PREVIEW: Huskies welcome Wisconsin Badgers to the Mac

WELCOMING WISCO
• No. 17 Michigan Tech continues its non-conference home stand this weekend hosting Wisconsin.
• The puck drops Friday at 7:07 p.m. and Saturday at 6:07 p.m. at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
• It will be Wisconsin's first trip to Houghton since October 2011.
• Tech is 0-1-2 and Wisconsin is 3-1-0.

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 22nd year behind the microphone.

FLOHOCKEY.TV
• All Michigan Tech home and CCHA games during the 2023-24 season will be live-streamed on FloHockey.tv.
• Michigan Tech fans can watch all home and conference games in volleyball, basketball, football, and soccer with one subscription.
• FloSports provides each subscriber with access to all content and events with the purchase of a monthly or yearly subscription.
• FloSports is available on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, and Chromecast.

HUSKIES RANKED
• Michigan Tech is ranked No. 17 in both the USCHO.com and the USA Hockey/The Rink Live College Hockey Polls this week.
• Tech was ranked No. 9 last week in the USCHO poll and No. 10 in the USA Hockey/The Rink Live College Hockey Poll.
• No. 10 was the highest preseason ranking the Huskies have had in their hockey history.
• Tech was ranked No. 13 in the final polls after last season.
• Last season, the Huskies were in the top 20 since November 28 and climbed to as high as No. 10 on March 6.

HOME OPENER
• Tech fell 4-1 to Alaska Friday in the home opener and tied the Nanooks 2-2 Saturday.
• Max Koskipirtti scored Friday and Logan Pietila scored both goals Saturday. Koskipirtti and Pietila scored in the 2-1 exhibition shootout win Saturday after the tie.
• Isaac Gordon, Patriks Marcinkevics, and Chase Pietila all registered their first assists in a Michigan Tech uniform on Saturday.

SPORTSCENTER TOP 10
• Logan Pietila's shootout game-winner on Saturday was No. 8 on ESPN Sportscenter's Top 10 Plays of the night.
• Logan scored on a between-the-legs goal in the 2-1 exhibition shootout win.

SEASON OPENER
• No. 10 Michigan Tech skated to a 2-2 tie at No. 17 Minnesota Duluth in the US Hockey Hall of Fame Game on October 7 at Amsoil Arena.
• The Huskies twice came back from a one-goal deficit in the season-opener and got goals from Ryland Mosley and Patriks Marcinkevics.
• Blake Pietila made a career-high 48 saves with 20 in the first, 11 in the second, 15 in the third, and two in overtime.
• It was the most saves by a Michigan Tech goalie since the 2010 GLI when Josh Robinson had 45 saves against Michigan in a 4-2 loss.

SCOUTING THE BADGERS
• The Badgers are 3-1 on the season with wins over Augustana and Bemidji State. The lone loss was to No. 5 North Dakota in the Ice Breaker Championship.
• Wisconsin received votes in both polls, positioning itself just outside of the top 20.
• Head coach Mike Hastings is in his first season in Wisconsin after 11 seasons at CCHA-rival Minnesota State.
• Five different Badgers have three points. Quinn Finley, Owen Lindmark and Cruz Lucius lead the team with two goals each.
• Goaltender Kyle McClellan is 3-1-0 with a 1.24 goals-against average and .944 save percentage.

CONNECTIONS
• Wisconsin senior Carson Bantle started his career at Michigan Tech in 2020-21. He appeared in 19 games for the Huskies and tallied two goals and an assist.
• Michigan Tech assistant coach Jordy Murray played 119 games for the Badgers from 2008-11. He tallied 60 career points with 38 goals and 22 assists and was a member of the 2010 NCAA runner-up team. Murray earned a bachelor's degree in consumer affairs at Wisconsin.
• Blais Richartz is the lone player on Michigan Tech's roster from the state of Wisconsin. The senior forward hails from Menomonie and has appeared in two of Tech's three games this season.

SERIES INFO
• Michigan Tech is 54-102-11 in the all-time series against Wisconsin, dating back to 1928.
• The Huskies are 23-35-4 in games played in Houghton.
• Tech has won three of the last four meetings and is unbeaten in eight of the last 11.

