PREVIEW: Huskies travel for GLI at Michigan and Michigan State

THIS WEEK'S GAMES
• Michigan Tech travels to Yost Ice Arena to play the No. 3-ranked Michigan Wolverines on December 29. The puck drops at 7 p.m.
• The Huskies wrap up the trip at Munn Ice Arena against the Michigan State Spartans on December 30. Game time is set for 5 p.m.
• Both games are part of the Great Lakes Invitational Showcase. No. 4 Western Michigan is the invitee and plays the Spartans first and the Wolverines second.
• Tech is 3-2 in non-conference games so far this season and wraps up play against non-CCHA teams.
• The Huskies are 10-7 overall this season and 7-5 in the CCHA, positioning themselves at No. 3 in the conference standings.

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 20th year behind the microphone.

HOW TO WATCH
• Both games will be streamed at BTNplus.com.
• To watch both games, fans should purchase a monthly conference pass for $14.95 for the month. To watch a single game, purchase a monthly school pass for either Michigan or Michigan State for $9.95 for the month.

HUSKIES RANKED
• Tech is ranked No. 18 in the latest USCHO.com Top 20 poll.
• The Huskies have received votes in all 12 USCHO polls this season and were ranked No. 16 on October 11, and No. 18 for three weeks from October 18-November 1.
• Tech was in the top 20 four times last season with the highest ranking of 18 on February 15 and January 25.

MICHIGAN TECH HOCKEY BOOK
• University Images has a new book on sale, "Michigan Tech Hockey, 100 Years of Memories."
• You can purchase the book for $29.95 in the store or online at MichiganTechHuskies.com/HockeyBook.
• Proceeds from the book will benefit the Michigan Tech Hockey program.

SERIES INFO
• UM – Tech is 97-126-6 against the Wolverines in a series that dates back to 1921. The Huskies are 42-77-4 in games played in Ann Arbor.
• MSU – The Huskies are 85-74-4 all-time against the Spartans. They are 34-36-2 against MSU in East Lansing. Tech is undefeated in nine of the last 10 meetings.

LAST MEETINGS
• UM – Tech defeated Michigan 4-2 on December 31, 2019, in the GLI Championship at Little Caesars Arena. Logan Pietila had hat trick while Alec Broetzman added an empty-netter.
• UM – The teams last met at Yost Ice Arena in October 2016. Michigan won 4-3 the first night after Will Lockwood scored a shorthanded goal with 52 seconds left. The teams tied 3-3 the next night.
• MSU – Tech advanced to the 2019 GLI Championship game with a 4-2 win over Michigan State. The Huskies scored the final three goals with Trenton Bliss, Tommy Parrottino, Eric Gotz, and Alex Smith finding the back of the net.
• MSU – The Huskies last played at Munn Ice Arena in November 2016. MSU won 3-2 in overtime the first night with Tech dominating 6-1 the next night.

SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
• Michigan is 14-6 overall and 7-5 in the Big Ten.
• The Wolverines are ranked No. 3 in both the USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll.
• Four of Michigan's top six scorers will be absent for the GLI while representing their countries at the U20 World Junior Championship. Canadians Kent Johnson (23 pts) and Owen Power (23 pts) lead the way in scoring for the Wolverines, while Americans Matty Beniers (22 pts) and Luke Hughes (18 pts) are not far behind. Mackie Samoskevich (11 pts) also made Team USA and will therefore miss the GLI.
• Former Husky Mel Pearson is in his fifth season as head coach of the Wolverines. His overall record is 200-153-44.
• Pearson played for the Huskies from 1977-81 and accumulated 56 points (21 goals, 35 assists) in 97 career outings and helped the Huskies win the WCHA playoff tournament and the GLI as a senior in 1980-81.
• Pearson was the head coach of Michigan Tech from 2011-2017 and held a 118-92-29 record.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
• Michigan State is 10-7-1 overall and 5-5 in the Big Ten.
• Mitchell Lewandowski leads the team with 18 points and Jeremy Davidson leads with eight goals. Former Northern Michigan Wildcat Griffin Loughran has tallied nine points in his first season with the Spartans
• Danton Cole is in his fifth season as head coach. His overall record is 79-144-24.
• Both the Huskies and Spartans have four wins over Wisconsin and Ferris State and a loss to Notre Dame.

POINT STREAKS
• Two Game – Brian Halonen (3 goals)
• Two Game – Logan Pietila (1 goal, 2 assists)
• Two Game – Tommy Parrottino (2 goals)
• Two Game – Colin Swoyer (1 goal, 1 assist)

BY THE NUMBERS
• Michigan Tech ranks fourth in the nation in penalty kill percentage (90.2). Tech also ranks sixth in scoring defense (2.12) and power-play percentage (27.1).
• Brian Halonen is ninth in the nation in goals per game (0.65). He leads the Huskies with 11 goals, 11 assists, and 22 points.
• Justin Misiak has 11 points in the last nine games with three goals and eight assists.
• Misiak is inching his way towards the Michigan Tech games played record of 165 set by Richard Novak (1984-89). The fifth-year senior has played in 161 career games.
• Tech leads the CCHA in power-play percentage, penalty kill percentage, and fewest penalty minutes.
• The Huskies are second in the CCHA in scoring defense, shots on goal, and blocked shots.

