PREVIEW: Hockey Hosts Alabama Huntsville in Home Opener

THIS WEEK'S NOTES

THIS WEEK'S SERIES
• The Huskies host Alabama Huntsville in the home opener for the second year in a row this weekend at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
• The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. both Friday and Saturday nights.
• Tech is 3-1-1 on the season and is unbeaten in its last four games. The Huskies opened the season with a 3-2 loss at No. 12 Wisconsin, won the 2017 Ice Breaker with wins over No. 16 Union and No. 6 Minnesota Duluth, and won and tied at Lake Superior State in the WCHA opener last weekend.

ARCELORMITTAL 7TH MAN
• ArcelorMittal, the world's leading steel and mining company, is sponsoring Friday's Michigan Tech hockey game and donating 1,000 7th Man T-shirts. All fans are encouraged to wear black to the game and Blackout the Mac.
• It is the fourth year in a row ArcelorMittal is a game sponsor. ArcelorMittal employs over 60 Michigan Tech graduates with around 232,000 employees in more than 60 countries. They are the leader in all major global steel markets, including automotive, construction, household appliances and packaging. Underpinning all their operations is a philosophy to produce safe, sustainable steel.

HUSKY BITES
• Mark Auk's has six assists this season is tied for the nation's lead in that category.
• Tech's current four-game unbeaten streak is tied for the nation's lead.
• Tech's power play is ranked second in the nation at 38.1 percent. The Huskies have scored eight goals on 21 power plays.
• The Huskies are sixth in the county in scoring offense, averaging 3.6 goals per game

ON THE RADIO
• Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ broadcasts all Michigan Tech hockey games. You can listen to the games online at Pasty.com or by using the TuneIn Radio App on a smart phone.
• Dirk Hembroff will call all the action in his 16th year behind the microphone. Brent Peterson (Friday) and Tiger Pierce (Saturday) will provide commentary.

WATCH ON WCHA.TV
Fans of the WCHA can watch the league and their favorite team, live or on-demand, via WCHA.tv. In partnership with Stretch Internet, WCHA.tv provides fans with high-quality, HD broadcasts on multiple platforms, including TV-connected devices via custom apps on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. Many different packages and rates are available from league to single team deals to season, monthly or nightly options.

HUSKIES RANKED THIS WEEK
• Tech is ranked No. 15 this week in the USCHO.com Poll. The Huskies also received votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll.
• Last week the Huskies were ranked No. 13 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll and tied for No. 15 in the USCHO.com Poll.
• Tech received votes in both the USCHO.com and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine preseason polls.
• Tech was in the top 20 in the final USCHO.com poll for the third year in a row last year. The Huskies finished ranked No. 19 in the nation. Tech was ranked No. 9 at the end of the 2014-15 season and No. 16 after the 2015-16 season.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• Alabama Huntsville is 0-2 on the season after a pair of losses at No. 8 Notre Dame on October 6-7. The Fighting Irish won 5-3 and 4-0.
• The Chargers were picked ninth in both WCHA Preseason Polls ahead of Alaska Anchorage.
• Head coach Mike Corbett is in his fifth season on the bench and is 26-106-14 overall.
• UAH was 9-22-3 last season with a 7-10-1 road record. The Chargers finished ninth in the WCHA.

SERIES INFO
Michigan Tech is 12-0-2 all-time against Alabama Huntsville and 7-0-1 in games played in Houghton.

LAST MEETING
• The Huskies went 2-0-2 against the Chargers last year. Tech won 7-3 Friday and in the 3-on-3 overtime after a 1-1 tie Saturday in the home-opening series last year at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
• The Black and Gold won 5-2 Friday night in the January meeting and won in the shootout Saturday after a 4-4 tie.

