PREVIEW: Huskies in Alaska for nonconference series

THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES
• Michigan Tech is in Fairbanks, Alaska for a nonconference series against the Alaska Nanooks.
• The teams will meet on Thursday at 11:37 p.m. Eastern and Friday at 11:07 p.m. Eastern at the Carlson Center.
• Tech is 0-1-1 in the regular season and UAF is 2-1-1.

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
• Both games in Alaska will be streamed on 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 – 69
• Ninth in career save percentage – .922
• Tenth in career saves – 1,441

LAST WEEKEND
• Tech opened the 2022-23 regular season with a 2-1 loss at Ferris State Friday. Parker Saretsky scored for the Huskies from Nick Nardella and Alex Nordstrom. Blake Pietila made 23 saves.
• Tech fell 6-2 in an exhibition game against the U.S. National Under-18 Team on Saturday. Nick Nardella and Ryland Mosley scored for Tech. Max Vayrynen made 22 saves.

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 NANOOKS
• Alaska is 2-1-1 on the season with wins over American International and St. Thomas.
• Erik Largen enters his fourth season as head coach.
• Seven players have two points while Simon Falk and Jonny Sorenson each have two goals.
• Matt Radomsky has played all four games between the pipes and holds a 1.71 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage.
• UAF went 14-18-2 last season.

CAREER SCORING AGAINST ALASKA
• Logan Pietila and Chris Lipe have goals against the Nanooks
• Parker Saretsky has a pair of assists against UAF.

SERIES INFO
• Tech is 21-6 all-time against Alaska, dating back to 1990.
• The Huskies are 9-2 in games played in Fairbanks.
• The Huskies are 2-3 in their last five games and 7-3 in the last 10.
• The teams last met in November 2019 in Fairbanks.

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 95-78-16.
• 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 lost at Ferris State on Oct. 7.
• Tech travels to Alaska (Oct. 13-14) and 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.