PREVIEW: No. 14 Huskies travel to Ferris State

THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES
• No. 14 Michigan Tech travels to Ferris State for its only weekend series against the Bulldogs this season.
• The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. Friday and 6:07 p.m. Saturday at the Ewigleben Ice Arena.
• The Huskies are 15-7-3 overall and 8-5-3 in the CCHA. The Bulldogs are 10-10-2 overall and 7-6-1 in the CCHA.
• The teams met downstate in a nonconference game to open the season on October 7. FSU won 2-1.

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.

MIKE RICHTER WATCH LIST
• Blake Pietila has been named to the Watch List for the Mike Richter Award, given annually to the top goalie in men's NCAA Division I hockey since 2014.
• The Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) announced the 41 goalies on the list and Pietila is on it for the third straight season.
• Pietila was named the CCHA Goaltender of the Month for October, the CCHA Goaltender of the Week three times, and the Most Valuable Player of the Desert Hockey Classic.
• For his career, he has been a two-time finalist for the Mike Richter Award and a two-time Hobey Baker Award nominee.

HUSKIES RANKED
• Michigan Tech is ranked No. 14 in this week's DCU/USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls.
• The Huskies have received votes in all 16 polls and entered the top 20 ranking on November 28.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
• Ferris State is 10-10-2 overall and 7-6-1 in the CCHA. The Bulldogs are currently fifth in the league standings only two points back of a home playoff sport.
• FSU is 5-5 at home this season and 7-4 in the last 11 games.
• The Bulldogs were picked seventh in the Preseason CCHA Coaches' Poll after going 11-24-1 overall and 9-16-1 in the CCHA.
• Head coach Bob Daniels is in his 31st season.
• Stepan Pokorny leads the team with 15 points and Tyler Schleppe leads with eight goals.

HUSKIES AGAINST BULLDOGS
• Logan Pietila (3G, 9A)
• Tristan Ashbrook (6G, 3A)
• Brett Thorne (1G, 7A)
• Arvid Caderoth (1G, 5A)
• Logan Ganie (2G, 3A)

FIRST MEETING
• No. 20 Michigan Tech began the 2022-23 regular season with a 2-1 loss to Ferris State at Ewigleben Ice Arena Friday.
• Parker Saretsky scored the lone goal for the Huskies.
• Tyler Schleppe scored 16 seconds into the game and Dallas Tulik scoring the game-winner for the Bulldogs.
• Tech outshot FSU 29-25. Blake Pietila made 23 saves while Logan Stein earned the win on the other side of the ice with 28 saves.

SERIES INFO
• Tech is 30-17-2 all-time against Ferris State, dating back to 1982.
• The Huskies are 13-10-1 against the Bulldogs in Big Rapids.
• Before the season-opening loss, Tech had been unbeaten in the previous 12 games. The last conference loss in Big Rapids was in January 2018.

STAT RANKINGS
• Ryland Mosley leads the nation with three shorthanded goals and is second with four game-winning goals.
• Blake Pietila leads the nation with five shutouts, is 11th in save percentage (.924), and 14th in goals-against average (2.12).
• Kyle Kukkonen is 17th nationally with five power-play goals.
• Tech is fifth nationally with five shorthanded goals.
• Tech is seventh nationally in penalty-killing percentage (.865).
• The Huskies are seventh in the nation in scoring defense (2.24).

COACH SHAWHAN
• Head coach Joe Shawhan is in his sixth season behind the bench and holds a record of 110-84-19.
• 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.

DESERT HOCKEY CLASSIC CHAMPS
• Michigan Tech won its second Desert Hockey Classic with a 4-2 win over Arizona State in the semifinal and a 3-2 victory over No. 6 Boston University in the title game. Ryland Mosley and Logan Pietila each had a goal and two assists on the weekend. Evan Orr scored his first career goal Friday.
• Blake Pietila was named Desert Hockey Classic Most Valuable Player after going 2-0-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage. He made 24 saves in the semifinal and 31 in the championship game.

NON-CONFERENCE
• Tech finished 7-2 in its non-conference schedule.
• The Huskies swept at Alaska and against St. Lawrence. Tech also defeated No. 11 Michigan State, Arizona State, and No. 6 Boston University.
• The losses were to Ferris State and No. 18 Western Michigan.

LOOKING AHEAD
• The Huskies and NMU Wildcats meet in a home-and-away series next weekend. Tech hosts Friday and NMU hosts Saturday.
• Bemidji State, Bowling Green, and Minnesota State are the final opponents of the regular 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.
• Brett Thorne was named to the GLI All-Tournament Team.

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 9 – Blake Pietila – CCHA Goaltender 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 64-52-6 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.