LAST WEEKEND
• The Huskies took five out of six WCHA points at Lake Superior State in the conference-opening series last weekend. The Huskies won 4-3 Friday and the two teams skated to a 2-2 tie Saturday with Tech winning the shootout in the fourth round. 
• Freshman forward Greyson Reitmeier scored his first collegiate goal Friday for the game-winning tally versus Lake Superior State. He finished off a beautiful setup play by Mitch Reinke 11:41 into the third. Reitmeier has played in the last four games for the Huskies.
• Sophomore defenseman Mitch Reinke racked up three assists in Tech's weekend at Lake Superior State. He assisted on Greyson Reitmeier's game-winning goal Friday and had six shots on goal. On Saturday, he assisted on both goals. Reinke has five points through the first six games.
• Sophomore forward Gavin Gould scored a pair of goals Friday at Lake Superior State in the Tech's 4-3 win. He scored the Huskies' first and third goals. Gould had three shots on goal Friday and four Saturday. He is tied for second on the team in scoring with three goals and two assists.
• Goaltender Patrick Munson had 21 saves Friday and 23 Saturday. His 136 saves this season are second most in the nation. He has a 2.77 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.
• Senior forwards Joel L'Esperance and Alex Gillies scored Saturday, and junior forward Jake Lucchini scored in the fourth round of the shootout.

ICE BREAKER RECAP
Michigan Tech won the 2017 Ice Breaker Tournament with a pair of wins over top 20-ranked teams. The Huskies defeated No. 16 Union 6-3 Friday and No. 6 Minnesota Duluth 4-3 Saturday in the Championship Game.

BEST JERSEYS IN COUNTRY
HockeyByDesign.com recently ranked Michigan Tech's jerseys as the top uniforms in all of college hockey. Tech has four uniforms: white, black, gold, and cream. The new blacks are based off a jersey from the 1932-33 season.

WCHA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF WEEK – OCT. 9
Senior defenseman Mark Auk was named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week after being named the MVP of the Ice Breaker Tournament on October 9. Auk scored two goals and added two assists at the tournament.

WCHA ROOKIE OF WEEK – OCT. 9
Freshman Justin Misiak received WCHA Rookie of the Week honors on October 9 after scoring his first collegiate goal for the game winner against UMD in the Ice Breaker Championship Game. Misiak played in his first two NCAA games that weekend.

ICE BREAKER ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Seniors Mark Auk and Joel L'Esperance were named to the Ice Breaker All-Tournament Team. Auk was the Tournament MVP. Auk talled two goals and two assists L'Esperance scored two goals.

PRESEASON ALL-WCHA PICKS
Seniors Mark Auk (Coaches, Media Second Team) and Joel L'Esperance (Media Second Team) and sophomore Mitch Reinke (Media Second Team, Coaches received votes) were recognized on the Preseason All-WCHA Teams. Sophomore Gavin Gould received votes in the media's picks.

TECH PICKED THIRD IN WCHA POLLS
Tech was selected third in both WCHA preseason polls. The Huskies were third behind first place Minnesota State and Bemidji State in the Mankato Free Press Preseason Coaches' Poll and the UAHHockey.com Preseason Media Poll.

NHL DRAFT PICKS
• Junior defenseman Dane Birks was drafted in the sixth round (164th overall) by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2013 NHL Draft.
• Junior Jake Jackson was selected by the San Jose Sharks in the seventh round (201st overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

BALTUS NAMED CAPTAIN
• Senior forward Brent Baltus was named the captain of the 2017-18 Huskies.
• Seniors Joel L'Esperance and Dylan Steman, junior Jake Lucchini, and sophomore Mitch Reinke will serve as alternate captains.

TRANSFERRED IN
• Defenseman Keegan Ford played 12 games for the Wisconsin Badgers in 2014-15, recording two assists.
• Goaltender Patrick Munson played 21 games for the Vermont Catamounts in 2015-16 and was Denver's roster last season. Munson had a 9-10-1 record for Vermont with a 2.37 goals against average, and a .920 save percentage.

NHL DEVELOPMENT CAMP ATTENDEES
• Mark Auk – Edmonton (2017, 2016), Chicago (2016)
• Dane Birks – Pittsburgh (2017, 2016, 2015)
• Jake Jackson – San Jose (2017, 2016, 2015, 2014)
• Joel L'Esperance – Anaheim (2016)
• Jake Lucchini – Edmonton (2017, 2016)
• Mitch Reinke – Calgary (2017), Nashville (2016)
• Alex Smith – Calgary (2017)

NEWCOMERS
There are eight freshmen on the roster. The class consists of forwards Justin Misiak, Greyson Reitmeier, and Marcus Russell, defensemen Seamus Donohue, Mitch Meek, Tyler Rockwell, and Cooper Watson, and goaltender Robbie Beydoun.

