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Posted: Jan 28, 2015

PREVIEW: Huskies Face Off With Chargers For Second Time

PREVIEW: Huskies Face Off With Chargers For Second Time

 

No. 8 MICHIGAN TECH vs. ALABAMA HUNTSVILLE
Dates Friday-Saturday, Jan. 30-31, 2015
Times 7:07 p.m. | 7:07 p.m.
Location Houghton, Mich. | John MacInnes Student 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 | Alabama Huntsville
Live Stats CollegeHockeyInc.com
Live Tweeting Twitter.com/mtuhky
Tech's Record 18-7-1 | 13-4-1 WCHA 
UAH's Record 7-16-3 | 6-12-0 WCHA 
FAN INFORMATION
Tickets BuyHuskiesTickets.com
SDC Ticket Office (906-487-2073) 
Prices $17 Reserved
$5 Youth (age 3 - grade 12)
Free - First 750 Michigan Tech Students with ID
$5 Michigan Tech Students (after 750)
Parking $5
Lots 23, 24, 32, UP Health System Lot 
Arena Info  John MacInnes Student Ice Arena

 

THIS WEEKEND'S NOTES

THIS WEEK'S GAMES
• No. 8/9 Michigan Tech hosts Alabama Huntsville this weekend in a WCHA series at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. both Friday and Saturday night.
• It will be the second meeting between the two teams this season. Tech won 4-2 and 5-2 on Nov. 28-29 in Alabama. Tech is 4-0 all-time against UAH.
• This weekend's games are No. 6 and 7 of a nine-game home stand. The Huskies wrap up the home stretch next weekend (Feb. 6-7) against Bemidji State for the annual Winter Carnival series.

ON THE RADIO
Mix 93.5 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.

THIS WEEK'S RANKING
Tech is ranked No. 8 in the USCHO.com poll and No. 9 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll this week. After starting the season unranked, the Huskies climbed to No. 1 on Nov. 17 for the first time since 1976. They have remained in the top 11 since Nov. 3.

THIS WEEK'S PROMOS
• Friday is Season Ticket Holders Appreciation Night. Season ticket holders can pick up a general admission ticket to the March 6 game against NMU, a free box of popcorn during the game, and also a free hockey t-shirt with a purchase of $25 or more at University Images.
• Saturday is Junior Hockey Night with Skate With The Huskies and autographs after the game. There will be a raffle table with numerous prizes, including Commuter Plan B week of hockey school, Reebok stick certificates, autographed Michigan Tech hockey sticks and pucks, free ice cream, free skate sharpening cards from Center Ice Skate and Sport, free SDC daily pass, and a discount card for hockey school and the Randy McKay 3-on-3 tournament.

WHERE TECH RANKS IN THE NATION
• Tanner Kero is tied for the lead in shorthanded goals (2), fourth in game-winning goals (4), seventh in points (30), and 10th in assists (19)
• Tech has the second most wins (18)
• Matt Roy ranks second in the nation with 64 blocked shots
• Jamie Phillips has the second most wins (17), played the fifth most minutes between the pipes, and is ninth in winning percentage (72.9)
• Petan ranks third in points on the power play (14), third in game-winning goals (5), seventh in points (30), and 10th in assists (19)
• Cliff Watson is third with 60 blocked shots
• Tech is fifth in scoring defense (2.04)
• Tech is sixth in winning percentage (71.2)
• Tech is seventh in scoring margin (1.19)

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 61-65-16. 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.
• Pearson's 61 wins rank him fifth all-time at Tech. John MacInnes (555-295-39), Jamie Russell (70-197-37), Herb Boxer (66-129-8), and Bob Mancini (63-80-20) are the top four.
• Pearson's 43 wins in his first three years are the third most a Tech coach has had after the first three seasons. Jim Nahrgang had 56 wins during his three-year tenure. Bob Mancini had 45 wins during his first three seasons.

CLOSING IN ON CENTURY MARK
• Four Huskies have 90 career points. Tanner Kero (46-49=95), David Johnstone (35-57=92), Blake Pietila (42-53=95), and Alex Petan (37-55=92) are all creeping up on the century mark. Kero, Pietila and Johnstone are seniors, with Petan being a junior.
• 60 Huskies have reached the century all-time, including five who hit the 200-point mark. Mike Zuke is Tech's all-time leader with 310 career points.

WCHA OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Blake Pietila was named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week Jan. 26. The senior captain had three points, including Friday's overtime game winner in the Huskies' WCHA series sweep of Alaska. Pietila has scored in three straight games and has four goals and an assist in the span.

