No. 15 Tech defeats NMU for fifth straight win
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Northern Michigan (14-11-1, 8-10-1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
|
Michigan Tech (15-8-1, 12-5-0) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – No. 15 Michigan Tech earned its fifth straight win Tuesday, overwhelming Northern Michigan 5-1 at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The Huskies got four goals and nine points from the Tommy Parrottino, Trenton Bliss, and Brian Halonen line to improve to 15-8-1 overall and 12-5 in the CCHA.
"We played a pretty good hockey game," Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. "It got a little sloppy as expected in a rivalry game with short rest. We certainly got a really big game out of the Bliss line and the supporting cast was good."
Tommy Parrottino scored the game's first two goals. After a slow start to the first period, Parrottino and Trenton Bliss did a give-and-go play and Tommy scored for the second game in a row with a simple tap in 8:30 into the game.
Tech took a two-goal lead 12:16 into the second when a rush by Trenton Bliss was deflected out by the goaltender, and Tommy Parrottino tapped in his sixth of the season and his eighth goal against the Wildcats in his career. Goaltender Blake Pietila earned the secondary assist.
"It's nice playing with Bliss and Halonen," Parrottino said. "They're so skilled and we have good chemistry right now.
"Nothing has been different for me lately. I'm just coming prepared to practice every day and focusing on the little details of the game."
NMU (14-11-1, 8-10-1 CCHA) scored its only goal of the night just over a minute later on a breakaway by CCHA scoring leader AJ Vanderbeck.
Brian Halonen pushed it back to a two-goal game with a quick wrist shot from the half wall with 59.3 seconds left in the second for his team-leading 16th goal of the season. Trenton Bliss and Tyrell Buckley assisted. Both Bliss and Halonen extended their point streak to six games overall and eight games at home.
Logan Pietila finished off a cross-ice feed from Brett Thorne while the team's skated 4-on-4 for a 4-1 lead 12:59 into the third. Pietila has nine goals this season with Tommy Parrottino picking up the secondary assist.
Trenton Bliss scored his seventh of the season with a power-play goal at 16:48 of the third. He slammed in a rebound with assists going to Tommy Parrottino and Colin Swoyer.
"I think our whole line has been doing really well since the break," Bliss said. "We're trying to figure out how we can get sustained offensive pressure. We've been playing with each other the whole season and it's starting to gel. Hopefully, we can keep it going."
Tech hounded NMU goaltender Charlie Glockner with 49 shots on goal. Blake Pietila earned his 15th win of the season with 22 saves for the Black and Gold.
The Huskies were 2-for-3 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
The rivals will wrap up the CCHA series next Tuesday (Feb. 8) at the Berry Events Center.
"We had a similar schedule last year with the 13-day road trip," said Bliss. "We know what to expect over the next few weeks. Coach is letting us recover on practice days but this is why we play. We love games."
Tech takes its seven-game conference winning streak on the road to St. Thomas this weekend. The puck drops at 8:07 p.m. Friday and Saturday night from St. Thomas Ice Arena.
