PREVIEW: Huskies face No. 1 Boston College in NCAA Regional

NCAA REGIONAL
• Michigan Tech earned the CCHA's automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament and will open against No. 1 Boston College on Friday.
• Tech is making its third straight NCAA appearance and is 19-14-6 overall after winning the Mason Cup on Friday night as CCHA Playoff Champions.
• The Huskies and Eagles will play at Amica Mutual Pavilion in the Providence, Rhode Island Regional with a 2 p.m. faceoff.
• It is the fourth NCAA tournament under head coach Joe Shawhan and the program's 16th all-time appearance.
• Tech won the NCAA Championship three times (1962, 1965, and 1975) and last earned a win in 1981, finishing third.

OTHER REGIONAL MATCHUP
• No. 8 seed Wisconsin will play No. 9 seed Quinnipiac in the other regional semifinal at 5:30 p.m.
• The winners will play in the regional championship on Sunday at 4 p.m. for a chance to move to the Frozen Four at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota on April 11 and 13.

ON THE RADIO
• Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ broadcasts all Michigan Tech hockey games.
• Fans can listen live on the radio at Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ, online at TheMix93.com or Pasty.com, or by using your favorite radio streaming app.
• Dirk Hembroff will call all the action in his 22nd year behind the microphone.

TV COVERAGE
• ESPNU and ESPN+ will televise Friday's game against BC.
• The Regional Championship will be televised on ESPN2 at 4 p.m.
• John Buccigross (play-by-play) and Colby Cohen (analyst) will call the action in Providence.
• Fans in Canada can watch the NCAA Tournament on TSN+.

NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES
• Michigan Tech is 9-10 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Huskies have dropped five straight games with the last win in 1981.
• Tech has been to the NCAA Tournament 16 times.
• The Huskies are making their third straight appearance and fourth under head coach Joe Shawhan.

TECH IN PROVIDENCE
• Tech is 4-0 in NCAA Tournament games in Providence.
• The Huskies won the 1965 NCAA Championship at Meehan Arena in Providence. Tech shutout Brown 4-0 in the semifinal and defeated Boston College 8-2 in the final.
• In the 1981 NCAA quarterfinal at Schneider Arena, Tech won a two-game total goal series over Providence to advance to the national semifinal.

BROTHER & SISTER IN NCAA
• Trevor Russell (Michigan Tech) and Sydney Russell (Stonehill).
• McKade Webster (Denver) and Makenna Webster (Ohio State).
• Scott Morrow (UMass) and Sydney Morrow (Colgate).

SERIES INFO
• Boston College – Tech is 4-7 all-time against BC. The Huskies are 3-2 against the Eagles in neutral-site games. Tech defeated BC at the Ice Vegas Invitational at T-Mobile Arena in 2018 in their last meeting. The Huskies are 2-0 against the Eagles in the NCAA Tournament with a national semifinal win in 1956 and a national championship victory in 1965.
• Quinnipiac – The Huskies and Bobcats have never met.
• Wisconsin – Tech is 54-104-11 against Wisconsin. The Badgers swept the Huskies in Houghton earlier this season. Tech is 2-4 in neutral site games against UW.

MASON CUP CHAMPIONS
• Michigan Tech captured its first-ever CCHA Mason Cup Championship with a 2-1 victory at No. 20 Bemidji State Friday evening.
• It was the 12th conference tournament championship for the Huskies and the second under Coach Shawhan (2018). The previous 11 titles were all in the WCHA: 1960, 1962, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, 2017, 2018.
• Chase Pietila scored in the first period and Ryland Mosley scored the eventual game-winner in the second period.
• Blake Pietila made 34 saves to earn his 76th career victory.
• It was the fifth straight win for the Huskies and the seventh victory in the last eight, snapping an 11-game unbeaten streak by Bemidji State.

CCHA SEMIFINAL
• Michigan Tech advanced to the CCHA Mason Cup Championship Game with a 4-3 victory on March 16 over Minnesota State.
• Logan Pietila scored the final two goals, including the game-winner with 9.1 seconds left. Jack Works and Kash Rasmussen also scored and Blake Pieitla made 29 saves.

CCHA QUARTERFINAL
• The Huskies defeated Bowling Green 5-0 on March 8 and 6-5 on March 9 at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena to open the CCHA Playoffs.
• Ryland Mosley scored three goals, Isaac Gordon had two, while Henry Bartle, Tyrone Bronte, Arvid Caderoth, Logan Pietila, Blais Richartz, and Jack Works also found the back of the net.
• Blake Pietila earned his 24th career shutout Friday and his 74th win Saturday.

