PREVIEW: Huskies wrap up road schedule at Ferris State

THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES
• No. 14 Michigan Tech travels to Ferris State for the final road games of the regular season.
• The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. Friday and 6:07 p.m. Saturday at the Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapids.
• The Huskies swept the first meeting of the season on Thanksgiving weekend in Houghton.
• Tech is 18-9-2 overall and 15-6-1 in the CCHA and is 8-1-1 in 2022.

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.

FLOHOCKEY.TV
• All Michigan Tech home and CCHA games during the 2021-22 season will be live-streamed on FloHockey.tv.
• Fans can purchase either annual ($150) or monthly ($30) subscriptions and will have access to all CCHA games along with the full Atlantic Hockey schedule.
• Download the FloSports app today on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, and the App Store.

HUSKIES RANKED
• Tech is ranked No. 14 in this week's DCU/USCHO.com Top 20 poll, maintaining last week's ranking.
• The Huskies are also No. 13 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll, hopping up one spot.
• The last time Tech was ranked as high as No. 14 was March 2016.
• Tech has received votes in all 19 USCHO and USA/Today USA Hockey Magazine polls this season.
• Tech was in the top 20 four times last season with the highest ranking of 18 on February 15 and January 25.

100 POINTS
• Brian Halonen and Trenton Bliss became the 68th and 69th players in Tech history to hit the 100-point mark for their careers Friday.
• Halonen and Bliss became the sixth set of active teammates in NCAA Division I men's hockey players to have hit that plateau.
• The last Tech player to hit the century mark was Jake Lucchini (2015-19).
• Tanner Kero and Blake  Pietila also both hit the 100 point mark on the same night on January 31, 2015.

CCHA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Blake Pietila has been named the CCHA Goaltender of the Week for the third time this season.
• Pietila led the Huskies to a 2-1 record last week. He broke the Tech record for shutouts in a season with his seventh Friday and tied the career shutout mark with his 10th. He had 18 saves at Northern Michigan Tuesday, 25 saves Friday against Bowling Green, and 26 Saturday versus the Falcons.
• Pietila held a 1.79 goals-against average and .932 save percentage during the week.

BY THE NUMBERS
• Pietila is 18-9-2 this season and ranks fourth in the nation in goals-against average (1.76) and shutouts. He is sixth nationally with his 18 wins. His .922 save percentage ranks second in the CCHA and 16th nationally.
• Coach Joe Shawhan won his 90th game at UST Saturday. He ranks third in wins by a Tech hockey coach.
• The four games in January were the fewest by a Michigan Tech team since 1943 and tied Western Michigan for the fewest amongst college hockey teams in January 2022.
• Tech leads the nation with five losses in overtime.
• The Huskies are second in the nation in regulation losses with four. Quinnipiac has two losses in regulation.
• Michigan Tech ranks second in the nation in power-play percentage (29.5), fourth in scoring defense (1.79), fourth in penalty killing percentage (89.5), and ninth in scoring offense (3.41).
• Tech leads the CCHA in the fewest penalty minutes, power play, and penalty kill percentage.
• Brian Halonen is second in the nation in goals (19) and third in the nation in points (41).
• Blake Pietila is fourth in the nation in shutouts (6) and fourth in goals-against average (1.76).
• Trenton Bliss is sixth in the nation in assists (24).

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
• FSU is 10-20 overall and 8-14 in the CCHA. The Bulldogs lost a pair of games at Lake Superior State last weekend but had won three of their previous four before traveling to the Soo.
• Ferris was picked seventh in the CCHA Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Justin Michaelian leads the team with 21 points and Marshall Moise is the goal leader with nine.
• Goaltender Logan Stein is 6-13-0 with a 3.57 goals-against average and .878 save percentage.
• Head coach Bob Daniels is in his 29th season.

