PREVIEW: Huskies begin regular season at Ferris State

THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES
• Tech hockey begins the regular season Saturday with a nonconference game at Ferris State. The Huskies and Bulldogs will meet for the first of five times this season at 7:07 p.m. at Ewigleben Ice Arena.
• The Huskies wrap up the weekend with an exhibition game at the USNTDP on Saturday. The puck drops at 7 p.m. against the U-18 team at USA Hockey Arena.

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 21st year behind the microphone.

FLOHOCKEY.TV
• All Michigan Tech home and CCHA games during the 2022-23 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 USHL, Atlantic Hockey, and ECHL schedule.
• Download the FloSports app today on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, and the App Store.

PRESEASON ALL-CCHA
• Senior goaltender Blake Pietila was named to the Preseason All-CCHA Team.
• He was a semifinalist for Mike Richter Award and was named to the All-CCHA Second Team as a junior.
• Pietila ranked second in goals-against average (1.99), wins (16), shutouts (5), saves (614), and was fourth with a .911 save percentage in CCHA games last season.

BLAKE PIETILA NATIONAL RANKINGS
• Second in career wins – 35
• Second in career. goals against average – 1.94
• Third in career shutouts – 10
• Fifth in career games played – 68
• Ninth in career save percentage – .922
• Tenth in career saves – 1,441

HUSKIES RANKED
• The Huskies are No. 20 this week in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll.
• Tech was ranked No. 20 in the Preseason USCHO Poll.
• Tech finished No. 14 in the final poll at the end of the 2021-22 season after a 21-13-3 overall record and an at-large bid to the 2022 NCAA Division I Hockey Tournament.

LAST WEEKEND
• Tech defeated Lake Superior State 5-2 Saturday in an exhibition game at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena. Logan Ganie scored twice while Chris Lipe, Ryan O'Connell, and Kyle Kukkonen also found the back of the net. Blake Pietila made 23 saves.
• The Huskies shutout Lakehead Monday in another exhibition game. Ryland Mosley had a goal and three assists, and Max Vayrynen made 15 saves to earn the shutout win in his first game for the Huskies. Logan Pietila scored twice while Kyle Kukkonen, Kash Rasmussen, and Arvid Caderoth also found the back of the net.

NHL DRAFT PICKS
• Kyle Kukkonen – Picked by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2021 NHL Draft as the 162nd overall pick in the sixth round.
• Ryan O'Connell – Picked by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2017 NHL Draft as the 203rd overall pick in the seventh round.

CAPTAINS
• Senior Logan Pietila along with juniors Arvid Caderoth and Brett Thorne are the captains.
• Junior Ryland Mosley is the alternate captain.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
• Ferris State began its regular season last weekend with a nonconference series at Miami. The teams tied 1-1 Saturday and the Redhawks won 4-1 Sunday. Three different Bulldogs scored the goals.
• FSU was picked seventh in the Preseason CCHA Coaches' Poll.
• The Bulldogs went 11-24-1 overall last season and finished seventh in the conference standings with a 9-16-1 record.
• Head coach Bob Daniels enters his 31st season.

CAREER SCORING AGAINST FERRIS
• Logan Pietila – 3 goals, 9 assists (points in 5 straight)
• Tristan Ashbrook – 6 goals, 3 assists
• Brett Thorne – 1 goal, 7 assists

SCOUTING USNTDP
• USNTDP is 6-0 with a pair of wins over college programs. Team USA defeated Michigan State 4-3 on October 1 and Notre Dame 5-3 on October 2.
• The U-18 team begins the weekend by hosting Lake Superior State Friday.
• Will Smith leads the team with 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists), while Ryan Leonard has six goals and five assists.
• Dan Muse is the head coach of the U-18 team and he returns 23 players from a season ago.

LAST MEETING WITH USNTDP
• The U-18 defeated Michigan Tech 2-1 on October 16, 2021, at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
• Brian Halonen scored the lone goal for the Huskies.
• Tech edged in shots on goal 24-16 but USNTDP got a shorthanded goal in the first period and the game-winner in the second

NHL TRAINING CAMP
• Twelve former Michigan Tech hockey players were at NHL Training Camps.
• Trenton Bliss (Detroit)
• Pheonix Copley (Los Angeles)
• Brian Halonen (New Jersey)
• Michael Karow (Dallas)
• Tanner Kero (Dallas)
• Jujhar Khaira (Chicago)
• Joel L'Esperance (Detroit)
• Jake Lucchini (Ottawa)
• Mitch Reinke (Pittsburgh)
• Matt Roy (Los Angeles)
• Colin Swoyer (Pittsburgh)
• Cliff Watson (Chicago)

COACH SHAWHAN
• Head coach Joe Shawhan is in his sixth season behind the bench and holds a record of 95-77-16.
• 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.

