PREVIEW: Huskies head to Twin Cities to play Tommies

THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES
• Michigan Tech travels to St. Thomas for a CCHA road series.
• The puck drops at 8:07 p.m. Eastern Friday and 7:07 p.m. Saturday at the St. Thomas Ice Arena.
• Tech is 6-3-2 overall and 2-2-2 in the CCHA. The Tommies are 2-10 overall and 1-5 in the CCHA.
• The teams will meet in Houghton on January 13-14.

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.

100 WINS FOR JOE
• Joe Shawhan won his 100th career game on November 4 at BGSU.
• Shawhan is in his sixth season and ranks third in wins by Michigan Tech hockey coaches.

LAST WEEKEND
• Michigan Tech took 4-of-6 CCHA points in a home series against Lake Superior State.
• The teams tied 2-2 Friday with the Lakers earning the extra point with a shootout win. Ryland Mosley and Jed Pietila scored.
• Tech shut out the LSSU 2-0 Saturday. Blake Pietila secured his school-record 14th shutout with goals by David Jankowski and Trevor Russell.

BLAKE PIETILA RANKINGS
• Blake Pietila leads the nation with four shutouts.
• He is sixth nationally in save percentage (.936).
• He ranks ninth in goals against average (1.77).

TECH LEADERS
• Ryland Mosley leads the Huskies with 11 points, ranking fourth in the CCHA.
• Ryland Mosley (5) and Parker Saretsky (4) lead the team in scoring.
• Kyle Kukkonen's eight points ranks fourth in the CCHA amongst rookies.

SCOUTING THE TOMMIES
• St. Thomas is 2-10-0 overall and 1-5-0 in the CCHA. The league win is over Ferris State. The Tommies have also defeated Alaska.
• UST has lost four straight and is 1-5 at home.
• UST was picked eighth in the Preseason CCHA Coaches' Poll only two points behind Ferris State after going 3-32-1 last season.
• Head coach Rico Blasi enters his second season. Blasi coached Miami for 20 years and had 11 NCAA Tournament appearances and a pair of Frozen Fours.

SERIES INFO
• Tech is 12-4-2 all-time against St. Thomas, dating back to 1922.
• The Huskies are 3-0-1 against the Tommies in Minnesota
• Tech went 3-0-1 against UST last season in their first meetings since 1953.

LAST SEASON IN HOUGHTON
• The Huskies swept St. Thomas on December 10-11.
• Tech won 6-1 Friday and 4-3 in overtime Saturday.
• Brian Halonen had three goals in the series, including the game-winner Saturday. Justin Misiak scored twice Friday, and Tommy Parrottino found the back of the net both nights. Colin Swoyer, Tristan Ashbrook, and Logan Pietila also scored in the series.

LAST SEASON IN ST. PAUL
• The Huskies earned 5-of-6 CCHA points in the first road game against the Tommies since 1929 on February 4-5.
• Tech won 4-3 in a shootout Friday and 2-0 Saturday.
• Tommy Parrottino (2), Trenton Bliss, Justin Misiak, and Brett Thorne scored. Blake Pietila made 24 saves in the series and earned his sixth shutout of the season Saturday.
• Brian Halonen and Trenton Bliss scored in the five-round shootout Friday with Blake Pietila stopping 4-of-5 chances by the Tommies.

CCHA TEAM STAT RANKING
• Tech leads the CCHA in goals against per game at 1.91 and penalty kill percentage (.895).
• The Huskies are second in shots on goal (30.45) and fewest penalty minutes (7:49).

HIGHLIGHT REEL GOAL
• Kash Rasmussen's third-period goal against St. Lawrence on October 28 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.

CCHA PLAYER OF THE MONTH
• Blake Pietila was named the CCHA Goaltender of the Month for October.
• 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.

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

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.

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 101-80-18.
• He won his 100th career game at Bowling Green on November 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 58-49-5 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.

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.