Petan's Overtime Goal Helps Tech Sweep Alaska
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Alaska (8-20-4 (6-16-4)) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
|
Michigan Tech (19-8-5 (16-7-3)) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Alex Petan notched the game-winner in overtime while teammates Tyler Heinonen and Joel L'Esperance scored in regulation to help No. 14 Michigan Tech to a 3-2 win over Alaska in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association showdown in front of 3,337 at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
The win guarantees the Huskies will play a first-round WCHA playoff series at home and keeps Tech in the hunt for the MacNaughton Cup entering the final weekend of the regular season.
"I really liked our game tonight. We played much better than we did last night," said head coach Mel Pearson. "We had a lot of good performances from people in our lineup. Overall it was good for us to create a lot of offensive chances tonight and stick with it to get the win."
Heinonen scored his 14th of the season 8:21 into the contest to stake the Huskies a 1-0 lead. Tech ended a great shift by working the puck up to Mark Auk at the point, where the blue-liner settled it and put a hard shot on net. The attempt was stopped but the rebound popped right to Heinonen at the edge of the crease for the tap in.
Alaska tied the game three minutes later and took a 2-1 lead four minutes into the second stanza, but a late power-play goal by L'Esperance knotted it at 2-2 after 40 minutes.
The scoring play started when a one-timer by Alex Petan from the point was blocked in front and bounced through the right circle to Max Vallis. Vallis turned, moved towards the net and hit L'Esperance with a perfect pass on the doorstep, where the junior winger batted the puck just over the line for the equalizer.
After a scoreless third, another great shift from the line of Petan, Heinonen and Dylan Steman resulted in the game-winner. An extended stay in the offensive zone led to Heinonen moving the puck low-to-high to Shane Hanna at the point. Hanna scooted to the middle of the ice and sent a shot towards the net as Petan moved to the front of the crease. The perfectly timed play ended with Petan redirecting the pass home, sealing Tech's 19th win of the season.
Michigan Tech (19-8-5 overall; 16-7-3 WCHA) closes out its regular-season schedule next weekend (March 4-5) with a home-and-home series against Northern Michigan. Limited tickets still remain to Friday's game in Houghton and can be purchased at the SDC Ticket Office, online at BuyHuskiesTickets.com or over the phone at 906-487-2073.
NOTES: The Huskies outshot Alaska 51-19 … Tech was 1-for-3 on the power play.