FORMER HUSKIES AT NHL CAMP
Nine former Huskies participated in NHL Preseason Training Camp. Pheonix Copley (Washington), Shane Hanna (Dallas), Tanner Kero (Chicago), Jujhar Khaira (Edmonton), Jamie Phillips (Winnipeg), Blake Pietila (New Jersey), Angus Redmond (Anaheim), Matt Roy (Los Angeles), Cliff Watson (Calgary) were all invited to camp.

NONCONFERENCE SCHEDULE
• Tech plays nine nonconference games this season and is 2-1 so far this season.
• The Huskies open the 53rd GLI on January 1 versus Michigan State. Bowling Green and Michigan meet in the second semifinal.
• Tech also plays in the Ice Vegas Invitational in Las Vegas. The Huskies open up against Boston College with Northern Michigan and Arizona State meeting in the second semifinal.
• The nonconference schedule wraps up versus ASU at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in February.

JOE SHAWHAN HOUR
The Joe Shawhan Hour can be heard every Monday morning at 9 a.m. on Mix 93.5 WKMJ. Host Dirk Hembroff and Coach Shawhan 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.

COACH SHAWHAN
• Head coach Joe Shawhan was hired on May 30, 2017 after serving as an assistant coach for the Huskies over the past three seasons and is one of nine new head coaches across Division I college hockey.
• Shawhan was brought on staff in July 2014 to work with the goaltenders and defensemen. Tech went 75-34-14 during his three seasons, going to the NCAA Tournament twice, winning the MacNaughton Cup in 2015-16, and the Broadmoor Trophy in 2016-17. The Huskies were ranked in the top two in the WCHA, and top 10 in the nation, in goals against average all three years. 
• Shawhan spent six seasons at Northern Michigan. He was a volunteer assistant in 2007-08, the director of hockey operations in 2009-10, and an assistant coach for four seasons.
• Shawhan was also an assistant coach at his alma mater Lake Superior State from 2005-08.
• As the head coach and general manager of the Soo Indians from 1995-2005, Shawhan compiled a 474-162-43 record to become the winningest coach in the history of the North American Hockey League. He had two 50-win seasons, six 40-win stints, and two seasons with over 30 victories.
• Coach Shawhan earned four letters as a goaltender for LSSU from 1982-87, where he amassed 1,130 saves. He led the CCHA in both goals against average and save percentage during the 1985-86 season and left the program tied for first all-time in career GAA at 3.83. He was also an assistant for the Lakers from 2005-08.

FAMILY AFFAIR
• Gavin Gould – Older brother Malcolm was an All-WCHA forward for the Huskies, playing from 2012-16.
• Devin Kero – Older brother, Tanner, was an All-American Michigan Tech hockey player  from 2011-15.
• Joel L'Esperance – Older brother, Alan, lettered in hockey at Michigan Tech in 2010-11.
• Tyler Rockwell – Father John played goaltender for the Huskies from 1975-79.
• Cooper Watson – Older brother Cliff was a two-time team captain in his four-year career from 2013-17.

UPCOMING GAMES
• Tech travels to Minnesota State next weekend (Oct. 27-28) for the second WCHA road series of the season to wrap up the month
• November opens with three straight home games. Tech hosts Bowling Green in a rematch of the 2017 WCHA Championship Game on November 3-4 and then plays the first of two home and away series with Northern Michigan. The Huskies and Wildcats meet in Houghton on November 10 and in Marquette on November 11.

SUPERIOR PLAYER OF THE GAME
• Wisconsin – Mark Auk // Assisted on both of Tech's goals.
• Union – Joel L'Esperance // Scored two goals.
• Minnesota Duluth – Justin Misiak // Scored the game winner for his first collegiate goal.
• Lake Superior State – Gavin Gould // Scored two goals.
• Lake Superior State – Mitch Reinke // Assisted on two goals.