No. 20 Tech defeated LSSU 5-2 in exhibition on Saturday
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Lake Superior State (0-0-0) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
|
Michigan Tech (0-0-0) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – No. 20 Michigan Tech opened the 2022-23 season with a 5-2 win over Lake Superior State in exhibition action Saturday at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena. Four different Huskies scored with Logan Ganie potting a pair of goals.
"I like the effort and compete level," Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. "I'm thankful to Damon for bringing his team over and playing. They have a veteran group and this exhibition will be good for both teams to evaluate our lineups."
Tech jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period. Chris Lipe opened scoring 9:39 after faceoff with a long wrist shot through traffic that found its way into the back of the net. Arvid Caderoth and Alex Nordstrom assisted.
Logan Ganie scored his first goal of the night with a quick backhanded shot from the top of the crease 6:10 later. Tristan Ashbrook had the setup pass as he was tripped behind the net and David Jankowski also assisted.
LSSU got on the board 6:23 into the second when Harrison Roy scored from Dawson Tritt and Logan Jenuwine.
Tech regained the two-goal lead when Logan Ganie scored his second of the game with 5:15 left in the second. Jack Works dug the puck out of the corner and Nick Nardella had a touch pass to Ganie for a quick wrister.
Ryan O'Connell dumped in a fluttering puck from the blueline 5:45 into the third that found the back of the net for his first goal in the Black and Gold. Jake Crespi had the primary assist and David Jankowski picked up his second point of the night with the secondary.
"It was a great experience," Jankowski said. "You hear stories of the atmosphere here, and it was great to actually get to play in it. You can feel the energy from the crowd and it gives us a boost."
Kyle Kukkonen picked off a pass in the defensive zone and scored his first for the Huskies on a breakaway 30 seconds later.
"It was everything I could ever dream of to finally suit up for the Huskies," Kukkonen said. "It hit me hearing the band before we went out there. It's the best choice of my life, and I'm pumped for the rest of the season."
Kukkonen talked about his goal, "It was the right place at the right time I guess. I took a chance on the D to D pass and was ready for it. I picked my spot and took the shot."
Artyom Borshyov scored from Logan Jenuwine with 3:15 left to round out the scoring.
Tech outshot LSSU 40-25. Blake Pietila had 23 saves for the Huskies and Ethan Langenegger made 35 saves for the Lakers.
The teams combined for 11 penalties. The Huskies were 3-for-3 on the penalty kill and 0-for-2 on the power play.
Tech returns to the MacInnes Student Ice Arena for another exhibition game on Monday, hosting Lakehead University. The puck drops at 6:07 p.m.