HUSKIES RANKED
• Michigan Tech is ranked No. 20 in this week's USCHO and USA Hockey/The Rink Live polls.
• The Huskies were No. 10 in the preseason USCHO Poll and were No. 9 on October 9 and No. 17 on October 17. The received votes in the 19 previous weeks.

SCOUTING BC
• Boston College is 31-5-1 overall and is the tournament's top seed.
• The Eagles have been No. 1 in the USCHO poll since January 29.
• BC is making its 37th NCAA Tournament appearance and are the Hockey East regular season and tournament champions.
• The Eagles have won 12 in a row and will be playing 48 miles from their home arena.
• Head coach Greg Brown is in his second season and was named Hockey East Coach of the Year.
• Hockey East Goaltender of the Year Jacob Fowler is 29-5-1 with a 2.19 goals against average and .925 save percentage.
• Cutter Gauthier leads the nation with 35 goals and Will Smith leads the nation with 58 points. Both were named to the All-Hockey East First Team.

IN THE CCHA TOURNAMENT
• Tech is 9-8-1 all-time in the CCHA Tournament.
• The four wins this season were the most in program history in the tournament.
• The Huskies were in the CCHA from 1981-84 and went 1-6-1.

GORDON ALL-CCHA
• Isaac Gordon is the CCHA Rookie of the Year.
• He was also named to the All-CCHA Second Team and CCHA All-Rookie Team.
• In CCHA games, Gordon played in all 24 contests for the Huskies and was second among all CCHA skaters in goals (11) during conference play, pacing league rookies in points (20) and plus-minus (+10) and finishing second in shots (66).
• Fifth overall in plus-minus, he was third on Michigan Tech with nine assists, including two helpers on the power play. Notching three multi-point games, he had two five-game point streaks during the conference season and tallied a game-winning goal against Bowling Green (Dec. 2).

PIETILA ALL-CCHA
• Blake Pietila was named to the All-CCHA Second Team.
• In CCHA games, Pietila went 12-9-2 with a 2.05 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage, leading the league in conference wins, games played (23), shutouts (3), and total saves (578).
• He finished third in goals-against average and save percentage, helping the Huskies to three shutout victories and a place in the Mason Cup Championship.

THIRD IN NCAA SHUTUOUTS
• Blake Pietila earned his 24th career shutout on March 8 against Bowling Green, placing him in sole possession of third-most in NCAA Division I men's hockey history.
• Only Minnesota State's Dryden McKay (34) and Michigan State's Ryan Miller (26) had more.
• Pietila is Tech's all-time leader in shutouts and the active NCAA leader.

POINT STREAK
• 5 Game – Ryland Mosley – 4 goals, 5 assists

TOP ROOKIE
• Freshman Isaac Gordon leads the Huskies with 36 points and 18 goals this season. He leads the CCHA in points and is ranked second in goals.
• His 36 points are the most by a Tech rookie since Colin Murphy in 2002-03 when he tallied 37.
• Gordon is fourth in goals amongst NCAA rookies.

MOSLEY LIGHTS THE LAMP
• Ryland Mosley is tied with Isaac Gordon with 18 goals this season, placing him second in goals in the CCHA.
• He was named the First Star of the CCHA Mason Cup Championship with the game-winning goal.
• Mosley has tallied a career-high 33 points in his fourth season, tallying 18 goals and 15 assists.

MISC STATS
• Tech is 1-0-1 in neutral site games with a victory over Alaska in the GLI and a tie and shootout win over No. 7 Michigan State the next day.
• The Huskies are 9-1-0 when scoring four or more goals and 7-1-2 when scoring three goals in a game.
• Eight of Isaac Gordon's 18 goals have been scored in the first period.
• 16 of Ryland Mosley's 18 goals have been scored after the first period.
• Tech is 11-1-3 when scoring the first goal of the third period.

STAT RANKINGS
• The Huskies lead the CCHA in shots on goal (32.46) and rank ninth nationally in total shots.
• Tech leads the CCHA in scoring defense (2.49) which is 13th nationally.
• The Huskies power play leads the CCHA at 22.9 percent, ranking 17th nationally. Tech has 27 power-play goals.
• Tech is second in the CCHA in fewest penalty minutes per game (7.33) which ranks fifth in the nation.
• Isaac Gordon leads the CCHA with 36 points and is second with 18 goals. Gordon is seventh in goals amongst NCAA rookies.
• Chase Pietila leads the team with 19 assists which ranks fourth in the CCHA and sixth in the nation amongst rookie defensemen. He leads the CCHA with 23 penalties.
• Ryland Mosley leads the CCHA with five game-winning goals. He is also second in the CCHA with 18 goals and fifth in points (33). He is also second in shots (141) and third in power-play goals (7) and power-play goals (7).
• Logan Pietila also leads the CCHA with five game-winning goals. His 13 career game-winners leads all active players. Logan is second in the CCHA in faceoff wins (354), ranking 33rd nationally.
• Trevor Russell ranks fifth in the CCHA with 55 blocked shots.
• Blake Pietila is 11th in the nation in save percentage (.920) and 15th in goals-against average (2.18). He is also sixth in minutes played and 11th in saves.

