Huskies Open Second Half of WCHA Schedule at Home vs. Minnesota State
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Minnesota State (11-7-5 (10-2-5)) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
|
Michigan Tech (12-7-4 (9-6-2)) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Michigan Tech vs. No. 19 Minnesota State | |
| Date | Jan. 15, 2016 |
| Times | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| Location | John MacInnes Student Ice Arena |
| TV/Stream | WCHA.tv |
| Radio | Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ (Dirk Hembroff) |
| Online Audio | Pasty.net |
| Game Notes | Michigan Tech |
| Live Stats | CollegeHockeyStats.net |
| Live Tweeting | Twitter.com/mtuhky |
| Tech's Record | 12-7-3 Overall; 9-6-1 WCHA |
| MNSU's Record | 11-7-4 Overall; 10-2-4 WCHA |
TALKING POINTS
• Michigan Tech opens the second half of its Western Collegiate Hockey Association
schedule tonight (Jan. 15) with a showdown against No. 19 Minnesota State. Puck-drop at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena is set for 7 p.m.
• Tonight's outing will be Tech's first at home since Dec. 5 and just its fifth home game since Oct. 31. The Huskies 3-4-0 at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena this winter, but have 12 wins in 16 showings on home ice dating back to last season.
• The Huskies enter tonight's contest five points behind the first-place Mavericks in the WCHA standings. A win tonight would move Tech one point behind second-place Bowling Green (no league games this weekend) and three points behind Minnesota State.
• MTU is looking for its first win against Minnesota State since Feb. 4, 2012 - a 7-3 triumph on the road. The Mavericks have won seven of the last 10 games against the Huskies and are currently on a nine-game unbeaten streak in the series. Tech's last win over MNSU at home was a 1-0 blanking of the Mavericks on Nov. 11, 2011.
• Michigan Tech, along with the rest of the WCHA, will be wearing dark jerseys at home for the second half of the league schedule. Tech will be in their black uniforms tonight and fans are asked to join the team by wearing black to the game. Additionally, the first 500 fans in attendance will receive a free black Tech hockey shirt.
• The Huskies have been outstanding in their black jerseys this winter (7-2-1) and are 19-4- 2 in the uniforms since the start of the 2014-15 campaign.
• Nineteen Tech players have seen game action against Minnesota State, including two players - Alex Petan and Malcolm Gould - who are making their 10th career appearance vs. MNSU tonight. Petan leads all Tech players with five points in his career vs. the Mavericks (5- 0-5) while nine other Huskies have found the score sheet vs. Mankato in their Tech careers.
• Gould, Shane Hanna and Matt Roy are all tied for the team-high in career assists vs. Mankato, as all three players have collected two helpers.
• Senior goaltender Jamie Phillips will be looking to capture his first-ever win against Minnesota State tonight. The reigning WCHA Defensive Player of the Week is 0-4-1 with a .897 save percentage and 3.15 goals against average all-time vs. the Mavericks.
SERIES-OPENING SUCCESS
The Huskies have been consistently good in the first game of weekend sets during the 2015-16 campaign. Tech is 8-2-1 in the first game of a weekend and has posted a 6-2-1 mark on Friday nights.
RACE TO THREE
Michigan Tech's mix of offensive firepower and defensive stinginess has equaled considerable success when the team scores three or more goals. Tech is 10-0-1 when it finds the back of the net three or more times, including a 3-0-0 record when scoring three goals, a 3-0-1 mark when scoring four and a perfect 4-0-0 record when notching five or more goals in a game. On the flip side, the Huskies have struggled to win hockey games when its opponent buries three or more times (2-7-1 this season).
LEADING BY EXAMPLE
The Huskies have enjoyed big contributions from their upperclassmen so far this season. Entering tonight's game, Tech's seniors had combined for a WCHA-high 51 points (19-32) while the team's juniors were tied for second among junior classes in the league with 58 points (22-36). Michigan Tech's 16 upperclassmen (eight seniors, eight juniors) start the series vs. Minnesota State with a combined 109 points on 41 goals and 68 assists - the highest combined total in the WCHA and the 10th-best total in all of NCAA Division I college hockey.
STAT LEADERS
Michigan Tech is once again one of the leaders in nearly all statistical categories among WCHA programs. The Huskies come into the weekend ranking first in scoring (2.95 goals/ game), scoring margin (+15) and power-play efficiency (23.9%). Tech is also in the top- half among WCHA foes in team defense (3rd, 2.27 goals against/game) and shots on goal margin (2nd, +152).
PHILLIPS NAMED WCHA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The senior netminder earned his second WCHA weekly honor after backstopping Tech to the championship of the Desert Hockey Classic last weekend (Jan. 8 and 10) in Glendale, Ariz. Phillips stopped 43-of-46 shots and turned away all three Yale skaters in the shootout of the championship game. Phillips joins Petan, Tyler Heinonen and Brent Baltus as Tech players who have earned a WCHA weekly award this season.
LAST TIME OUT
Michigan Tech earned first-place honors at the first-ever Desert Hockey Classic in Glendale, Ariz. The Huskies knocked off Hockey East's Connecticut 4-2 in the semifinals thanks to goals by Baltus, Hanna, Dylan Steman and Alex Gillies before beating No. 12 Yale of ECAC Hockey in a shootout to clinch the title. Steman scored the lone goal of the game for Tech and Petan notched the game-winning shootout marker.
IN THE NHL
Three former Michigan Tech players have skated in the National Hockey League this season as Tanner Kero (Chicago), Jujhar Khaira (Edmonton) and John Scott (Arizona) have all spent time in the NHL during the early part of the 2015-16 campaign. Scott, who played for Tech from 2002-06, was voted into the NHL All-Star Game and will serve as the captain of Team Pacific Division. The 2016 NHL All-Star Game takes place Jan. 31 in Nashville, Tenn.
FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
Be sure to follow Michigan Tech hockey on social media for the latest news and coverage of the program. The Huskies are on Twitter (@mtuhky), Facebook (/MichiganTechHockey), Instagram (@mtu_hockey) and Snapchat (mtuhuskies). Join the conversation using hashtags #mtuhky and #FollowTheHuskies.
ON DECK
The Huskies have a week off before making the trip to Ohio to play Bowling Green on Jan. 29-30.
MEL PEARSON SHOW
Back for another season is the Mel Pearson Show featuring Coach Pearson and Dirk Hembroff discussing all things Michigan Tech hockey. The show airs live on Mix 93 FM every Monday at 10 a.m. and can be heard anytime on MichiganTechHuskies.com.
WCHA.TV
Followers of the WCHA can watch every league game live online thanks to WCHA. tv. Several subscription options are available, including league-wide and single-team packages. Additional details can be found on the WCHA website or by logging on directly to WCHA.tv.
BLUE LINE CLUB
The Michigan Tech Blue Line Club welcomes all individuals who are interested in promoting and assisting the Huskies. By joining the MTU Blue Line Club, fans are showing support for the program. Several membership options are available and can be found on MichiganTechHuskies.com.
SINGLE-GAME TICKETS
Single-game tickets to all Michigan Tech hockey home games are available at the Student Development Complex Ticket Office, online at BuyHuskiesTickets.com or over the phone at 906-487-2073. The Huskies played seven regular-season home games in the second half of the season.
