Parrottino, Jurusik and Pietila named WCHA Players of the Week
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech's Tommy Parrottino, Matt Jurusik, and Logan Pietila have been named WCHA Players of the Week after the Huskies swept Northern Michigan in the first round of the WCHA Playoffs. The Huskies won 4-1 Friday and 4-3 in triple overtime Saturday to advance to the WCHA Semifinals at top seed Minnesota State.
Sophomore forward Tommy Parrottino is the WCHA Forward of the Week after he led the WCHA with four goals over the weekend. The Rochester Hills, Michigan, native recorded his second natural hat trick of the season Friday with three goals in the third period, including the game-winner 2:19 after the second intermission. Parrottino also led the league with a plus-5 rating and was on the ice for Logan Pietila's triple-overtime game-winner on Saturday. Parrottino is one of three players in the country with a pair of hat tricks this season. Tech leads the nation with five hat tricks. Parrottino is second on the team with 14 goals and also has seven assists for 21 points this season. This is his first career WCHA weekly honor.
Senior Matt Jurusik is the WCHA Goaltender of the Week after he led the WCHA with a 1.46 goals-against average, a .951 save percentage, and two wins in the first round. The La Grange, Illinois, native stopped 34 shots Friday and made 43 saves Saturday to set a new personal career-high as the Tech netminder. He hasn't allowed a goal in the last 69:08 after Tech won the second-longest game in program history with a 4-3 triple-overtime win in Game 2. He ranks ninth in the nation with 19 wins this season and holds a .924 save percentage and 2.06 goals-against average to rank third in the WCHA. This is his second career WCHA Goaltender of the Week honor.
Logan Pietila is the WCHA Rookie of the Week after he led league freshmen with four points, a plus-4 rating, and 21 faceoff wins over the weekend. He scored the game-winning and series-clinching goal 4:41 into the third overtime to give Tech a 4-3 win Saturday to end the second-longest game in program history. The Howell, Michigan, native had two points each night with a pair of assists Friday and a goal and an assist Saturday. Pietila leads WCHA rookies with three game-winning goals this season and ranks seventh amongst WCHA newcomers with 20 points on eight goals and 12 assists. This is his first career WCHA weekly honor.
The sixth-seeded Huskies improved to 21-15-3 and will travel to the WCHA's top seed and nation's second-ranked Minnesota State Mavericks. The puck drops at 8:07 p.m. Friday, 7:07 p.m. Saturday, and, if necessary, 6:07 p.m. Sunday at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center. Fans looking for tickets should contact the SDC Ticket Office at 906-487-2073.