NCAA CHAMPIONS ON ROSTER
• Matthew Campbell was on Quinnipiac's National Championship team in 2023. He dressed in one game for the Bobcats.
• Jack Works was on Denver's 2022 National Championship team. He played 10 games that season for the Pioneers.

GLI CHAMPS
• Michigan Tech won its 12th Great Lakes Invitational Championship on December 29 at Van Andel Arena.
• The Huskies came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Alaska 3-2 in overtime in the semifinal.
• Tech tied No. 7 Michigan State 3-3 and then defeated the Spartans 1-0 in the shootout.
• Jack Works had a hat trick in the title game and was named GLI MVP.
• Blake Pietila stopped a career-high 54 shots and then made all three saves in the shootout and was also named to the GLI All-Tournament Team.
• Ryland Mosley and Chase Pietila were also honored on the GLI All-Tournament Team.

KOSKIPIRTTI AT WJC
• Freshman Max Koskipirtti was on Finland's roster for the 2024 IIHF World Championship. Finland fell to Czechia 8-5 in the Bronze Medal game.
• Koskipirtti has skated in 19 games for the Huskies this season at center. He has tallied three goals and nine assists and is a plus-4. Koskipirtti scored the game-winning goal at Minnesota State (Nov. 25) and had a pair of assists against Augustana (Nov. 3).
• Blake Pietila (USA – 2013), Liam Garvey (USA – 1993), Pat Mikesch (USA - 1993), Jim Storm (USA - 1991), and Damian Rhodes (USA - 1988) are the previous five Huskies to play in the WJC.

HAT TRICK NOTES
• Ryland Mosley, Isaac Gordon, and Jack Works have each netted a hat trick this season.
• The last time Tech had three hat tricks in a season was 2019-20 when the Huskies had five.

HUSKY HAT TRICKS
• Isaac Gordon had a hat trick in the 6-4 win over Augustana on Friday. He scored a goal in each period.
• Ryland Mosley netted a hat trick in Saturday's 4-3 overtime win over the Vikings. He scored Tech's last three goals, including the overtime game-winner.
• The last time Tech had hat tricks on back-to-back nights was October 17-18, 2003 against Northern Michigan. Chris Conner scored a goal each period in a 4-3 OT NMU win in Marquette. Colin Murphy scored four goals the next night in a 7-6 OT win for the Huskies at the Mac. Tech trailed 6-3 with 2:06 remaining. Nick Anderson scored at 17:55, Murphy at 18:34, again at 19:32, and then he won the game 2:58 into overtime.
• Jack Works had a hat trick in the GLI Championship game. He scored on the power play in the first period and added a pair of third-period goals. He was named MVP of the tournament after helping the Huskies to their 12th title.

CCHA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
• Mar. 18 – Logan Pietila – CCHA Forward of the Week
• Mar. 18 – Max Koskipirtti – CCHA Rookie of the Week
• Mar. 11 – Isaac Gordon – CCHA Rookie of the Week
• Feb. 26 – Blake Pietila – CCHA Goaltender of the Week
• Feb. 26 – Jack Works – CCHA Forward of the Week
• Jan. 29 – Isaac Gordon – CCHA Rookie of the Week
• Jan. 22 – Isaac Gordon – CCHA Rookie of the Week
• Jan. 2 – Jack Works – CCHA Forward of the Week
• Jan. 2 – Blake Pietila – CCHA Goaltender of the Week
• Jan. 2 – Chase Pietila – CCHA Defenseman of the Week
• Jan. 2 – Chase Pietila – CCHA Rookie of the Week
• Dec. 4 – Blake Pietila – CCHA Goaltender of the Week
• Nov. 27 – Ryland Mosley – CCHA Forward of the Week
• Nov. 27 – Matthew Campbell – CCHA Defenseman of the Week
• Nov. 6 – Isaac Gordon – CCHA Rookie of the Week
• Nov. 6 – Chase Pietila – CCHA Defenseman of the Week

CCHA GOALTENDER OF THE MONTH
• Blake Pietila was the CCHA Goaltender of the Month for February.
• It's the second time this season and the eighth time in his career that he has been named the conference goaltender of the month.
• Pietila went 3-2-1 during February with a 1.99 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage. He earned one shutout and stopped over 25 shots four times with three 31-save games.

