Tech ties Bemidji State Saturday
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bemidji State (2-1-1, 1-0-1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
|
Michigan Tech (2-2-1, 0-1-1) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech and Bemidji State skated to a 2-2 tie Saturday at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The Beavers earned the extra CCHA point with a win in the fifth round of the shootout after overtime.
"I'm proud of the effort and come back," Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. "I thought the crowd was dynamic tonight and all weekend. We could feel their energy. It's not a win, but it's a point in the standings and it's something we can build off of."
Down 2-0 entering the third period, the Huskies found life scoring their first two power-play goals of the season to tie it up.
Kyle Kukkonen scored his first official collegiate goal 7:24 into the third period to get the Huskies on the board. A defenseman wrapped the puck around behind the net but it bounced to Logan Pietila's stick and he found an open Kukkonen across the high slot for the one-timer.
The heroics continued for Kyle Kukkonen he tied it up with 1:53 remaining in the third. Tech was on the power play and pulled the goaltender for a 6-on-4 advantage. The Huskies worked the puck up top. Jake Crespi fed to Nick Nardella in the middle for a one-touch toward the net. Ryland Mosley tipped it on net and Kukkonen whacked in the rebound from a tight angle for his second of the night.
"I just tried to throw the rebound on net. I didn't really see it go in but the crowd went wild so I figured it went in," Kukkonen said. "We had some great energy and jump in the third period. We need to bring that energy for 60 minutes so we can win these types of games."
Jake Crespi had the best scoring chance in the overtime with a breakaway and then another chance after the save. Tech goaltender Max Vayrynen made four saves in the extra session and the teams headed to a shootout.
Mitchell Martan and Logan Pietila scored in the third round. Jackson Jutting scored in the fifth round and the Huskies weren't able to answer to give Bemidji State the extra conference point.
"They took it to us yesterday," Crespi said. "We knew we needed to stay together and stick to our game plan. We hadn't been defending well this weekend, so we needed to focus on the D-zone out. We got some nice goals by Kyle and it was a full team effort."
Bemidji State (2-1-1, 1-0-1 CCHA) scored in each of the first two periods. Mitchell Martan scored his second of the weekend with 1:14 left in the first to take the lead.
Lleyton Roed gave the visitors a 2-0 lead 16:38 into the second period with his third of the series.
BSU held a slight edge in shots 26-25. Max Vayrynen made his first collegiate start for the Huskies and stopped 24 shots and three chances in the shootout. Mattias Sholl made 23 saves for the visitors.
Tech was 2-for-4 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
The Huskies (2-2-1, 0-1-1 CCHA) host St. Lawrence next weekend for a nonconference series at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
