Tech takes down Bemidji State 5-2 Friday
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bemidji State (13-14-0, 11-8-0) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
|
Michigan Tech (13-8-1, 10-5-0) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The No. 18-ranked Michigan Tech hockey team won its third straight game to begin 2022 with a 5-2 victory over Bemidji State Friday (Jan. 28) at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena. Four Huskies notched at least two points, and Blake Pietila stopped 32 shots.
"I'm very proud of our players," Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. "We shook the cobwebs off early and competed and battled hard. We got contributions from everybody who played.
"It was a big night for Justin Misiak. It's been a thrill to watch every single one of his games, and the guys made it a special night for him."
Misiak skated in his 166th career game in a Michigan Tech uniform to break a program record. Misiak was tied with Richard Novak (1984-89) entering the game.
Tech hopped out to a 2-0 lead with a pair of goals in a span of 40 seconds in the first period. Logan Ganie scored his first of the season at 14:01 as he finished off a centering feed by Ryland Mosley. Nick Nardella added the second assist on Ganie's seventh goal of his career.
Eric Gotz took a shot through traffic that found the back of the net at 14:41. A shot by Brian Halonen was saved and bounced out to the point. Tommy Parrottino picked up the first of three assists on the play. Gotz now has 10 career tallies and goals in two straight games
BSU (13-14, 11-8 CCHA) cut into the margin before the period ended when Lukas Sillinger scored on a breakaway with 1.1 ticks left.
Brian Halonen potted the only goal of the second period when he tapped in a setup play by Tommy Parrottino and Trenton Bliss. Halonen scored his team-leading 14th goal.
Lukas Sillinger found the back of the net again 1:14 into the third period to make it a one-goal game again. Eric Martin and Owen Sillinger were given the assists.
Colin Swoyer scored on the power play with a one-timer after a fake shot and set up pass by Gotz to push it back to a two-goal game. Trenton Bliss added the second assist on Swoyer's fourth of the season and the 13th of his career.
Brian Halonen iced the game with his second goal of the night and 47th of his career with an empty-net tally with 1:32 remaining. Parrottino set up the play with a rush and cross-ice feed. It's the second time in his career that he notched three assists in a game.
Blake Pietila made nine saves in the first, 11 in the second, and 12 in the third to earn his 13th win of the season. He came up big with saves on three different breakaways.
Mattias Sholl stopped 21 shots for the visitors and got a friendly bounce when a shot by Justin Misiak nailed the crossbar and bounced out in the first period.
Tech was 2-for-4 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and improved to 13-8-1 overall and 10-5 in the CCHA.
Jerry MacInnes dropped a ceremonial first puck in celebration of 50 years of the MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The Huskies defeated Minnesota Duluth on January 14, 1972 in the first game.
The Huskies and Beavers will wrap up the series and play for the fourth time this season at 6:07 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 29). It will be Junior Hockey Night where youth can get into the game for free with their jersey and a paid adult ticket.
