Halonen scores twice as Huskies shutout Clarkson Friday
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Michigan Tech (3-1-0) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
|
Clarkson (3-2-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
POTSDAM, NY – No. 18 Michigan Tech shutout Clarkson 3-0 Friday (Oct. 29) at Cheel Arena. Brian Halonen had a pair of goals and Blake Pietila made 23 saves for his fourth career shutout. The Huskies improved to 3-1 with their first win over Clarkson since 1966.
"I thought our guys executed well," Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. "The penalty kill was outstanding, our goaltending was tremendous, and every guy that dressed tonight certainly contributed and left it all on the ice.
"We were strong on the puck in our zone. We did a good job challenging all loose pucks and not giving them easy shots to the net."
Tied up after the first period, Brian Halonen got the Huskies on the board 35 seconds into second. He carried the puck all the way around the zone and wristed in his 34th career goal. Colin Swoyer assisted on the goal that was scored as the team's skated 4-on-4.
Halonen added to the lead at 15:09 of the second when he caught a centering pass from Alec Broetzman and fired a shot. It was initially saved but rebounded out and bounced off of Halonen's skate and across the goal line. The officials reviewed the play but the goal stood. Trenton Bliss added the second assist.
"Brian's big and strong and took care of the puck tonight," added Shawhan. "He outmuscled guys like he always does, and it's a great example of us being led by our upperclassmen."
The Golden Knights pressured in the third, outshooting the Huskies 12-3. Tech had to kill off three penalties in the final 20:00 with Blake Pietila standing tall between the pipes.
Clarkson (3-2-1) pulled its goaltender while on the man advantage with 3:05 left in the third. The penalty expired and Ryland Mosley flipped the puck from center ice that bounced in for a three-goal lead. It was Mosley's second of the season and third of his career.
The Huskies outshot the Golden Knights 24-23 with a 20-10 advantage through the first 40:00. Pietila had four saves in the first, six in the second, and 12 in the third. Ethan Haider had 20 saves for the home team.
Tech's penalty kill went 6-for-6 on the night and has now killed off all 15 power-play opportunities by the opponent this season. The Huskies had a 4:00 kill in the second period where they didn't even allow a shot on goal.
Halonen has a point in every game this season with three goals and three assists.
Tech and Clarkson wrap up the non-conference series on Saturday (Oct. 30) at 7:30 p.m.