LAST TIME OUT
• The Huskies picked up their third sweep of the season with a pair of victories over St. Thomas at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena on December 10-11.
• Tech won 6-1 Friday and 4-3 in overtime Saturday.
• Brian Halonen had three goals in the series, including the game-winner Saturday. Justin Misiak scored twice Friday, and Tommy Parrottino found the back of the net both nights. Colin Swoyer, Tristan Ashbrook, and Logan Pietila also scored in the series.

CCHA PLAY
• Michigan Tech was in the CCHA from 1981-84 and holds a 48-45-1 CCHA record.
• The last CCHA game Tech played before this season was on February 25, 1984, against Lake Superior State.

CCHA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
• Tristan Ashbrook – CCHA Forward of the Week on November 29.
• Alec Broetzman – CCHA Forward of the Week on October 11.
• Blake Pietila – CCHA Goaltender of the Week on October 11.

CAPTAINS
• Senior forwards Trenton Bliss and Alec Broetzman are the captains of the Huskies. Broetzman wore the C as a junior and Bliss had an A.
• Senior defensemen Eric Gotz and Colin Swoyer are alternate captains for the second straight season.

COACH SHAWHAN
• Head coach Joe Shawhan is in his fifth season behind the bench. He won his 80th career game at Bemidji State on November 19, 2021.
• 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.

ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
• Colin Swoyer – WCHA Second Team (2020-21)
• Trenton Bliss – WCHA Third Team (2020-21)
• Arvid Caderoth – All-WCHA Rookie Team (2020-21)
• Brian Halonen – All-WCHA Rookie Team (2018-19)

NONCONFERENCE
• Tech plays seven nonconference games this season.
• The Huskies swept Wisconsin on October 8-9 to begin the season.
• Tech fell 2-1 in overtime to Notre Dame on October 15 in the home-opener.
• The Huskies split at Clarkson on October 29-30.
• The GLI wraps up nonconference games for the Huskies.

TRANSFERS
• Michael Karow came to Tech after four seasons and 131 games at Boston College. He played against the Huskies in the Ice Vegas Invitational when Tech won 4-3. Karow played youth hockey with Trenton Bliss.
• Matthew Quercia played three seasons and 81 games at Boston University. He comes to Tech with 18 collegiate points (nine goals, nine assists). Quercia and Colin Swoyer were teammates in the USHL at Sioux Falls.
• Tyrone Bronte was an All-WCHA Rookie Team pick at Alabama Huntsville last season. He had 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 22 games. The Melbourne, Australia native played with Chris Lipe in Dubuque for a couple of games.

PRESEASON ALL-CCHA
• Colin Swoyer was named to the Preseason All-CCHA Team, while Trenton Bliss also received votes for the squad.
• Swoyer was named to the All-WCHA Second Team as a junior and was also on the WCHA All-Academic Team, the WCHA Defenseman of the Month for February, and was a four-time WCHA Defenseman of the Week.
• Swoyer was second in the WCHA amongst defensemen with 17 points, scoring three goals and tallying 13 assists. He led Tech skaters with a plus-9 rating and led WCHA blueliners with 71 shots on goal.

IN THE PRESEASON CCHA POLL
• Tech was selected third in CCHA Preseason Coaches' Poll behind Minnesota State and Bemidji State.
• Tech finished the 2020-21 season with a 17-12-1 overall record. The Huskies were 7-7 in the WCHA and placed fifth in the final standings.

RETURNERS
Tech returns 24 players from last season with 14 forwards, 7 defensemen, and all three goaltenders.

FRESHMEN
Tech has five freshmen on the roster. The class consists of forwards Levi Stauber, Alex Nordstrom, Marcus Pedersen, and defensemen Grant Docter, and Trevor Russell.

100 YEARS AGO
The Michigan College of Mines played its first collegiate hockey game on January 27, 1921. MCM beat the University of Michigan 3-0 in the first game of the series at the Amphidrome and then lost 4-3 the next night at the Calumet Colosseum.

HOCKEY REUNION
• Michigan Tech will host a 100-year hockey reunion on August 4-6, 2022 in Houghton.
• Very few collegiate hockey programs can celebrate important milestones in their history and Michigan Tech Hockey joined the elite ranks as 100-year-old legends.

JOE SHAWHAN HOUR
• The Joe Shawhan Hour can be heard every Monday morning at 10 a.m. on Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ.
• Host Dirk Hembroff and Coach Shawhan talk about the previous weekend and the upcoming matchup.
• Fans can listen live to the Joe Shawhan Hour on the radio at Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ, online at TheMix93.com or Pasty.com, or by using your favorite radio streaming app. The show will also be posted for on-demand listeners at MichiganTechHuskies.com.

2020-21 RECAP
• Tech finished with a 17-12-1 overall record and had a winning season for the first time since 2017-18.
• The Huskies were 6-7-1 in the WCHA and finished fifth in the standings.
• Blake Pietila broke the school records for best save percentage (.934) and goals-against average (1.81) for a season.
• Brian Halonen ranked sixth in the nation with four game-winning goals.
• Arvid Caderoth ranked third amongst all college hockey freshmen with 16 assists.