Pietila breaks shutout record, Halonen and Bliss hit century mark
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bowling Green (13-13-3, 10-10-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Michigan Tech (18-8-2, 15-5-1) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – It was a night to remember at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena as No. 14 Michigan Tech shutout Bowling Green 4-0 to begin Winter Carnival on Friday. Blake Pietila broke the single-season shutout record with his seventh of the season, while Trenton Bliss and Brian Halonen each tallied their 100th career point.
Tech improved to 18-8-2 overall and 15-5-1 in the CCHA and remains unbeaten in 2022 at 8-0-1. The Huskies are unbeaten in 12 of their last 13 games.
"I'm certainly happy for Blake Pietila on the record he broke that was held by his goaltending coach Jamie Phillips," Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. "I've been fortunate to be a part of both of those their careers.
"It was also nice for Brian and Trenton to get their 100th points. Those are milestones that they have worked extremely hard for. We hope the others in the locker room see that and get energized by it."
Halonen hit the century mark before the first intermission. He scored 8:02 into the game on the power play to tie the nation's lead in goals with his 19th. Tommy Parrottino and Tristan Ashbrook had the assists on Halonen's 51st career goal.
"It's a lot of fun to do it with the guys I played with for four years," Halonen said. "It's been nothing but fun playing with Bliss and Tino."
Trenton Bliss made it 3-0 in favor of the home team after finishing off a setup feed from Halonen for his ninth goal of the season. Michael Karow added the second assist. Halonen became the 67th player to hit the 100-point mark.
Trenton Bliss then became the 68th Husky to hit the mark 5:31 into the third period when Colin Swoyer scored on the power play for his fifth of the season. Bliss fed the puck down to Arvid Caderoth who found Swoyer on the backdoor. Bliss has 39 goals and 61 assists.
"It's definitely special," Bliss said about the milestone. "We get to play in front of the best fans in the country every night. Winter Carnival is a special week for Michigan Tech and we're glad to do it tonight—especially in a big win."
Logan Pietila opened scoring only 3:39 into the game after finishing off an unbelievable pass from Colin Swoyer for his 10th goal of the season. Tommy Parrottino added the secondary assist.
Blake Pietila made six saves in the first, 11 in the second, and eight in the third to improve to 18-8-2 on the season. He also tied the school record for career shutouts with 10 held by Jamie Phillips.
"It's awesome to get the record," Pietila said. "I think it just shows how good of a team we are defensively. It's cool having Jamie here and being able to break his record. Jamie knows a lot about the game. We get to skate with him twice a week, and we're able to learn a lot from him."
Trenton Bliss (19 points) and Brian Halonen (17 points) extended their point streaks to 10 games while Tommy Parrottino (14 points) pushed his to seven games. Tristan Ashbrook (3 games), Michael Karow (2 games), Logan Pietila (2 games), and Arvid Caderoth (2 games) are also on point streaks.
Tech was 5-for-5 on the penalty kill and 2-for-7 on the power play.
Former Husky, and NHL All-Star Game MVP, John Scott was the arena host for the evening.
The last Tech player to hit the century mark was Jake Lucchini (2015-19). Tanner Kero and Blake Pietila both hit the 100 point mark on the same night on January 31, 2015.
The two teams will wrap up their only meeting of the regular season at 5:07 p.m. Saturday. The MacInnes Trophy will be awarded to the team with the most goals in the series, and the Winter Carnival Royal Majesty will present a weekend MVP.
