PREVIEW: No. 17 Michigan Tech travels to Lake Superior State

THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES
• No. 17 Michigan Tech travels to Lake Superior State for the second CCHA series of the season against the Lakers.
• The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. Friday and 6:07 p.m. Saturday at Taffy Abel Arena.
• The Huskies are 10-4-3 overall and are third in the conference standings only one point behind first with a 6-3-3 CCHA record.
• LSSU is 2-12-2 and 1-8-1 in league play.

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.

FOX-UP & TV6 COVERAGE
• FOX-UP will televise Saturday's game live across the Upper Peninsula.

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.

HUSKIES RANKED
• Michigan Tech is ranked No. 17 this week in both the DCU/USCHO.com Top 20 poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.
• The Huskies have received votes in all 12 polls and the No. 17 is the highest ranking of the season so far.

LAST TIME OUT
• Tech earned 4-of-6 CCHA points against Northern Michigan with a split.
• The Huskies fell 4-3 in overtime Friday in Marquette and bounced back with a 3-1 win in Houghton.
• Kash Rasmussen scored twice Friday and Ryland Mosley scored a pair Saturday, including the game-winner. Logan Pietila and Tyrone Bronte also found the back of the net.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS
• LSSU is 2-12-2 overall and 1-8-1 in the CCHA. The nonconference victory is over Clarkson and the CCHA was over Bemidji State in overtime last weekend.
• The Lakers have played 10 home games and are 1-8-1.
• LSSU was picked sixth in the Preseason CCHA Coaches' Poll only two points behind Tech.
• The Lakers went 18-18-1 overall last season and finished fourth in the conference standings with a 13-14 record.
• Senior forward Louis Boudon and junior defenseman Jacob Bengtsson were named to the 2022 Preseason All-CCHA Team. Boudon leads the team with 13 points.
• Head coach Damon Whitten enters his ninth season.

FIRST MEETING
• Tech took 4-of-6 CCHA points in a CCHA home series against LSSU on November 11-12.
• 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.

SERIES INFO
• Tech is 54-28-9 all-time against Lake Superior State, dating back to 1969.
• The Huskies are 19-13-6 in games played in the Soo.
• Tech is unbeaten in the last five meetings with the Lakers with four shutouts and a tie. The last loss in the Soo was in November 2020.

POINT STREAKS
• Topi Heiskanen – 3 games, 3 assists
• Ryland Mosley – 2 games, 2 goals, 1 assist
• Brett Thorne – 2 games, 2 assists

STAT RANKINGS
• Ryland Mosley leads the nation with three shorthanded goals and four game-winning goals.
• Blake Pietila leads the nation with four shutouts, is sixth in save percentage (.930), and 11th in goals-against average (1.97).
• Tech is fourth nationally with four shorthanded goals.
• The Huskies are sixth in the nation in scoring defense (2.06) to lead the CCHA.
• Tech is seventh nationally in penalty-killing percentage (.868).

HUSKIES IN THE NHL
• Forward Jake Lucchini made his NHL debut on December 14 with the Ottawa Senators.
• Defenseman Matt Roy has 12 points in 32 games for the LA Kings.
• Forward Jujhar Khaira has six points in 24 games for the Chicago Blackhawks.
• Goaltender Pheonix Copley holds a 2-1 record in three games with the LA Kings.

CCHA DEFENSEMAN OF NOVEMBER
• Brett Thorne was the CCHA Defenseman of the Month for November.
• Thorne helped Tech to a 5-1-2 month, posting league-highs in assists (6) and plus/minus (+6) over six games while ranking sixth in points per game (1.00) and seventh in blocked shots (11).
• Thorne has been an integral part of a Tech defense that ranks fifth in the nation in scoring defense (2.0) and eighth in penalty-killing percentage (.867).

CCHA GOALTENDER OF OCTOBER
• 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
• November 21 – Kyle Kukkonen – CCHA Rookie of the Week
• November 21 – Brett Thorne – CCHA Defenseman of the Week
• October 17 – Blake Pietila – CCHA Goaltender of the Week
• October 31 – Blake Pietila – CCHA Goaltender of the Week

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.

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 105-81-19.
• 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 62-50-6 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.

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.