PREVIEW: Tech opens NCAA Tournament against Penn State

NCAA REGIONAL
• Michigan Tech earned an at-large bid to the 2023 NCAA Division I Hockey Tournament for the second straight season.
• The Huskies will open against Penn State Friday (March 24) at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
• The puck will drop at 5 p.m. Eastern.
• Tech is 24-10-4 overall and will play the Nittany Lions for the first time in program history.

OTHER REGIONAL MATCHUP
• The region's top seed Michigan will play Colgate in the second semifinal at 8:30 p.m. on Friday.
• The winners will play in the regional championship on Sunday at 6:30 p.m.

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.

TV COVERAGE
• ESPNU and ESPN+ will televise Friday's regional semifinals.
• The Regional Championship will be televised on ESPN2 at 6:30 p.m.
• Clay Matvick (play-by-play) and Sean Ritchlin (commentary) will be the talent.
• Fans in Canada can watch the NCAA Tournament on TSN+.

NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES
• Michigan Tech is 9-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Huskies have dropped four straight games with the last win in 1981.

HUSKIES RANKED
• Michigan Tech is ranked No. 13 in this week's DCU/USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls.
• The Huskies climbed as high as No. 10 in the polls on March 6.

HOBEY BAKER TOP 10
• For the second year in a row, Michigan Tech has a Hobey Baker Top 10 Finalist as goaltender Blake Pietila was selected by voting from all 61 Division I college hockey head coaches plus online fan balloting.
• Pietila is the sixth Michigan Tech player to be named a Hobey Baker Finalist, joining Brian Halonen (2022), Alex Petan (2016), Tanner Kero (2015), Colin Murphy (2005), and Jamie Ram (1994).
• Pietila, the CCHA Goaltender of the Year and unanimous All-CCHA First Team selection is also a top three finalist for the Mike Richter Award.

MIKE RICHTER TOP 3 FINALIST
• Blake Pietila broke Michigan Tech records for shutouts in a season (10) and career (20) while becoming the all-time wins leader with 58—a record he shares with Bruce Horsch.
• Pietila leads the nation in shutouts while ranking second nationally with 23 wins, third in save percentage (.929), and fifth in goals-against average (1.99).
• Pietila has appeared in 36 games for the Huskies going 23-10-3 overall.
• Northeastern's Devon Levi, and Quinnipiac's Yaniv Perets are the other finalists. Levi and Perets are repeat finalists, and Levi was the Richter Award winner last year.

ALL-CCHA HONORS
• CCHA Player of the Year – Blake Pietila
• CCHA Rookie of the Year – Kyle Kukkonen
• CCHA Coach of the Year – Joe Shawhan
• All-CCHA First Team – Blake Pietila & Ryland Mosley
• All-CCHA Second Team – Brett Thorne
• CCHA All-Rookie Team – Kyle Kukkonen

MORE NOTES TO KNOW
• Tech's 24 wins are the most since the 2014-15 season.
• Coach Joe Shawhan jumped into second place in all-time wins at Michigan Tech with 119.
• Blake Pietila is tied for Michigan Tech's all-time goaltender win record with 58.

STAT RANKINGS
• Blake Pietila leads the nation with 10 shutouts, is second with 23 wins, third in save percentage (.929), and fifth in goals-against average (1.99).
• Ryland Mosley is second in the nation with three shorthanded goals and is 16th with four game-winning goals.
• Kyle Kukkonen is fifth nationally with five game-winning goals and sixth in shorthanded goals (3).
• Tech is fourth in the nation in penalty-killing percentage (.860).
• The Huskies are fourth in the nation in scoring defense (2.11).
• Tech is sixth in wins (24) and sixth in winning percentage (.684).
• Tech is fourth nationally with seven shorthanded goals.

CCHA QUARTERFINAL
• No. 11 Michigan Tech opened the postseason with a series sweep of St. Thomas.
• The Huskies shut out the Tommies 1-0 Friday and won 5-4 Saturday to advance to the CCHA Mason Cup Semifinals.
• Brett Thorne scored the lone goal Friday, and Blake Pietila had 30 saves for his 10th shutout of the season.
• Kyle Kukkonen and Tristan Ashbrook each scored twice Saturday, and Jack Works also found the back of the net.

CCHA SEMIFINAL
• No. 10 Michigan Tech lost 4-0 to Northern Michigan in the CCHA Semifinal at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
• The Wildcats scored three goals in the first period and added a late empty netter.

SCOUTING PENN STATE
• Penn State is 21-15-1 overall and finished fifth in the Big Ten standings with a 10-13-1 conference record.
• The Nittany Lions went 10-0 in its non-conference schedule and haven't played a neutral site game this season.
• Penn State is the host of the regional and are making its third NCAA Tournament appearance in only its 11th season.
• Guy Gadowsky has been the head coach for all 11 NCAA Division I seasons.
• Kevin Wall leads the team with 29 points and 16 goals. Ture Linden (28), Connor MacEachern (24), and Connor McMenamin (23) also have 20 points on the season.
• Goaltender Liam Souliere is 18-14-1 between the pipes with a 2.52 goals-against average and .913 save percentage.

SERIES INFO
• Penn State – This will be the first first-ever meeting with Penn State.
• Colgate – Tech is 1-1 against Colgate with neutral site meetings in 1970.
• Michigan – Tech is 98-125-7 all-time against the Wolverines, dating back to 1921. In neutral site games the Huskies are 13-24-1.

CCHA COACH OF THE YEAR
• Head coach Joe Shawhan was named the 2023 CCHA Coach of the Year by his peers.
• Shawhan is in his sixth season behind the bench and holds a record of 119-87-20.
• He won his 100th career game at Bowling Green on November 5, 2022, and ranks second 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.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
• The 2023 Frozen Four will be held at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida with the semifinals on April 6 and the National Championship on April 8.

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 FEBRUARY
• For February, Pietila held a .935 save percentage and 2.01 goals-against average while going 4-2 in six games.
• He had shutouts at Bemidji State and at No. 12 Minnesota State and had three games stopping over 30 shots.

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
• March 6 – Jed Pietila – CCHA Defenseman of the Week
• March 6 – Kyle Kukkonen – CCHA Rookie of the Week
• February 27 – Kyle Kukkonen – CCHA Rookie of the Week
• February 27 – Blake Pietila – CCHA Goaltender 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 and junior Arvid Caderoth are the captains.
• Junior Ryland Mosley is the alternate captain.

ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
• Blake Pietila – CCHA First Team (2022-23) & Second Team (2021-22)
• Ryland Mosley – CCHA First Team (2022-23)
• Brett Thorne – CCHA Second Team (2022-23)
• Kyle Kukkonen – All-CCHA Rookie Team (2022-23)
• Arvid Caderoth – All-WCHA Rookie Team (2020-21)
• Tyrone Bronte – All-WCHA Rookie Team (2020-21) with Alabama Huntsville

TRANSFERS
• Tyrone Bronte played at Alabama Huntsville in 2020-21. He was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team after tallying 13 points on four goals and nine assists in 22 games.
• Tristan Ashbrook joined the Huskies in December 2020 after one season at RPI in 2019-20. He appeared in all 34 games for the Engineers and tallied 13 points with nine goals and four assists
• 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.
• The show was recently honored by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters with a Broadcast Excellence Award.
• 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.

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.

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.

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.