Gordon scores hat trick in Friday win over Augustana
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Augustana (S.D.) (3-3-1) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
|
Michigan Tech (1-4-3) | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech came back from a two-goal deficit and earned a 6-4 victory over Augustana Friday (Nov. 3) at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. Freshman Isaac Gordon netted a hat trick, and goaltender Blake Pietila won his 59th career game to set a school record.
"I thought it was a fun game to watch," Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. "The people that came sure gave us great energy. We played a really good hockey team tonight, but I think we have a good hockey team as well that's growing, gaining confidence, and finding an identity."
Six goals were scored in the first 20:00. The Vikings found the back of the net 1:33 into the game with a long shot through traffic by Anthony Stark.
Isaac Gordon tied the game at 12:19 of the first with a quick one-timer from Marcus Pedersen.
The Huskies then took the lead after a one-timer blast off the stick of Blais Richartz for his first of the season. Kash Rasmussen and Isaac Gordon assisted.
"I saw Kash win the battle in the corner, so I called for it. I shot it and it went in," Richartz said. "It's been a long time coming to get this win. We've been through a lot and the start of the season hasn't been great, so to finally get the win was huge."
Augustana then scored three straight before intermission. Quin Rudrud found the back of the net at 16:15, Owen Bohn scored 66 seconds later on the power play, and Jack Jensen added another power-play goal with 1:14 left in the first.
Tech took it from there. Kash Rasmussen drew the Huskies to within one with a side of the net tap in goal for his first of the season 5:36 into the second. Evan Orr and Nick Williams assisted.
Isaac Gordon scored a power-play goal after a shot from the sidewall that found its way in at 11:23. Max Koskipirtti and Jed Pietila assisted on Gordon's second of the night.
Jack Works scored the eventual game-winner 29 seconds later when he swooped around the net and tapped a loose puck after Blais Richartz bumped it from under the goaltender's glove. Kash Rasmussen added the second assist on the first goal of the season for Works.
The Vikings pulled their goaltender late in the third, and Isaac Gordon scored from the red line with 1:26 left to seal the win and earn the hat trick. It was Gordon's fourth goal of the season. He has a point in three straight games and eight points in eight games this season.
"The puck just went in for me, I guess," Gordon said. "I had a lot of chances last weekend that I wasn't able to bury, so I just tried to keep a positive mindset."
Blake Pietila stopped 19 shots to earn the victory. He won 14 games as a sophomore, 21 as a junior, 23 as a senior, and one so far as a fifth-year alternate captain.
"I'm extremely proud of Blake Pietila," Shawhan added. "There's been over 100 years of history and for him to break the all-time wins record is incredible. There have been so many great goaltenders to play for this program. It's been a pleasure to watch each one of Blake's wins."
The Huskies racked up 40 shots on goal. Zack Rose had 22 saves in the first half of the game, and Josh Kotai made 12 saves to finish it out.
The teams combined for 36 minutes of penalties with Tech receiving a pair of 5:00 majors. The Huskies were 1-for-6 on the power play and 3-for-5 on the penalty kill.
The first-ever series between the Huskies and Vikings wraps up at 6:07 p.m. Saturday on Tadych's Marketplace Foods Kids Day. Fans can also Skate With The Huskies after the game.
