PREVIEW: MacNaughton Cup on the line at Minnesota State

THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES
• No. 11 Michigan Tech wraps up the regular season on the road at No. 12 Minnesota State.
• The puck drops at 8:07 p.m. (Eastern) Friday and 7:07 p.m. Saturday at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.
• The Mavericks lead the Huskies by two points heading into the weekend for the CCHA Regular Season Title and MacNaughton Cup.
• Tech is 21-8-4 overall and MSU is 20-11-1.
• The Huskies took 4-of-6 points in the first meeting of the season in Houghton on Thanksgiving weekend.

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.

HUSKIES RANKED
• Michigan Tech is ranked No. 11 in this week's DCU/USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls.
• The No. 11 ranking is the highest for Michigan Tech since April 13, 2015, when the Huskies check in at No. 9 in the final poll of the 2014-15 season.

NOTES TO KNOW
• Tech's 21 wins match last season's win total.
• The last time Tech won the MacNaughton Cup was in 2015-16 when the Huskies shared it with Minnesota State.
• Tech last won the MacNaughton Cup outright in 1975-76.
• Coach Joe Shawhan needs two victories to tie for second in all-time wins at Michigan Tech at 118.
• Blake Pietila needs three wins to tie Michigan Tech's all-time goaltender win record at 58.

SCOUTING THE MAVS
• Minnesota State is 20-11-1 overall and 15-8-1 in the CCHA.
• The Mavericks are 10-2 in 2023 and are 9-6 on home ice this season.
• MSU was the top pick in the Preseason CCHA Coaches' Poll after going 38-6 last season with an appearance in the NCAA National Championship Game.
• Head coach Mike Hastings is in his 11th season. MSU has gone to seven NCAA Tournaments under Hastings.
• David Silye leads the team with 20 goals and 34 assists.
• Goaltender Keenan Rancier is 14-8-1 with a 1.89 goals-against average and .912 save percentage.

HUSKIES AGAINST MAVS
• Arvid Caderoth – 4 assists
• Logan Ganie – 2 goals, 1 assist
• Tristan Ashbrook – 2 goals, 1 assist

FIRST MEETING
• No. 20 Michigan Tech earned 4-of-6 CCHA points against No. 10 Minnesota State on November 25-26 at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
• Tech won 3-2 Friday and the teams tied 2-2 Saturday with the Mavericks winning the shootout.
• Logan Ganie, Kyle Kukkonen, Kash Rasmussen, David Jankowski, and Tristan Ashbrook scored, and Blake Pietila made 76 saves in the series.

SERIES INFO
• Tech is 24-51-10 all-time against Minnesota State since 1996.
• The Huskies are 6-30-3 against the Mavericks in Mankato.
• Tech last win in Mankato was March 11, 2018 in the WCHA Semifinals.

PLAYOFF HOME ICE
• Tech clinched home ice for the first two rounds of the CCHA Mason Cup Tournament.
• Tickets are on sale now at BuyHuskiesTickets.com for the first-round best-of-three series on March 3-5.

HOBEY BAKER & MIKE RICHTER WATCH LIST
• Pietila is a semifinalist for the Mike Richter Award, given annually to the top goalie in men's NCAA Division I hockey since 2014.
• Blake Pietila is a candidate for the 2023 Hobey Baker Award, given annually to college hockey's top player.
• Pietila was named the CCHA Goaltender of the Month for January and October, the CCHA Goaltender of the Week six times, and the Most Valuable Player of the Desert Hockey Classic.

STAT RANKINGS
• Ryland Mosley leads the nation with three shorthanded goals and is fifth with four game-winning goals.
• Blake Pietila leads the nation with eight shutouts, is fourth in save percentage (.928), and sixth in goals-against average (1.98).
• Tech is second in the nation in penalty-killing percentage (.887).
• The Huskies are second in the nation in scoring defense (2.09).
Tech is fourth in wins (21) and fifth in winning percentage (.697).
• Tech is eighth nationally with five shorthanded goals.

LAST TIME OUT
• No. 12 Michigan Tech split with Bowling Green in the annual Winter Carnival series on February 10-11 in the last home weekend of the regular season.
• The Falcons won 5-2 Friday with the Huskies winning 4-2 Saturday.
• Kyle Kukkonen was named Winter Carnival MVP after scoring four goals on the weekend. Ryland Mosley and Tristan Ashbrook also found the back of the net.

LOOKING AHEAD
• The CCHA Mason Cup Playoffs begin with a best-of-three series on March 3-5. The Huskies will host Friday at 7:07 p.m., Saturday at 6:07 p.m. and Sunday at 5:07 p.m. at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
• The CCHA Tournament Semifinal is March 11 with the Championship game on March 18.

COACH SHAWHAN
• Head coach Joe Shawhan is in his sixth season behind the bench and holds a record of 116-85-20.
• 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.

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 GOALTENDER OF JANUARY
• For January, Pietila held a 1.37 goals-against average and .947 save percentage while going 6-1-1 with three shutouts.
• He led the NCAA in shutouts, goals-against average, and save percentage among goaltenders who played five games.
• Pietila was named the CCHA Goaltender of the Week three times during January and was the MVP of the Deseret Hockey Classic after leading the Huskies to the title with 55 saves on 59 shots.

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
• February 13 – Kyle Kukkonen– CCHA Forward of the Week
• February 13 – Brett Thorne – CCHA Defenseman of the Week
• February 6 – Blake Pietila – CCHA Goaltender of the Week
• January 30 – Blake Pietila – CCHA Goaltender of the Week
• January 23 – Blake Pietila – CCHA Goaltender 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

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 68-53-7 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

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.