter.com/mtuhky. All hockey games are live tweeted. Join the conversation using the hashtags #FollowTheHuskies and #mtuhky.

WCHA.TV
This season, fans of the WCHA can watch more than 180 of its games live and in high definition thanks to WCHA.tv. Powered by America ONE Sports and EverSport.tv on WCHA.tv, the platform enables fans to watch all 10 conference teams in action throughout the season. Every league game will be streamed live, along with each team's non-conference home contests, the league's postseason tournament and the WCHA Final Five. With WCHA.tv, fans can follow their team wherever they are. Each game will be available on multiple platforms, including traditional web browsers on PCs, tablets and mobile phones using the iOS and Android platforms.

LOOKING AHEAD
• Michigan Tech opens the home portion of its schedule on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 against the University of Michigan. The Wolverines will make their first appearance in Houghton since Nov. 11-12, 1983.
• Hall of Fame weekend is Nov. 7-8 at Michigan Tech. The Huskies host Alaska Anchorage for a WCHA series. Hockey representatives getting inducted into the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame are the 1965 National Championship Team and former forward Tom Bissett (85-89).

HOCKEY HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
• The 1965 hockey team will be the second team to be inducted into the Hall of Fame after the 1962 Huskies National Championship team was inducted in 2012. 2014-15 is the 50th season since the 1964-65 Huskies defeated Boston College 8-2 in the national title game. The team, coached by John MacInnes and captained by Al Holm, featured Hockey Hall of Famer Tony Esposito and former Tech Athletic Director Rick Yeo. The squad posted a 24-5-2 overall record and claimed the WCHA championship en route to the Huskies' second national championship
• Tom Bissett was a standout forward for the hockey team from 1985-89, amassing 159 career points in 163 games. He posted 65 goals and 94 assists and sits in 11th on Tech's career scoring chart. The Seattle, Wash., native was runner-up for WCHA Rookie of the Year honors in 1985-86. He later gained WCHA Honorable Mention as a senior in 1988-89. Bissett served in a captain role for three seasons and earned the Merv Youngs Award as the team MVP and the Raymond L. Smith Award as Tech's top senior male student-athlete in 1988-99. Following his playing career, Bissett played professionally for the American Hockey League's Adirondack Red Wings for two seasons. He played five games for the NHL's Detroit Red Wings in 1990-91 and finished his career with 12 professional seasons in Europe. 


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