LAST MEETING AT THE MAC
• The last win over Wisconsin at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena was October 15, 2011 with a 3-2 overtime victory to complete a weekend WCHA sweep.
• Brett Olson scored Saturday in overtime with Jacob Johnstone and Tanner Kero also scoring. Josh Robinson had 21 saves.
• Tech won 2-1 in overtime the night before. Jordan Baker scored the game-winner and Tanner Kero opened scoring. Josh Robinson made 23 saves.

LAST MEETING
• Michigan Tech swept Wisconsin in Madison on October 8-9, 2021 in the season-opening series.
• It was the first sweep in Madison since January 1974.
• The Huskies won 5-2 Friday with Logan Pietila (2), Brett Thorne, Brian Halonen, and Alec Broetzman scoring. Blake Pietila had 38 saves.
• Trenton Bliss, Alec Broetzman, Tyrone Bronte, Parker Saretsky, and Logan Pietila scored in a 5-1 win Saturday at the Kohl Center. Blake Pietila stopped 21 shots.

PIETILA NOTES
• Blake Pietila ranking amongst active goaltenders
    58 wins – leads nation
    106 games played – leads nation
    19 shutouts – leads nation
• Logan Pietila ranking amongst active players
    4 shorthanded goals – second nationally
    8 game-winners – third nationally
    141 games played – third nationally

COACH SHAWHAN
• Head Coach Joe Shawhan is in his seventh season behind the bench and holds a record of 119-89-22.
• He was named the 2023 CCHA Coach of the Year and is one of only two coaches to take three different Michigan Tech teams to the NCAA Tournament.
• 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 month wraps up with a road trip to St. Lawrence (Oct. 27) and Clarkson (Oct. 28).
• November begins with the first-ever meeting against Augustana (Nov. 3-4) at home.
• The Huskies travel to Bemidji State (Nov. 10-11) to begin CCHA play.
• The first home CCHA series is against Ferris State (Nov. 17-18).

NON-CONFERENCE
• Tech tied Minnesota Duluth 2-2 in the season-opener.
• The Huskies lost and tied Alaska in the home-opening series on October 13-14.
• Tech welcomes Wisconsin to Houghton for the first time since October 2011.
• The Black and Gold travel to New York to play St. Lawrence (Oct. 27) and Clarkson (Oct. 28).
• Tech plays Augustana for the first-time ever on November 3-4.
• The 57th annual Great Lakes Invitational is on December 28-29.

GREAT LAKES INVITATIONAL
• Michigan Tech is hosting the 2023 Great Lakes Invitational at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids on December 28-29.
• Semifinals: Michigan Tech vs. Alaska, 3:30 p.m., Michigan State vs. Ferris State, 7 p.m.
• GLI Third Place Game, 3:30 p.m., GLI Championship Game, 7 p.m.

PRESEASON ALL-CCHA
• Senior goaltender Blake Pietila was named the Co-Preseason Player of the Year by the coaches.
• Blake Pietila was on the Preseason All-CCHA Team for both the coaches and media.
• Sophomore forward Kyle Kukkonen joined the Preseason All-CCHA Team for both coaches and media.
• Senior defenseman Jed Pietila was named to the media's Preseason All-CCHA Team.

NHL DEVELOPMENT CAMPS
• Kyle Kukkonen – Anaheim Ducks (2022, 2023)
• Blake Pietila – Dallas Stars (2023)
• Trevor Russell – New Jersey (2022, 2023)
• Max Vayrynen – Calgary Flames (2023)

NHL DRAFT PICK
• Kyle Kukkonen – Picked by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2021 NHL Draft as the 162nd overall pick in the sixth round.
• Kukkonen is the 84th Michigan Tech player to be drafted by an NHL club.

CAPTAINS
• Seniors Logan Pietila and Arvid Caderoth are the captains.
• Seniors Ryland Mosley and Blake Pietila and sophomore Kyle Kukkonen are alternate captains.

