PREVIEW: Huskies host Bulldogs in CCHA home opener

CCHA HOME OPENER
• Michigan Tech hosts Ferris State this weekend in the first home CCHA series of the season.
• The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. Friday and 6:07 p.m. Saturday at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
• It is the only scheduled CCHA meeting between the two teams. They could also meet on the second day of the Great Lakes Invitational.
• Tech is 3-5-3 overall and 1-1-0 in the CCHA. Ferris State is 3-6-1 overall and 1-3 in the CCHA.

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.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• Ferris State is 3-6-1 overall and 1-3 in the CCHA. The wins are over Miami, Northern Michigan, and St. Lawrence.
• Head coach Bob Daniels is in his 32nd season as the leader of the Bulldogs
• Antonio Venuto leads the team with eight points and six goals.
• Goaltender Noah Giesbrecht has seen the most times between the pipes and is 2-4-0 with a 4.74 goals-against average and .857 save percentage.
• The Bulldogs were picked seventh in both CCHA Preseason Polls after going 14-19-4 overall and 9-14-3 in the CCHA last season.

AGAINST THE BULLDOGS
• Logan Pietila – 5 goals, 10 assists
• Arvid Caderoth – 1 goals, 5 assists
• Ryland Mosley – 2 goals, 3 assists
• Blais Richartz – 1 goal, 1 assist
• Kyle Kukkonen – 1 goal

SERIES INFO
• Tech is 31-17-3 all-time against the Bulldogs, dating back to 1982.
• The Huskies are 16-6-1 in games played in Houghton.
• Tech went 1-1-1 against the Bulldogs last season—all in Big Rapids.

LAST MEETING
• Tech earned 4-of-6 CCHA points at Ferris State on January 20-21, 2023. The Huskies won 1-0 Friday and the teams tied 3-3 Saturday.
• Blake Pietila extended his nation-leading shutout mark to six and his school record career shutout mark to 16 while winning his 50th career game Friday.
• Kyle Kukkonen scored the game-winning goal Friday and Logan Pietila had a pair of goals Saturday. Jake Crespi also scored as the Bulldogs earned the extra CCHA point in the shootout.

CCHA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
• Nov. 6 – Isaac Gordon – CCHA Rookie of the Week
• Nov. 6 – Chase Pietila – CCHA Defenseman of the Week

GAMES WIN RECORD
• Fifth-year goaltender Blake Pietila set a school record with his 59th career win on November 4 with a 6-4 victory over Augustana. He stopped 19 shots to earn the victory.
• Pietila won 14 games as a sophomore, 21 as a junior, 23 as a senior, and one so far this season.

HUSKY HAT TRICKS
• Isaac Gordon had a hat trick in the 6-4 win over Augustana on Friday. He scored a goal in each period.
• Ryland Mosley netted a hat trick in Saturday's 4-3 overtime win over the Vikings. He scored Tech's last three goals, including the overtime game winner.
• The last time Tech had hat tricks on back-to-back nights was October 17-18, 2003 against Northern Michigan. Chris Conner scored a goal each period in a 4-3 OT NMU win in Marquette. Colin Murphy scored four goals the next night in a 7-6 OT win for the Huskies at the Mac. Tech trailed 6-3 with 2:06 remaining. Nick Anderson scored at 17:55, Murphy at 18:34, again at 19:32, and then he won the game 2:58 into overtime.

LAST TIME OUT
• Michigan Tech split its CCHA opening weekend at Bemidji State. The Huskies won 4-2 Friday and lost 6-4 Saturday.
• Arvid Caderoth is coming off a five-point weekend at Bemidji State. He was in on all four goals Friday with a power play goal in the first, the game-winning tally in the second, while assisting on the other two goals.
• Jack Works scored both nights at Bemidji State. He had an empty net goal in Friday's win and scored the second goal for the Huskies Saturday.
• Lauri Raiman, Isaac Gordon, Ryland Mosley, and Marcus Pedersen also scored.

OCTOBER RECAP
• Tech went 0-4-3 in the first month of the season.
• 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. Blake Pietila made a career-high 48 saves.
• Tech fell 4-1 to Alaska Friday in the home opener and tied the Nanooks 2-2 Saturday.
• The Huskies fell 4-2 and 5-2 against Wisconsin the following weekend in the Badgers' return to Houghton for the first time since October 2011.
• Tech tied 2-2 at St. Lawrence and fell 3-1 at Clarkson in the last games of the month.
Logan Pietila led the team with three goals and five points. Max Koskipirtti and Kyle Kukkonen had four points while Isaac Gordon and Ryland Mosley added three.

SPORTSCENTER TOP 10
• Logan Pietila's shootout game-winner against Alaska on October 14 was No. 8 on ESPN Sportscenter's Top 10 Plays of the night.
• Logan scored on between-the-legs goal in the 2-1 exhibition shootout win.

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

COACH SHAWHAN
• Head Coach Joe Shawhan is in his seventh season behind the bench and holds a record of 122-93-23.
• 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
• Tech travels to Minnesota State on Thanksgiving weekend (Nov. 24-25).
• The Huskies host Bowling Green (Dec. 1-2) in the first series of December.
• The following weekend (Dec. 8-9) is the first of two meetings with rival Northern Michigan. Tech hots Friday night and travels to Marquette Saturday.

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 dropped a pair of games to Wisconsin on October 20-21 at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
• The Huskies tied 2-2 at St. Lawrence (Oct. 27) and fell 3-1 at Clarkson (Oct. 28).
• Tech swept Augustana in the first-time meeting with 6-4 and 4-3 overtime wins on November 3-4 in Houghton.
• The 57th annual Great Lakes Invitational is on December 28-29. Tech opens against Alaska and will play Michigan State or Ferris State on the second day.

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.
• 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 five different countries.
• United States: 16
• Canada: 6
• Finland: 4
• Sweden: 2
• Australia: 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.