PIETILA TIMES FOUR
• Logan and Blake Pietila are twin brothers. Logan is a forward and Blake is a goaltender.
• Cousin and next-door neighbor Jed Pietila is a defenseman.
• Other Pietilas to play for the Huskies were Phil Pietila (2002-05), Aaron Pietila (2009-13), Chad Pietila (2011-13), and Blake Pietila (2011-15).
• Jimmy Pietila is currently a student assistant for the Huskies.

CCHA PLAY
• Michigan Tech was in the CCHA from 1981-84 and holds a 56-47-3 all-time CCHA regular season record.
• The Huskies are 3-6-2 in the CCHA Playoffs with the three wins over Ferris State.

ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
• Blake Pietila – CCHA Second Team (2021-22)
• Arvid Caderoth – All-WCHA Rookie Team (2020-21)
• Tyrone Bronte – All-WCHA Rookie Team (2020-21) with Alabama Huntsville

NONCONFERENCE
• Tech will play nine nonconference games this season.
• The Huskies play at Ferris State (Oct. 7) and Alaska (Oct. 13-14).
• Tech hosts St. Lawrence (Oct. 28-29).
• The Great Lakes Invitational is on December 27 and 28. Tech opens up against Western Michigan and will face either Michigan State or Ferris State on Day 2.
• Tech travels to the Desert Hockey Classic at Arizona State. The Huskies play the Sun Devils on Day 1 and either UConn or Boston University on Day 2.

TRANSFERS
• Ryan O'Connell played four seasons (2018-22) and 117 collegiate games at Ohio State. He tallied 25 points with two goals and 23 assists for the Buckeyes and was a member of 2019 Big Ten regular season championship and NCAA Tournament squad.
• Jack Works began his collegiate career with 15 games over the past two seasons with Denver. He tallied one assist with the Pioneers in his NCAA debut and was a member of the 2022 NCAA National Championship team. Works was named an AHCA All-America Scholar (2020-21) and was on the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team (2021-22).
• David Jankowski played four seasons (2018-22) and 110 games for St. Lawrence. He tallied 53 collegiate points with 20 goals and 33 assists and was the team captain in 2021-22. The Saints won the 2021 ECAC Tournament Championship. Jankowski was named to ECAC Hockey All-Academic Team.

IN THE PRESEASON CCHA POLL
• Tech was picked fifth in the Preseason CCHA Coaches' Poll.
• Minnesota State, Northern Michigan, Bowling Green, and Bemidji State were picked ahead of the Huskies.
• Lake Superior State, Ferris State, and St. Thomas rounded out the poll.

RETURNERS
• Tech returns 18 players from last season with 13 forwards, four defensemen, and a goaltender.
• Fourteen Huskies returners saw significant ice time last season with Logan Pietila (23), Brett Thorne (17), Tristan Ashbrook (16), Arvid Caderoth (16), Ryland Mosley (13) being the top returning point-getters.

FRESHMEN
• Tech has 10 freshmen on the roster which ranks eighth in the nation for the largest freshmen class.
• Forwards: Kyle and Trevor Kukkonen, Kash Rasmussen
• Defensemen: Oliver Bezick, Frank Dovorany, Topi Heiskanen, Evan Orr, Kasper Vaharautio
• Goaltenders: Michael Morelli, Max Vayrynen

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.

2021-22 RECAP
• Tech finished with a 21-13-3 overall record and was 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 finished No. 14.
• Tech received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, making its 14th all-time NCAA appearance and the second under head coach Joe Shawhan.
• Seven Huskies signed professional contracts after the season.
• The Huskies finished third in the nation in penalty-killing percentage and were fourth in power-play percentage and scoring defense.

BLUE LINE CLUB
The Michigan Tech Blue Line Club provides additional resources to the hockey program, enabling hockey student-athletes to pursue success both in the classroom and on the ice. The annual membership drive is now open.