CCHA GOALTENDER OF THE MONTH
• Blake Pietila was named the CCHA Goaltender of the Month for December.
• It's the seventh time in his career that he was named the conference goaltender of the month.
• Pietila went 3-2-1 between the pipes with only one regulation loss in December. He held a 2.31 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage.

CCHA ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
• Isaac Gordon was named the CCHA Rookie of the Month for November after he tallied nine points for the Huskies in the second month of the season.
• Gordon scored seven goals and added a pair of assists in November. He had 23 shots on goal and was a plus-3.

GAMES WIN RECORD
• Fifth-year goaltender Blake Pietila set a school record with his 59th career win on November 4 with a 6-4 victory over Augustana. He stopped 19 shots to earn the victory.
• Pietila has 76 wins and won 14 games as a sophomore, 21 as a junior, 23 as a senior, and 18 so far this season.

CCHA STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
• Blake Pietila has been named the CCHA Student-Athlete of the Year.
• He earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in the spring and is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration, holding a 3.62 cumulative grade-point average.
• Other Huskies to be honored as the conference student-athlete of the year are Jamie Phillips (2015-16), Tanner Kero (2014-15), Eli Vlaisavljevich (2009-10), and Geoff Sarjeant (1991-92).

IN OVERTIME
• Tech has played 11 overtime games this season and is 3-2-6 in the extra session.
• The three wins are over Augustana (Ryland Mosley), Minnesota State (Ryland Mosley), and Alaska (Logan Pietila).
• The overtime losses are to Ferris State and Bowling Green.

IN THE SHOOTOUT
• Tech has been to six shootouts this season and is 2-4.
• The Huskies won 2-1 in a shootout against Alaska with Max Koskipirtti and Logan Pietila scoring.
• Tech won the GLI Championship with a 1-0 shootout win over Michigan State. Ryland Mosley scored the goal.
• The Huskies lost in a shootout at Minnesota Duluth, at St. Lawrence, and home against Bemidji State and Northern Michigan. Kyle Kukkonen scored in the 2-1 loss to UMD and the Huskies didn't score in the shootout against the Skating Saints. Ryland Mosley scored in the shootout against the Beavers. Isaac Gordon scored against NMU.

PIETILA NOTES
• Blake Pietila ranking amongst active goaltenders
    76 wins – leads nation
    141 games played – leads nation
    24 shutouts – leads nation
    3,333 saves – third nationally
    .922 save percentage – fifth nationally
• Logan Pietila ranking amongst active players
    13 game-winners – leads nation
    5 shorthanded goals – second nationally
    179 games played – third nationally

COACH SHAWHAN
• Head Coach Joe Shawhan is in his seventh season behind the bench and holds a record of 138-102-26.
• He was named the 2023 CCHA Coach of the Year and is one of only two coaches to take four different Michigan Tech teams to the NCAA Tournament.
• He won his 100th career game at Bowling Green on November 5, 2022, and ranks second in wins by a Tech hockey coach.
• Shawhan's 22 wins in his first season tied for the most ever by a first-year Michigan Tech coach. Jim Nahrgang won 22 games in 1982-83.
• Shawhan was named the 22nd head coach of the Huskies on May 30, 2017, after serving as an assistant coach for Tech over the previous three seasons.

NON-CONFERENCE
• Tech went 3-4-4 in the non-conference.
• Tech tied Minnesota Duluth 2-2 in the season-opener.
• The Huskies lost and tied Alaska in the home-opening series on October 13-14.
• Tech dropped a pair of games to Wisconsin on October 20-21 at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
• The Huskies tied 2-2 at St. Lawrence (Oct. 27) and fell 3-1 at Clarkson (Oct. 28).
• Tech swept Augustana in the first-time meeting with 6-4 and 4-3 overtime wins on November 3-4 in Houghton.
• In the 57th annual Great Lakes Invitational (Dec. 28-29) Tech defeated Alaska 3-2 in overtime and tied No. 7 Michigan State 3-3.

SPORTSCENTER TOP 10
• Logan Pietila's shootout game-winner against Alaska on October 14 was No. 8 on ESPN Sportscenter's Top 10 Plays of the night.
• Logan scored on a between-the-legs goal in the 2-1 exhibition shootout win.