CURRENT POINT STREAKS
Three Games
• Blake Pietila – 4 goals, 1 assist
• Malcolm Gould – 4 assists
• Tyler Heinonen – 2 goals, 1 assist
Two Games
• Tanner Kero – 1 goal, 2 assists
• Alex Petan – 1 goals 2 assists
One Game
• Brent Baltus – 2 assists
• Chris Leibinger – 1 goal

HOBEY BAKER CANDIDATES
Senior forward Tanner Kero and junior goaltender Jamie Phillips are both Hobey Baker Candidates. The first phase of fan balloting runs from Jan. 7 through March 8. Phase two of fan balloting will begin on March 19 from the list of the Top Ten Hobey Baker finalists. The 2015 Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced from a field of three Hobey Hat Trick finalists on April 10 during the NCAA Frozen Four Championships in Boston.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• Alabama Huntsville is 7-16-3 overall and 6-12-0 in the WCHA. The Chargers are tied for eighth in the WCHA standings. They have won four of their last six WCHA games and are coming off a pair of exhibition losses to the USA Under-18 team last weekend.
• Max McHugh (7-10=17) leads the team offensively while three other players have 11 points. Goaltender Carmine Guerriero is 7-9-2 with a 2.32 goals against average. He ranks second in the WCHA with a 93.3 save percentage.
• Mike Corbett is in his second season as the head coach of Alabama Huntsville. The Chargers were 2-35-1 in 2013-14. Before UAH, he spent 10 years as an assistant at Air Force, including serving as the team's associate head coach in the 2012-13 season.

LAST MEETING
• Michigan Tech swept Alabama Huntsville in a WCHA series with a 4-2 win Friday (Nov. 28) and 5-2 victory Saturday (Nov. 29). Six different players had a multiple point game over the weekend. Nine different players scored the weekend's nine goals.
• Dylan Steman, Alex Gillies, Shane Hanna, and Cliff Watson (first career goal) scored Friday. Jamie Phillips had 12 saves.
• Tanner Kero, Walker Hyland, Alex Petan, Malcolm Gould, and Blake Hietala tallied goals Saturday. Phillips stopped 13 shots.

LAST TIME OUT
• Michigan Tech defeated Alaska both Friday (4-3, OT) and Saturday (3-2) nights for the Huskies' sixth WCHA series sweep of the season. The Huskies are 18-7-1 overall. They last won 18 games in a season during the 2006-07 campaign. The last time Tech defeated Alaska in Houghton was Nov. 10, 1990.
• Blake Pietila had three points, including Friday's overtime game winner. He scored Tech's second goal of the game on Saturday on the power play and now has 10 goals and nine assists on the season. He has 42 career goals with 16 coming on the man advantage.
• Tanner Kero and Alex Petan each had a goal and two assists on the weekend. Both now have eight multiple point games this season. Kero and Petan are tied for the team lead with 11 goals and 19 assists and rank seventh in the nation in points (30).
• Goaltender Matt Wintjes made his fifth appearance of the season on Saturday, recording his first career win. The sophomore played the final two periods and tied a career-high with 16 saves. He has a 1.52 goals against average and 94.0 save percentage this season.
• Joel L'Esperance had a pair of goals and added an assist in Tech's 4-3 overtime win on Friday. He scored the game's first goal in the first period and tied it up at three with an unassisted tally later in the third period. L'Esperance also assisted on Blake Pietila's game winner in overtime. He has three goals and five assists during his rookie campaign.
• Malcolm Gould is on a three-game point streak where he has tallied four assists. He has a point in seven of the last nine games with four goals and four assists in the span. Gould is having a career season during his junior campaign with 20 points (9g-11a).

LOOKING AHEAD
After the home stretch, Tech wraps up the regular season with a WCHA series at Alaska Anchorage (Feb. 13-14), at Minnesota State (Feb. 27-28), and another home and home series against NMU (March 6-7).

OTHER NOTES
• The Huskies are 1-1-1 in overtime this season. They defeated Alaska on Jan. 23, tied with NMU on Jan. 9 and fell to the Wildcats on Jan. 10.
• The Huskies 8-5-0 at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena this season
• During the nine-game home stand the Huskies are 3-1-1 during the stretch
• Pietila has scored Tech's last two overtime game winners
• Both teams enter the weekend having won their last WCHA series
• Tanner Kero (3-4=7) and Blake Pietila (4-2=6) have the most points against the Chargers
• Tech is 12-2-0 when scoring the first goal of the game
• Tech's opponent has scored first in six of the last seven games
• Tech is 8-1-1 when having between 30-39 shots on goal
• Against ranked opponents, the Huskies are 6-4-0
• Tech has four shorthanded goals this season. Tanner Kero (Ferris State at GLI and at Wisconsin), CJ Eick (at Bemidji State) and Blake Hietala (at Alabama Huntsville) also have scored on the penalty kill. Tech won all four games.
• After not having any empty net goals in 2013-14, the Huskies have six so far this season.

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.

MEL PEARSON SHOW
The Mel Pearson Show can be heard every Monday morning at 10 a.m. on Mix 93.5 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.

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