CURRENT POINT STREAKS
• Brian Halonen – 11 games (8 goals, 10 assists)
• Arvid Caderoth – 3 games (1 goal, 2 assists)

SERIES INFO
• Tech is 27-16-1 all-time against Ferris State, dating back to 1982.
• The Huskies are 12-9-0 against the Bulldogs in Big Rapids.
• Tech Huskies have won the last eight meetings and 11 of the last 12.

FIRST MEETING
• The Huskies earned their first CCHA sweep of the season with a 6-3 Friday win and a 6-1 Saturday win over Ferris State at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
• Tristan Ashbrook had four goals in the series. Trenton Bliss had two goals Friday and Brian Halonen had a goal each night. Colin Swoyer, Thorne, and Arvid Caderoth also found the back of the net.

SCORING AGAINST FSU
1. Trenton Bliss 4-8=12
2. Brian Halonen 3-8=11
3. Tristan Ashbrook 5-2=7
Tommy Parrottino 5-2=7
Colin Swoyer 4-3=7
6. Justin Misiak 4-2=6
Alec Broetzman 3-3=6
Arvid Caderoth 1-5=6
Logan Pietila 0-6=6

LAST WEEK
• The Huskies went 2-1 last week with an 8-1 win at Northern Michigan Tuesday, a 4-0 shutout of Bowling Green Friday, and a 4-2 loss to the Falcons Saturday.
• The Huskies won the MacInnes Trophy after outscoring the Falcons 6-4 on the weekend, and Brian Halonen was named Winter Carnival MVP.

CCHA GOALIE OF MONTH
• Blake Pietila was named the CCHA Goaltender of the Month for January.
• He backstopped the Huskies to a 4-0 record in January with a 1.0 goals-against average and .952 save percentage.
• He earned back-to-back shutouts at Lake Superior State (Jan. 14-15), not allowing a Lakers goal for the third straight game. Pietila also stopped 48 shots in a CCHA sweep of Bemidji State on January 28-29.

GAMES PLAYED RECORD
• Justin Misiak broke Richard Novak's record for games played in a Michigan Tech uniform last weekend. Misiak has appeared in 173 career games.
• The fifth-year senior forward has 62 career points with 25 goals and 37 assists.
• Misiak has a career-high with 17 points on five goals and 12 assists this season.
• Novak tallied 77 points as a forward with 35 goals and 42 assists. He had an injury-shortened season in 1986-87 which allowed him an extra year of eligibility.

HUSKIES FOR HOBEY
• Trenton Bliss is a Hobey Baker candidate for the third year in a row. The co-captain is second on the Huskies with 33 points on nine goals and 24 assists.
• Brian Halonen is tied for the CCHA lead with 19 goals and is second in the conference with 40 points. He is on an 11-game point streak where he has eight goals and 10 assists.
• Pietila is a Hobey Baker candidate for the second straight season. He has started all 29 games for the Huskies and is 18-9-2. He is fourth in the nation in goals-against average (1.76) and shutouts. He is sixth nationally with his 18 wins. His .922 save percentage ranks second in the CCHA and 16th nationally.

50 YEARS AT THE MAC
• Michigan Tech is celebrating 50 years of hockey at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
• The first game at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena was played on January 14, 1972.
• Tech defeated Minnesota Duluth 6-5.

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.

CCHA PLAY
• Michigan Tech was in the CCHA from 1981-84 and holds a 56-46-2 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
• Blake Pietila – CCHA Goaltender of the Week on February 14.
• Tommy Parrottino – CCHA Forward of the Week on February 7.
• Blake Pietila – CCHA Goaltender of the Week on January 17.
• 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 90th career game at St. Thomas on February 5, 2022 and ranks third in wins by a Tech hockey coach.
• 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 went 3-3-1 in the non-conference schedule with only one regulation loss.
• The Huskies swept No. 13 Wisconsin on October 8-9 to begin the season.
• Tech fell 2-1 in overtime to No. 17 Notre Dame on October 15 in the home-opener.
• The Huskies split at Clarkson on October 29-30.
• Tech tied No. 3 Michigan and fell to Michigan State in overtime in the GLI Showcase.

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.
• 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.