No. 13 Huskies Invade Marquette in Regular-Season Finale

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TALKING POINTS

• No. 13 Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan conclude their two-game WCHA series toinght in Marquette. The game will be televised live on TV6/FOX UP throughout the Upper Peninsula and northwest Wisconsin as part of the Tech/NMU Rivalry Series.

• Tonight's game will mark the 140th all-time meeting between the Huskies and Wildcats in a series that dates back to the 1979-80 season. Michigan Tech trails in the all-time series 56-69-14 but has compiled a 7-2-1 record over the last 10 confrontations between the two programs. The Huskies and Northern split a series in October, with NMU winning 4-1 in Marquette before Tech answered with a 3-1 win the next night in Houghton. In the 30-plus year history of the rivalry, the Huskies are 31-29-8 at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena vs. NMU.

• The Huskies enter the final game of the regular season just two points behind WCHA-leading Minnesota State in the standings. Tech, which has already secured at least the No. 2 spot in the WCHA and home-ice for the first round of the league playoffs next weekend, could claim a share of the MacNaughton Cup tonight with a win and Minnesota State loss to Bemidji State.

• Michigan Tech has enjoyed considerable success against teams from #PureMichigan lately and will look to keep that trend going tonight vs. NMU. In their last 29 games vs. Michigan teams, the Huskies are 20-6-3 - a run that includes five series sweeps.

RACE TO THREE

Tech is 18-0-2 when it finds the back of the net three or more times, including a 7-0-0 record when scoring three goals, a 5-0-2 mark when scoring four and a perfect 6-0-0 record when notching five or more goals in a game. On the flip side, the Huskies have struggled to win hockey games when its opponent buries three or more times (3-8-2 this season).

ROAD WARRIORS

Michigan Tech's fortunes on the road have been good so far in 2015-16. The Huskies are 9-3-3 in true road games this year and are 8-1-3 over their last 12 away contests. Playing well on the road is a trend that dates back to last winter for Tech, which compiled a 12-2-2 mark away from Houghton one year ago.

QUICK HITTERS

• Michigan Tech is 11-2-4 since Dec. 11 after starting the season 9-6-1, including a 9-1-3 mark vs. the WCHA.

• The Huskies are 13-2-2 when wearing their black jerseys, which was the team's road jerseys in the first half of the WCHA schedule and serves are their home sweaters in the second half.

• Tech is 12-2-1 when leading after one period and 16-2-1 when carrying a lead into the second intermission.

• The Huskies have a 14-2-3 record when they hold their opponents scoreless on the power play. Michigan Tech is 12-4-1 when it connects for a power-play goal.

• Michigan Tech is 10-0-1 when Joel L'Esperance scores a goal and 11-1-2 when Alex Petan finds the back of the net. Additionally, the Huskies own a 11-1-2 mark when Shane Hanna notches an assist.

• Tech is 4-0-5 in the nine overtime games it has played to this point and four different players - Petan, Brent Baltus, Malcolm Gould and Tyler Heinonen - have netted overtime-winners.

FOLLOW THE HUSKIES

Be sure to follow Michigan Tech hockey on social media for the latest news and coverage of the program. The Huskies are on Twitter (@mtuhky), Facebook (/MichiganTechHockey), Instagram (@mtu_hockey) and Snapchat (mtuhuskies). Join the conversation using hashtags #mtuhky and #FollowTheHuskies.

ON DECK

The Huskies will host a first-round WCHA playoff series for the second year in a row next weekend (March 11-13) at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. Tickets to each game of the best-of-three series are available now at the SDC Ticket Office, online at BuyHuskiesTickets.com or over the phone at 906-487-2073.

MEL PEARSON SHOW

Back for another season is the Mel Pearson Show featuring Coach Pearson and Dirk Hembroff discussing all things Michigan Tech hockey. The show airs live on Mix 93 FM every Monday at 10 a.m. and can be heard anytime on MichiganTechHuskies.com. Questions for Coach Pearson can be submitted by emailing dj@themix93.com.

WCHA.TV

Followers of the WCHA can watch every league game live online thanks to WCHA.tv. Several subscription options are available, including league-wide and single-team packages. Additional details can be found on the WCHA website or by logging on directly to WCHA.tv.

BLUE LINE CLUB

The Michigan Tech Blue Line Club welcomes all individuals who are interested in promoting and assisting the Huskies. By joining the MTU Blue Line Club, fans are showing support for the program. Several membership options are available and can be found on MichiganTechHuskies.com.

FINAL FIVE TICKETS

The WCHA Final Five returns to Grand Rapids, Mich., and Van Andel Arena on March 18-19. The league is offering all-tournament packages to the event, which includes tickets for both days of the Final Five. Ticket packages are $69 per person and can be found at Ticketmaster.com or over the phone at 1-800-745-3000.