Pietila and Kukkonen named CCHA Players of the Week
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech goaltender Blake Pietila is the CCHA Goaltender of the Week for the seventh time this season, and Kyle Kukkonen is the CCHA Rookie of the Week, earning a weekly award for the third time as a freshman.
Pietila stopped 68-of-71 shots he faced in a CCHA split at No. 12 Minnesota State to wrap up the regular season. Pietila earned his school record and nation-leading ninth shutout of the season Friday with 35 saves while extending his school record to 19 career shutouts. He stopped 33 shots Saturday in a loss and didn't allow an even-strength tally all weekend. Pietila ranks third in the nation in save percentage (.930), fourth in wins (21), and fourth in goals-against average (1.95). He has earned 14 conference goaltender of the week honors in his career and his 56 wins rank third in Michigan Tech history
Kukkonen scored in each game against the Mavericks. He scored the game-winning goal in the third period in Friday's 2-0 shutout of the Mavericks. Kukkonen tied Saturday's game with a shorthanded goal with 1:05 left. Kukkonnen has 16 goals this season to lead all CCHA freshmen and rank fourth overall. He has scored five power-play goals and four game-winning goals this season.
Michigan Tech is ranked No. 11 in this week's DCU/USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls for the second week in a row. 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.
Tech finished the regular season 22-9-4 overall and 15-7-4 in the CCHA. The Huskies are the No. 2 seed in the CCHA Mason Cup Tournament and will host No. 7 seed St. Thomas this weekend in a best-of-three series at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. Friday, 6:07 p.m. Saturday, and, if necessary, 5:07 p.m. Sunday.