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.
• Matthew Campbell was a member of the NCAA National Championship Quinnipiac Bobcats during the 2022-23 season. He appeared in one game.
• Lachlan Getz played one season at Boston University, appearing in 16 games. He played against the Huskies in the Desert Hockey Classic Title game.
• Patriks Marcinkevics began his collegiate career at Long Island University during the 2022-23 season. He tallied 27 points with six goals and 21 assists in 24 games.
• 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.

PRESEASON CCHA COACHES POLL
• Tech was picked first in the Preseason CCHA Coaches' Poll, with a point edge of Northern Michigan.
• Northern Michigan, Bowling Green, and Bemidji State round out the top four.
• St. Thomas and Minnesota State tied for fifth with Ferris State and Lake Superior State rounding out the poll.

PRESEASON CCHA MEDIA POLL
• Tech was picked first in the Preseason CCHA Media Poll.
• Northern Michigan, Bowling Green, and Minnesota State were also in the top four.
• Bemidji State, St. Thomas, Ferris State, and Lake Superior State were in slots five through seven.

BLAKE PIETILA HONORS LAST SEASON
• First Team All-American
• CCHA Player of the Year
• CCHA Goaltender of the Year
• All-CCHA First Team
• Mike Richter Top 3 Finalist
• Hobey Baker Top 10 Finalist
• Desert Hockey Classic MVP
• School record shutouts in a season (10) and career (20)
• Tied for the school's all-time wins record (58)

KYLE KUKKONEN HONORS LAST SEASON
• CCHA Rookie of the Year
• Unanimous selection on CCHA All-Rookie Team
• Scored the fifth-most goals by a Michigan Tech freshman in program history and his 18 goals were the most by a Tech freshman since 1988.
• Winter Carnival MVP

ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
• Blake Pietila – CCHA Player of the Year (2022-23), CCHA Goaltender of the Year (2022-23), CCHA First Team (2022-23) & Second Team (2021-22)
• Ryland Mosley – CCHA First Team (2022-23)
• Kyle Kukkonen – CCHA Rookie of the Year (2022-23) & 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

HUSKIES AT NHL TRAINING CAMPS
• Trenton Bliss – Detroit Red Wings
• Pheonix Copley – LA Kings
• Brian Halonen – New Jersey Devils
• Michael Karow – Dallas Stars
• Tanner Kero – Colorado Avalanche
• Jujhar Khaira – Minnesota Wild
• Joel L'Esperance – Detroit Red Wings
• Jake Lucchini – Minnesota Wild
• Mitch Reinke – Seattle Kraken
• Matt Roy – LA Kings
• Mark Sinclair – Ottawa Senators
• Colin Swoyer – Washington Capitals

INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
• Tech's roster boasts players from six different countries.
• United States: 16
• Canada: 6
• Finland: 4
• Sweden: 2
• Australia: 1
• Latvia: 1

RETURNERS
• Tech returns 20 players from last season with 12 forwards, five defensemen, and three goaltenders.
• The Huskies return their top three scorers with Ryland Mosley (31), Kyle Kukkonen (27), and Logan Pietila (22).
• Jack Works (17) and Jed Pietila (16) also notched over 15 points.

FRESHMEN
• Tech has seven freshmen on the roster with four forwards and three defensemen.
• Forwards: Henry Bartle, Lauri Raiman, Max Koskipirtti, Isaac Gordon.
• Defensemen: Cameron Moger, Chase Pietila, Nick Williams.

PIETILA TIMES FIVE
• Logan and Blake Pietila are twins and are joined by younger brother Chase. Blake is a goaltender, Chase is a defenseman, and Logan is a forward.
• 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.

2022-23 RECAP
• Tech made its second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2022-23 and its third under Shawhan.
• The Huskies finished 24-11-4 overall and second in the CCHA with a 15-7-4 record.
• Tech won the Desert Hockey Classic with wins over Arizona State and No. 6 Boston University and went 7-2 in its non-conference schedule.

BLUE LINE CLUB
The Michigan Tech Blue Line Club provides additional resources to the hockey program, enabling hockey student-athletes to pursue success both in the classroom and on the ice. The annual membership drive is now open.