Huskies shutout Tommies to earn third seed
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Thomas (14-18-2, 12-11-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Michigan Tech (15-14-6, 12-10-2) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech shutout St. Thomas 6-0 Friday at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena in the regular season finale and clinched the No. 3 seed in the CCHA Mason Cup Playoffs. The Huskies will host Bowling Green next weekend in a best-of-three series.
"All the seniors pointed, and Blake gets a shutout on Senior Night," Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. "I've never coached a group where there's such a place in my heart for every single one of them. This group has always represented the program and their families in a positive way."
Blake Pietila earned his third shutout of the season and the 23rd of his career with 18 saves. His seven senior teammates each recorded a point in front of him.
Tech scored two goals in each period with seniors Logan Pietila, Blais Richartz, and Levi Stauber scoring on their Senior Night.
Logan Pietila opened scoring 2:55 into the game when he finished off a quick pass to the slot by Isaac Gordon. Ryland Mosley added the second assist on Pietila's 10th goal of the season and 42nd of his career.
Blais Richartz scored his second of the season for a 2-0 lead 81 seconds later. Henry Bartle had the setup feed and Alex Nordstrom also assisted on the second goal of the season for Richartz and the third of his career.
"Honestly, I can't believe Henry didn't shoot the puck," Richartz said. "We played the way we need to play tonight, and hopefully, we can carry the momentum into playoffs. We're excited for home ice for the third year in a row."
Tech's two outstanding freshmen provided the offense in the second. Chase Pietila scored his second of the season—and second in the last three games—when he carried the puck all the way in and flipped in a backhander. Jed Pietila assisted on the even-strength goal just after a power play expired at 7:05.
Isaac Gordon made it 4-0 after creating a turnover down to Ryland Mosley. Gordon corralled a pass to the middle and snapped in his team-leading 15th of the season.
Levi Stauber scored his first of the season 7:20 into the third, cleaning up a rebound in front of the net. Tyrone Bronte and Marcus Pedersen assisted on Stauber's third of his career and second against the Tommies.
"Bronts and Marcus were hacking and whacking at it and it came out to me. I just shot it at the net and it hit the post and the goalie's skate and went in," Stauber said. "We needed three points tonight and this was big. We love the crowd and band at home and we feed off of their energy. Next weekend will be fun."
Nick Williams rounded out the scoring with his first collegiate goal at 13:41 of the third. After whacks by Arvid Caderoth and Chase Pietila, Williams got the last tap for the power play goal.
Tech led in shots 33-18. Pietila stopped seven shots in the first, six in the second, and five in the third. Jake Sibell made 12 saves in the first 32:58 and Aaron Trotter finished the final 26:58 with 15 saves.
The Huskies were 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and 1-for-4 on the power play.
Blake Pietila was given a gift before the game from Joe Shawhan in recognition of his six school records, most games played, wins, shutouts, individual season shutouts, season goals against average, and season save percentage.
Tyrone Bronte, Arvid Caderoth, Ryland Mosley, Blake Pietila, Jed Pietila, Logan Pietila, Blais Richartz, and Levi Stauber were recognized on Senior Night after the game.
Tech and BGSU will meet at 7:07 p.m. Friday, 6:07 p.m. Saturday, and, if necessary, 5:07 p.m. Sunday. Other first-round matchups are No. 8 Ferris State at No. 1 Bemidji State, No. 7 Lake Superior State and No. 2 St. Thomas, and No. 5 Northern Michigan and No. 4 Minnesota State.
Tickets for the first round series will go on sale at 1 p.m. Monday through the SDC Central Ticket Office.
