Huskies ranked No. 14 in final polls

HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech hockey team is ranked No. 14 in the final DCU/USCHO.com Top 20 and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls. The Huskies finished the season with a 21-13-3 overall record and were the No. 2 seed in the CCHA Mason Cup Playoffs with a 16-8-2 mark.

Tech received votes in every poll throughout the season and climbed as high as No. 13 on March 7 in the USCHO poll and No. 13 on February 14-21 and March 7 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.

The final No. 14 ranking is the highest for the Huskies since the 2014-15 season. The last time Tech was ranked as high as No. 13 in the regular season was March 2016.

Tech received an at-large bid to the 2022 NCAA Division I Hockey Tournament, making its 14th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the second under head coach Joe Shawhan.

Seven Huskies signed professional contracts after the season with Brian Halonen (New Jersey) and Colin Swoyer (Pittsburgh) inking NHL deals. Trenton Bliss (Grand Rapids) and Michael Karow (Texas) signed in the AHL while Justin Misiak (Idaho), Tommy Parrottino (Idaho), and Mark Sinclair (Cincinnati) went to the ECHL.

Brian Halonen was a Second Team All-American and a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award which is presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey. Blake Pietila was a semifinalist for the Mike Richter Award, given annually to the top goalie in men's NCAA Division I hockey since 2014.

Brian Halonen (first team), Trenton Bliss (second team), Blake Pietila (second team), and Colin Swoyer (second team) were named All-CCHA. Halonen and Bliss both notched their 100th career points in February, and Pietila broke the program record for shutouts in a season with seven.

Tech celebrated 50 seasons at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena and hosted a home playoff series for the first time since the 2016-17 season. The Huskies played in a program-most 13 overtime games this season, including two exciting wins over Ferris State in the opening round of the CCHA Mason Cup Playoffs.

As a team, the Huskies finished third in the nation in penalty killing percentage and were fourth in power-play percentage and scoring defense.

The DCU/USCHO.com Division I Men's Ice Hockey Poll is compiled weekly and consists of 50 voters, including coaches and media professionals from across the country. DCU (DCU.org), a not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by and operated for its members, is the sponsor of this poll. DCU serves more than 900,000 members and their families in all 50 states.

The 27th annual USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll is conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association. The poll includes input from coaches and journalists representing each of the six NCAA Division I ice hockey conferences, as well as composite votes from officers of the AHCA and USA Hockey.