PREVIEW: Huskies Host Michigan Wolverines

THIS WEEKEND'S NOTES

THE GAMES
The No. 17-ranked Michigan Tech hockey team hosts No. 15 Michigan in a non-conference series this weekend at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. both nights. Michigan hasn't been to Houghton since 1983.

HUSKIES RANKED
For the first time since November 2011, Michigan Tech is ranked in the USCHO.com Top 20 Poll. The 4-0 Huskies enter the poll at No. 17. Tech also received 29 points in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll and was right behind No. 15 Ferris State who received 60 points.

UNBEATEN
Michigan Tech is one of five teams that are still unbeaten in the nation. The last time the Huskies started 4-0 was during the 2011-12 season—Mel Pearson's first year as the head coach.

STANLEY CUP & COMPANY
Michigan Tech is hosting the Stanley Cup on Friday. Fans with a ticket to either Friday or Saturday's game against the University of Michigan will be able to view the trophy along with the Hart Trophy, Conn Smythe Trophy, MacNaughton Cup and Gibson Cup. The Stanley Cup (1893), MacNaugton Cup (1913) and Gibson Cup (1939) are the three oldest hockey cups in North America.

• Stanley Cup – NHL Playoff Champion
• MacNaughton Cup – WCHA Regular Season Champion
• Gibson Cup – Winner of Series between Portage Lake Pioneers and Calumet Wolverines (Men's senior league)
• Hart Trophy – NHL regular season MVP
• Conn Smythe Trophy – Stanley Cup Playoff MVP

WCHA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jamie Phillips was named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 27. He led the Huskies to a WCHA series sweep at then-No. 8 Ferris State, stopping 67-of-68 shots. Phillips recorded his second career shutout on Friday (1-0), making 33 saves and had 34 saves Saturday in a 2-1 win. One of six undefeated goalies in the country, Phillips ranks sixth nationally with a 1.25 goals against average and .954 save percentage.

7TH MAN T-SHIRTS
Michigan Tech hockey is pleased to announce a partnership with ArcelorMittal in the 7th Man T-shirt Project. ArcelorMittal has purchased 850 T-shirts for Tech students to wear at this weekend's games. 7th Man T-shirts will be handed out at the Experience Tech student entrance at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. ArcelorMittal employs over 60 Michigan Tech graduates, and is the world's leading steel and mining company, with around 232,000 employees in more than 60 countries.

Tech fell in a pair of one-goal games last year at Yost Ice Arena. Michigan won 3-2 on Friday and 2-1 on Saturday. CJ Eick and Blake Pietila supplied the Huskies' scoring the first night while Dennis Rix scored Saturday. Pheonix Copley played both games between the pipes.

AGAINST THE WOLVERINES
Alex Petan has two goals and an assist in three games against the Wolverines. Blake Pietila and CJ Eick have also scored on Michigan. David Johnstone has three assists against UM.

THE WOLVERINES
• Michigan is 2-3-0 on the season. The Wolverines are ranked No. 15 in this weeks' USCHO.com Poll and No. 13 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll. UM opened the season with a 4-3 loss at No. 10 Ferris State. A split against New Hampshire and a win at No. 8 UMass Lowell followed by a loss at No. 11 Boston University make up the early schedule. Michigan begins Big Ten conference play on Nov. 21-22 against Penn State at Yost Ice Arena.
• Michigan was picked to finish second in the Big Ten in the preseason coaches' poll. Junior forward Andrew Copp and sophomore forward JT Compher were unanimous selections on the Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch list. Copp earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors in 2013-14, while Compher was named the 2014 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

WOLVERINE CONNECTION
• Mel Pearson served as an assistant coach at Michigan for 23 years (1989-2011). Pearson helped the Wolverines to a 667-243-71 record, 11 Frozen Fours and two national championships in his time in Ann Arbor.
• Tech assistant coach Bill Muckalt played four years for the Wolverines from 1994-98 and played an instrumental role for the Wolverines in the 1998 national championship run. He is seventh on the school's scoring list with 226 points (105 goals, 121 assists). Muckalt was a first team All-American in 1998 and Hobey Baker Finalist.

SERIES INFORMATION
Michigan Tech and Michigan own one of the most-played rivalries in college hockey with 221 meetings since the series began in 1921. The Wolverines hold a 122-94-5 record vs. the Huskies. Tech holds a 41-24-2 advantage in games played in Houghton. Tech dropped last year's series in Ann Arbor.

FUTURE NHL STARS
The weekend's games will feature 13 NHL draft picks. Blake Pietila (New Jersey), Cliff Watson (San Jose), and Jamie Phillips (Winnipeg) are Tech players drafted. Michigan has 10 players drafted.

NATIONAL RANKINGS
Through four games, Michigan Tech is ranked fifth in the nation in scoring defense (1.25) and 16th in scoring offense (3.25). On the penalty kill, Michigan Tech ranks third in the country, having killed of 21-of-22 (95.5). Blake Pietila is tied for second in the nation with two game winning goals.

NOTES FROM LAST WEEKEND
• It was the first time Tech swept Ferris State in Big Rapids. The Huskies hadn't won in Big Rapids since Oct. 1994.
• Senior forward David Johnstone played his 100th career game on Friday. On Saturday, he scored the game-winner on the power play. It was his 34th career goal and 16th career power play tally. Both of Johnstone's goals this season have come on the man advantage.
• Freshman forward Alex Gillies scored his first goal in a Husky uniform on Saturday. Gillies scored the game's first goal on the power play with a one-timer from Malcolm Gould and Tanner Kero. Gillies has three points after recording a pair of assists in his first career game Oct. 4 at Lake Superior 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 47-58-15. 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 was a freshman, his brother Chad was on the team. David Johnstone and brother Jacob played three years together from 2011-12 to 2013-14. This season, senior Tanner Kero is playing alongside freshman goaltender Devin Kero.

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 Johnstone, Tanner Kero, Alex 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 microphone. You can also listen to the game online at Pasty.com. Brent Peterson and Tiger Pierce join the broadcast this weekend.

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.

#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
• 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).
• The Huskies continue WCHA play on the road at Bemidji State Nov. 14-15. November wraps up with a home series against Minnesota State (Nov. 21-22) and a trip to Alabama Huntsville (Nov. 28-29)

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.

LATEST HOCKEY HEADLINES

• 10/28/14 - Where Are They Now – Dan Farrell 
• 10/28/14 - VIDEO: Follow The Huskies In The Crease: Ferris State Recap
• 10/27/14 - The Mel Pearson Show 
• 10/27/14 - Tech Hosting Stanley Cup Friday; Purchase Game Ticket to View 
• 10/27/14 - Hockey Enters Polls at No. 17 After 4-0 Start 
• 10/27/14 - Phillips Named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week 
• 10/27/14 - First Blue Line Lunch is Friday at Noon 
• 10/26/14 - Future Husky Feature: Mason Blacklock 
• 10/26/14 - VIDEO: Are You With Us - Michigan Tech vs. Michigan 
• 10/25/14 - Two Power Play Goals Lead to Sweep of No. 8 Ferris State 
• 10/24/14 - Huskies Defeat No. 8 Ferris State 1-0 Friday