PREVIEW: Huskies head to BGSU for CCHA series

THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES
• Michigan Tech travels to Bowling Green for the first CCHA road series of the season.
• The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. Friday and Saturday night at the Slater Family Ice Arena.
• Tech is 4-2-1 overall and the Falcons are 2-6-0.
• The Huskies didn't travel to Ohio last season and last played at BGSU on January 29-30, 2021 when the Falcons won a pair of games (6-3, 5-2).
• The teams will meet for Winter Carnival on February 10-11 at the MacInnes Student Ice 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.

CCHA PLAYER OF THE MONTH
• Blake Pietila is the CCHA Goaltender of the Month for October. He is also the CCHA Player of the Week for the second time this season.
• He earned the monthly honor for the fourth time in his career and was also named a runner-up for HCA National Goaltender of the Month.
• Pietila led CCHA goaltenders in save percentage (.944), goals-against average (1.51), and wins (4) during October.
• He leads the nation with three shutouts and had a pair of games with more than 30 saves. Pietila ranks seventh in the nation in save percentage (.944) and eighth in goals-against average (1.51).
• The Huskies lead the nation in penalty kill percentage (95.7) and are fifth in scoring defense (1.57).

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.
• Last season, Pietila ranked second in the CCHA 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.

LAST WEEKEND
• Michigan Tech swept St. Lawrence in its only home non-conference series of the season.
• The Huskies picked up two shutouts with a 6-0 win Friday and a 3-0 victory Saturday.
• Blake Pietila extended his Michigan Tech record with his 12th and 13th career shutouts, stopping 18 shots each night.
• Nine Huskies scored the nine goals: Logan Pietila, Tristan Ashbrook, Jake Crespi, Kash Rasmussen, Parker Saretsky, Chris Lipe, Ryland Mosley, Kyle Kukkonen, and Jack Works.

HIGHLIGHT REEL GOAL
• Kash Rasmussen's third-period goal on Friday checked in at No. 8 on ESPN's Top 10 Plays of the Night.
• The power play tally was Rasmussen's first collegiate goal after he whacked it out of midair and into the back of the net.

TECH LEADERS
• Ryland Mosley leads the Huskies with nine points.
• Kyle Kukkonen's eight points are tied for the CCHA lead amongst rookies.
• Mosley, Kukkonen, Parker Saretsky, and Logan Pietila each have three goals to lead the team.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
• Bowling Green is 2-6-0 overall and 1-3-0 in the CCHA. The wins are over Northern Michigan and Michigan State. The Falcons are currently on a five-game skid after losses to MSU, No. 18 Western Michigan, and No. 8 Minnesota State.
• Head coach Ty Eigneris in his fourth season.
• BGSU was picked third in the CCHA Preseason Poll after going 15-19-3 last season with an 11-14-1 CCHA record.
• Eric Parker and Austen Swankler were named to the All-CCHA Rookie Team last season. Swankler leads the team with five goals and seven assists.

SERIES INFO
• Tech is 20-22-5 all-time against Bowling Green, dating back to 1972.
• The Huskies are 9-13-1 in games played at the Slater Family Ice Arena.
• Tech's last win at Bowling Green was October 26, 2019 when Tommy Parrottino netted a hat trick in a 4-2 win.
• The teams split last season's Winter Carnival series with the Huskies winning 4-0 and falling 4-2. Brian Halonen earned MVP honors.

CCHA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• October 17 – Blake Pietila – CCHA Goaltender of the Week
• October 31 – Blake Pietila – CCHA Goaltender of the Week

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.

COACH SHAWHAN
• Head coach Joe Shawhan is in his sixth season behind the bench and holds a record of 99-79-17.
• 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.

CCHA PLAY
• Michigan Tech was in the CCHA from 1981-84 and holds a 56-48-4 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

NON-CONFERENCE
• Tech plays nine non-conference games this season.
• The Huskies lost at Ferris State on October 7.
• Tech swept at Alaska on October 13-14.
• The Black and Gold swept St. Lawrence on October 28-29 in the only home non-conference series.
• 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.

PAT MIKESCH – HOF
• Pat Mikesch will be inducted into the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame on November 11 as a member of the class of 2022.
• Mikesch hockey for the Huskies from 1992-96 and is seventh all-time at Tech in career scoring with 169 points and sixth in career assists (112).
• He was named to the 1992-93 WCHA All-Rookie Team and played for Team USA at the World Junior Championships that season.
• Mikesch went on to play eight years of pro hockey in AHL, IHL, ECHL, and Germany and then returned to Michigan Tech as an assistant coach from 2004-11.

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

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.

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)

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.