Huskies Take Down Wildcats on Military Appreciation Night
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Northern Michigan (5-4, 3-2WCHA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
|
Michigan Tech (5-5-2, 3-4-2WCHA) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
- Game Highlights
- Coach Shawhan Interview
- Brent Baltus Interview
- Raymond Brice Interview
- Photo Gallery
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech defeated No. 20 Northern Michigan 4-1 Friday (Nov. 10) night in front of a standing room only crowd on Military Appreciation Night at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. Captain Brent Baltus scored a pair of goals as the Huskies snapped a five-game winless streak.
Tech scored two goals in each of the first two periods and improved to 5-5-2 overall and 3-4-2-1 in the WCHA.
"I was extremely proud of the compete level our team had and the balance we got offensively," Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. "All lines contributed in all facets of the game.
"I'm thankful for the support we got from the community tonight. We haven't given them much to cheer about lately. I'm very pleased that the people who deserve it were able to go home happy tonight."
Raymond Brice opened scoring 11:34 into the game as he took advantage of a steal by Greyson Reitmeier at the side of the net for his second of the season.
"That was the start we were looking for," Brice said. "It was a great play by Greyson, and it happened to go in the net for me."
Brent Baltus added to the lead just over 5:00 later, burying his first of the season on a delayed penalty. Keegan Ford took a long shot from the point that rebounded out to Baltus. Mitch Meek kept the puck in the zone and Alex Smith had the secondary assist on the pass to Ford.
In the second period, Gavin Gould buried his team-leading sixth of the season 7:01 after intermission. The play started with a Gould breakaway that was steered aside by NMU netminder Mathias Israelsson, but Jake Lucchini created a turnover in the corner, and Gould sniped a shot over Israelsson's blocker.
Baltus added his second of the game at the 9:40 mark of the second, tipping in a long shot off the stick of Jake Jackson for the 20th of his career. Smith picked up his second assist on the night with the feed out to Jackson at the blue line.
"I'm happy for Brent Baltus with the night he had," added Shawhan. "His leadership was incredible tonight. He is just so loved on our team, so when he has success it lifts everybody up. He's a great young man and a great leader for us."
NMU (5-2, 3-2 WCHA) got on the board at 14:49 of the second with a power play goal by Joseph Nardi. Assists went to Jordan Klimek and Ryan Black.
Tech outshot NMU 32-21. Patrick Munson made his return to the net for the Huskies, stopping 20 shots, including 12 in the second period alone. Israelsson finished with 28 saves for the visitors.
Staff Sergeant Jon French dropped the game puck with his two sons. Jon is a former Husky, playing on the 1993-94 team and later served in the US Army after graduating from Tech with a bachelor's and master's degree in engineering. He was injured in Eastern Afghanistan and currently serves as a Squad Leader, Designated Marksman, and Combat Engineer (12B) with the 1431st Engineer (SAPPER) Company, a Michigan Army National Guard unit out of Calumet.
The Huskies wore special camouflage jerseys Friday that were auctioned off to benefit the Copper Country Veteran's Association as part of Military Appreciation Weekend. The CCVA provides military rites for deceased veterans in the Upper Peninsula.
Tech and NMU will resume the WCHA series on Saturday (Nov. 11) at the Berry Events Center in Marqueete. Puck drop is set for 7:07 p.m. Fans can listen to the game on Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ or watch live on Fox UP.
