Huskies fall Saturday but win Winter Carnival in a shootout
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Minnesota State (15-11-4, 11-7-2) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
|
Michigan Tech (12-13-6, 9-9-2) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech fell 4-2 to Minnesota State at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena on Winter Carnival Saturday Night. The Huskies won the total goal weekend series for the MacInnes Trophy in an exhibition shootout after the game.
"We played five good periods on the weekend but one horrendous period tonight in the second which cost us the hockey game," Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. "Good for the guys gutting out the shootout. Winter Carnival is an important tradition in our program."
MSU (15-11-4, 11-7-2 CCHA) jumped out to its first lead of the weekend 8:22 into the game when Brian Carrabes scored a rebound from Josh Groll and Adam Eisele.
Tech quickly tied it up 1:19 later when Tyrone Bronte ripped in his fourth of the season. Winter Carnival MVP Jed Pietila assisted with a pass through the neutral zone.
The Mavericks found some time and space in the second period and netted a pair of goals to go up 3-1. Sam Morton scored from Evan Murr and Luc Wilson 4:25 after the first intermission and then Kaden Bohlsen found the back of the net from Evan Murr and goaltender Alex Tracy with 3:59 remaining in the second.
The Huskies (12-13-6, 9-9-2 CCHA) made it a one-goal game with a one-timer from Marcus Pedersen after Levi Stauber won a draw deep in the offensive zone 4:53 into the third.
"I told Stauber I wanted a quick hit. He said 'yeah sure' and he won it perfectly where I wanted it," Pedersen said. "I just want to help out the team as best I can. We're dealing with a lot of injuries, so we've had to make a lot of changes."
Tech dominated the third, outshooting the Mavs 12-3 but couldn't find the equalizer—even with a 6-on-4 advantage with 2:30 remaining.
MSU's Kaden Bohlsen scored an empty net goal with 3.2 seconds left to push the margin back to two and force a shootout for the MacInnes Trophy.
In the shootout, Tech got goals from Logan Pietila, Ryland Mosley, and Marcus Pedersen and Blake Pietila shut the door on the final attempt by MSU.
The Huskies led in shots 28-16 in the game. Blake Pietila made 12 saves and Alex Tracy stopped 26 shots. Tech was 2-for-2 on the penalty kill and 0-for-4 on the power play.
There are two weekends left for Tech in the regular season. The Huskies have next weekend off before traveling to Bowling Green on February 23-24 and then will host St. Thomas on March 1-2.