NHL DEVELOPMENT CAMPS
• Kyle Kukkonen – Anaheim Ducks (2022, 2023)
• Blake Pietila – Dallas Stars (2023)
• Austen Swankler – Nashville Predators (2022), Vegas Golden Knights (2023)
• Trevor Russell – New Jersey (2022, 2023)
• Max Vayrynen – Calgary Flames (2023)

NHL DRAFT PICK
• Kyle Kukkonen – Picked by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2021 NHL Draft as the 162nd overall pick in the sixth round.
• Kukkonen is the 84th Michigan Tech player to be drafted by an NHL club.

CAPTAINS
• Seniors Logan Pietila and Arvid Caderoth are the captains.
• Seniors Ryland Mosley and Blake Pietila and sophomore Kyle Kukkonen are alternate captains.

TRANSFERS
• Tyrone Bronte played at Alabama Huntsville in 2020-21. He was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team after tallying 13 points on four goals and nine assists in 22 games.
• Matthew Campbell was a member of the NCAA National Championship Quinnipiac Bobcats during the 2022-23 season. He appeared in one game.
• Lachlan Getz played one season at Boston University, appearing in 16 games. He played against the Huskies in the Desert Hockey Classic Title game.
• Austen Swankler played 71 games over the past two seasons with Bowling Green. He has tallied 70 collegiate points with 27 goals and 43 assists. He was named to the All-CCHA First Team in 2022-23 and to the CCHA All-Rookie Team in 2021-22.
• Jack Works began his collegiate career with 15 games over the past two seasons with Denver. He tallied one assist with the Pioneers in his NCAA debut and was a member of the 2022 NCAA National Championship team.

ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
• Blake Pietila – CCHA Player of the Year (2022-23), CCHA Goaltender of the Year (2022-23), CCHA First Team (2022-23) & Second Team (2021-22 & 2023-24)
Isaac Gordon – CCHA Rookie of the Year (2023-24), All-CCHA Second Team (2023-24) & All-CCHA Rookie Team (2023-24)
• Ryland Mosley – CCHA First Team (2022-23)
• Kyle Kukkonen – CCHA Rookie of the Year (2022-23) & All-CCHA Rookie Team (2022-23)
• Arvid Caderoth – All-WCHA Rookie Team (2020-21)
• Tyrone Bronte – All-WCHA Rookie Team (2020-21) with Alabama Huntsville

2022-23 RECAP
• Tech made its second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2022-23 and its third under Shawhan.
• The Huskies finished 24-11-4 overall and second in the CCHA with a 15-7-4 record.
• Tech won the Desert Hockey Classic with wins over Arizona State and No. 6 Boston University and went 7-2 in its non-conference schedule.

INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
• Tech's roster boasts players from five different countries.
• United States: 16
• Canada: 6
• Finland: 4
• Sweden: 2
• Australia: 1

BLAKE PIETILA HONORS LAST SEASON
• First Team All-American
• CCHA Player of the Year
• CCHA Goaltender of the Year
• All-CCHA First Team
• Mike Richter Top 3 Finalist
• Hobey Baker Top 10 Finalist
• Desert Hockey Classic MVP
• School record shutouts in a season (10) and career (20)
• Tied for the school's all-time wins record (58)

KYLE KUKKONEN HONORS LAST SEASON
• CCHA Rookie of the Year
• Unanimous selection on CCHA All-Rookie Team
• Scored the fifth-most goals by a Michigan Tech freshman in program history and his 18 goals were the most by a Tech freshman since 1988.
• Winter Carnival MVP

RETURNERS
• Tech returns 20 players from last season with 12 forwards, five defensemen, and three goaltenders.
• The Huskies return their top three scorers with Ryland Mosley (31), Kyle Kukkonen (27), and Logan Pietila (22).
• Jack Works (17) and Jed Pietila (16) also notched over 15 points.

FRESHMEN
• Tech has seven freshmen on the roster with four forwards and three defensemen.
• Forwards: Henry Bartle, Lauri Raiman, Max Koskipirtti, Isaac Gordon.
• Defensemen: Cameron Moger, Chase Pietila, Nick Williams.

PIETILA TIMES FIVE
• Logan and Blake Pietila are twins and are joined by younger brother Chase. Blake is a goaltender, Chase is a defenseman, and Logan is a forward.
• Cousin and next-door neighbor Jed Pietila is a defenseman.
• Other Pietilas to play for the Huskies were Phil Pietila (2002-05), Aaron Pietila (2009-13), Chad Pietila (2011-13), and Blake Pietila (2011-15).
• Jimmy Pietila is currently a student assistant for the Huskies.