Huskies are Desert Hockey Classic Champs!
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Boston U. (13-6-0) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
|
Michigan Tech (14-6-3) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
TEMPE, Arizona – No. 16 Michigan Tech won the 2023 Desert Hockey Classic with a 3-2 victory over No. 6 Boston University Saturday at Mullett Arena. The Huskies jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead and held on for their third regular season tournament championship under Coach Shawhan.
"It was goaltending, goaltending, goaltending," said Shawhan. "Blake gave us a chance. We scored enough in the first and held on. I couldn't be prouder of this group. They keep finding a way."
Blake Pietila was named tournament MVP after stopping 31 shots in the title game and 24 in the semifinal win over the host Arizona State.
"It feels good after coming off the GLI and our rough showing in the first game," Blake Pietila said. "We knew that we had to stick to our game plan tonight. They're a fast transitioning team, so we had to stick to our D zone coverage like we've done all year."
Tech scored all of its goals in the opening period. Logan Pietila gave the Huskies the lead 7:06 into the game. Jed Pietila fed Logan backdoor through traffic, and he corralled the pass and flipped in his fifth goal of the season.
Kyle Kukkonen added to the lead 4:03 later when he caught a pass out of the corner from Logan Pietila with his skate and whacked in his eighth of the season. Ryland Mosley also assisted on the play.
Tristan Ashbrook made it 3-0 with his second goal of the weekend. Jed Pietila gathered the puck behind the Michigan Tech net and fired a long bounce pass up to Ashbrook who got behind the defense and scored backhanded on a breakaway for his fifth of the season. Jake Crespi was credited with the second assist.
"We have a great group of guys that are in this together and play for each other," Jed Pietila said. "I was hanging out waiting for things to open on that play. TA got open and he accepted that pass off the wall and went in and scored it. It was a great play by him."
BU (13-6-0) scored a goal in each of the final two periods. Matt Brown cut into the lead, scoring on a breakaway from Jeremy Wilmer and Lane Hutson 5:33 into the second.
Kyle Kukkonen had a pair of chances to push the lead back to three. In the second period, he found himself open in front of the net, but BU goaltender Drew Commesso made an amazing skate save.
Commesso stopped Kukkonen on a shorthanded breakaway in the third. Jed Pietila also had a great chance when he hit the pipe midway through the third.
The Terriers made it a one-goal game 10:50 into the third on a goal that was credited to Devin Kaplan after it redirected off a Tech player, bounced off of Blake's pad, and across the line.
BU added the extra attacker with 1:48 left. The Terriers controlled play and had a number of backdoor chances that didn't end up going on net. Parker Saretsky and Arvid Caderoth won some key faceoffs late, Brett Thorne blocked a shot, and Blake Pietila made a big save to seal the victory.
Shots favored BU 33-23. The Huskies were 3-for-3 on the penalty kill and 0-for-1 on the power play.
It was the second time Tech won the Desert Hockey Classic after winning the inaugural event in 2016 at Gila River Arena.
The Huskies finished their non-conference schedule with a 7-2 record after sweeps of Alaska and St. Lawrence and single wins over No. 11 Michigan State, Arizona State, and No. 6 Boston University.
Tech improved to 7-0 all-time against BU in neutral site games. The last time the two teams met prior to Saturday was November 1988.
Arizona State defeated Air Force 2-0 in the consolation game that took place after Tech's win.
Under Coach Shawhan, the Huskies have also won the 2017 Ice Breaker Invitational and the 2019 Great Lakes Invitational.
The Huskies return to CCHA play next weekend, hosting St. Thomas. Friday is Faculty & Staff Appreciation Night and Saturday is Junior Hockey Night and Skate with the Huskies after the game.
