PREVIEW: Huskies play at Desert Hockey Classic

THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES
• No. 16 Michigan Tech plays at the Desert Hockey Classic at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona.
• The Huskies open against the host Arizona State on Friday at 9 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Mountain.
• The Huskies play at 5:30 p.m. Eastern/3:30 p.m. Mountain on the second day against either Air Force or No. 6 Boston University.
• ASU is keeping the late time slot even if it isn't the Desert Hockey Classic Championship Game.
• Michigan Tech won the 2016 Desert Hockey Classic at Gila River 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.

WATCH THE TOURNAMENT
• The games will be streamed on the Pac-12 Network.

CCHA DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK
• Michigan Tech junior Brett Thorne has been named the CCHA Defenseman. He received the honor for the second time this season.
• Thorne led all CCHA blueliners with two points on a goal and an assist at the Great Lakes Invitational, earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Both of his points came in the Huskies' victory over then-No. 11 Michigan State in the GLI Third Place game, as his goal, which came on the power play, tied the score at 2-2 with just 1:13 left in regulation. He then assisted on Arvid Caderoth's overtime winner.
• Thorne is third on the Huskies and ranks fourth amongst CCHA defensemen with 12 points.

MICHIGAN TECH
• The Huskies are 12-6-3 overall and are in a tie for the top of the CCHA standings with a 7-4-3 conference record.
• Tech is 5-2 in non-conference games with wins over Alaska (2), St. Lawrence (2), and Michigan State.
• Ryland Mosley leads the Huskies with 21 points and nine goals. Kyle Kukkonen has 14 points on seven goals and seven assists.

HUSKIES RANKED
• Michigan Tech is ranked No. 16 in this week's DCU/USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls.
• Tech has received votes every week in the polls, and the No. 16 ranking is the highest of this season.

GLI RECAP
• Michigan Tech hosted the 56th Great Lakes Invitational at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.
• Tech won the GLI Third Place Game 3-2 in overtime over No. 11 Michigan State.
• Arvid Caderoth scored the game-winner on the power play in overtime. Brett Thorne tied the game with 1:13 left with a power play goal. David Jankowski also scored.
• The Huskies fell to GLI Champion No. 18 Western Michigan in the semifinal. Kash Rasmussen scored the lone goal for the Huskies.

SERIES INFO
• ASU – Tech is 2-3 all-time against the Sun Devils. The teams split a series at Oceanside Arena in January 2020. They split a series in Houghton in February 2018 and ASU defeated Tech in the Ice Vegas Invitational Championship in January 2018.
• BU – The Huskies are 9-5 against the Terriers. The last meeting was in November 1988. The Huskies are 6-0 against BU in neutral-site games.
• Air Force – Tech has never played Air Force.

LAST TIME IN ARIZONA
• Tech is 2-1-1 all-time in Arizona
• The Huskies won the 2016 Desert Hockey Classic with a 4-2 victory over UConn and a shootout win over Yale after a 1-1 contest in the title game. Both games were played at Gila River Arena.
• Tech split at Arizona State on January 4-5, 2020 at Oceanside Arena. The Sun Devils won 4-3 in the first game and the Huskies responded with a 3-2 victory in the second game.

COACH SHAWHAN
• Head coach Joe Shawhan is in his sixth season behind the bench and holds a record of 107-83-19.
• 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.

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 was on December 27 and 28. Tech fell 8-1 to No. 18 Western Michigan and defeated No. 11 Michigan State 3-2 in overtime.
• Tech travels to the Desert Hockey Classic at Arizona State. The Huskies play the Sun Devils on Day 1 and either Air Force or Boston University on Day 2.

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 16th in save percentage (.922), and 16th in goals-against average (2.19).
• Kyle Kukkonen is 10th nationally with five power-play goals.
• Tech is fifth nationally with four shorthanded goals.
• Tech is seventh nationally in penalty-killing percentage (.861).
• The Huskies are ninth in the nation in scoring defense (2.33) to lead the CCHA.

HUSKIES IN THE NHL
• Forward Jake Lucchini made his NHL debut on December 14 with the Ottawa Senators and scored his first goal on January 1.
• Defenseman Matt Roy has 12 points in 41 games for the LA Kings.
• Forward Jujhar Khaira has six points in 29 games for the Chicago Blackhawks.
• Goaltender Pheonix Copley holds a 9-1 record in 10 games with the LA Kings.

LOOKING AHEAD
• Tech gets back to CCHA play on January 13-14 against St. Thomas at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena. It will be the second meeting with the Tommies after the Huskies swept the series in Minnesota on November 18-19.
• The Black and Gold travel to Ferris State on January 20-21.

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
• January 3 – Brett Thorne – CCHA Defenseman 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.

CCHA PLAY
• Michigan Tech was in the CCHA from 1981-84 and holds a 63-51-6 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

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.