Huskies fall 4-2 on Senior Night
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Northern Michigan (18-14-2,17-8-2-0) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
|
Michigan Tech (14-17-4,13-11-3-1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
- Game Highlights
- Coach Shawhan Interview
- Keegan Ford Interview
- Alec Broetzman Interview
- Photo Gallery
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech fell 4-2 to Northern Michigan Friday (March 1) at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The two teams will wrap up the regular season Saturday in Marquette.
"I couldn't have asked anything more out of our players for the way they executed and performed tonight," Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. "I want our guys to come out of this feeling confident. We didn't win but played a tremendous game. I give Northern credit. They have some players that make some big plays.
"I don't want our seniors to feel like they let anyone down on their Senior Night. We played a tremendous hockey game."
Tech's five seniors—Keegan Ford, Jake Jackson, Devin Kero, Jake Lucchini, and Dylan Steman—were honored on the ice after the game on Senior Night.
Down 2-0 in the first period, the Huskies took advantage of a 5-on-3 power play, and it was Keegan Ford finding the back of the net to make it a one-goal game. Brian Halonen and Colin Swoyer assisted on Ford's second of the season and third as a Husky with 3:00 left in the first.
Alec Broetzman got the big crowd on its feet when he tied the game 14:14 into the second. Dylan Steman made a play so Broetzman could go one-on-one with his defender. The freshman crossed up the defenseman and ripped a wrist shot past the glove of Atte Tolvanen for his seventh of the season. Halonen added the secondary assist.
Vincent de Mey scored the go-ahead goal 7:02 into the third period on a long one-timer through traffic from Tony Bretzman and Luke Voltin.
Coach Shawhan pulled goaltender Matt Jurusik for the extra attacker with 1:00 left, and the Huskies generated some scoring chances with shots by Greyson Reitmeier, Steman, and Broetzman.
Troy Loggins sealed the game for the Wildcats scoring his hat trick goal into the empty net with three seconds left.
NMU opened scoring 9:54 into the game on a one-timer from Loggins. Denver Pierce and Adam Roeder assisted on the play.
Loggins made it 2-0 5:04 later when he chipped in a pass from Pierce. James Vermeulen was credited with the second assist.
Tech had a season-high 60 shots on goal, taking 22 in the first 14 in the second and 24 in the third. Tolvanen set an NMU single-game record with his 58 saves.
Jurusik stopped 23 shots for the Huskies. Senior Devin Kero stepped between the pipes for the final seconds of the game.
Tech was 1-for-5 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
US Representatives Jack Bergman from Michigan and Stephanie Murphy from Florida dropped the ceremonial puck on the game.
Tech is now 14-17-4 overall and 13-11-3-1 in the WCHA. Northern improved to 18-14-2 overall and 17-8-2-0 in league games.
The two teams will wrap up the regular season on Saturday (March 2) at the Berry Events Center. Puck drop is set for 7:07 p.m.
"We need to play with the same energy level and execution, especially on the big ice," added Shawhan. "We need a great effort to continue to build on our quality of play heading into the playoffs."
Fans can listen to the broadcast on Mix 93 WKMJ or watch on TV6 with a pregame show beginning at 6:30 p.m.
