PREVIEW: Huskies host Minnesota State in Mason Cup Semifinal

CCHA SEMIFINAL
• Michigan Tech hosts Minnesota State on Saturday in the CCHA Mason Cup Semifinal.
• The puck drops at 5:07 p.m. at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
• The Huskies are the No. 3 seed and the Mavericks are No. 4
• It's the third season in a row the Huskies are hosting the semifinal. Bemidji State won the game in 2022 and Northern Michigan advanced in 2023.
• Lake Superior State is traveling to Bemidji State for the other semifinal which starts at 8:07 p.m. at the Sanford Center.
• The CCHA Mason Cup Championship is scheduled for Friday, March 22 at the highest remaining seed.

HOW THEY ADVANCED
• No. 3 seed Michigan Tech advanced with a sweep of Bowling Green in the CCHA Quarterfinal and the Mavericks swept Northern Michigan in Mankato as the No. 4 seed.
• (6) Lake Superior State defeated (3) St. Thomas in Game 3 to allow the Huskies to host the semifinal.

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.
• 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.

THIRD IN NCAA SHUTUOUTS
• Blake Pietila earned his 24th career shutout Friday against Bowling Green, placing him in sole possession of third-most in NCAA Division I men's hockey history.
• Only Minnesota State's Dryden McKay (34) and Michigan State's Ryan Miller (26) had more.
• Pietila is Tech's all-time leader in shutouts and the active NCAA leader.

CCHA QUARTERFINAL
• The Huskies defeated Bowling Green 5-0 on Friday and 6-5 on Saturday at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena to open the CCHA Playoffs.
• Ryland Mosley scored three goals, Isaac Gordon had two, while Henry Bartle, Tyrone Bronte, Arvid Caderoth, Logan Pietila, Blais Richartz, and Jack Works also found the back of the net.
• Blake Pietila earned his 24th career shutout Friday and his 74th win Saturday.

RECENT SEMIFINAL RESULTS
• 2023 – Northern Michigan 4 at Michigan Tech 0
• 2022 – Bemidji State 5 at Michigan Tech 2
• 2020 – Michigan Tech at Minnesota State canceled due to COVID
• 2018 – Michigan Tech at Minnesota State (Tech won Game 3, 2-1 OT)
• 2017 – Minnesota State at Michigan Tech (Tech won Game 3, 4-1)
• 2016 – Michigan Tech 0 vs. Ferris State 1 (Van Andel Arena)
• 2015 – Michigan Tech 5 vs. Bowling Green 2 (Xcel Energy Center)

CCHA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Isaac Gordon is the CCHA Rookie of the Week for the fourth time this season after he tallied six points in the CCHA Quarterfinal. He had a goal and two assists each night.

GORDON ALL-CCHA
• Isaac Gordon is the CCHA Rookie of the Year.
• He was also named to the All-CCHA Second Team and CCHA All-Rookie Team.
• In CCHA games, Gordon played in all 24 contests for the Huskies and was second among all CCHA skaters in goals (11) during conference play, pacing league rookies in points (20) and plus-minus (+10) and finishing second in shots (66).
• Fifth overall in plus-minus, he was third on Michigan Tech with nine assists, including two helpers on the power play. Notching three multi-point games, he had two five-game point streaks during the conference season and tallied a game-winning goal against Bowling Green (Dec. 2).

PIETILA ALL-CCHA
• Blake Pietila was named to the All-CCHA Second Team.
• In CCHA games, Pietila went 12-9-2 with a 2.05 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage, leading the league in conference wins, games played (23), shutouts (3), and total saves (578).
• He finished third in goals-against average and save percentage, helping the Huskies to three shutout victories and a place in the Mason Cup Semifinals.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• Minnesota State is 18-14-4 overall and finished 12-10-2 in the CCHA.
• Luke Strand is in his first season as head coach of the Mavericks.
• Sam Morton leads the team with 34 points and 24 goals and was named to the All-CCHA First Team.
• Goaltender Alex Tracy is 13-9-4 between the pipes with a 2.44 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage.
• Freshmen defenseman Evan Murr was named to the All-CCHA Second Team and the CCHA All-Rookie Team.

SERIES INFO
• Tech is 28-53-10 all-time against Minnesota State, dating back to 1996.
• The Huskies are 19-21-7 against the Mavericks in Houghton.
• Tech is 4-2 against MSU in the conference semis with all six games part of a best-of-three series. The 2020 meeting was canceled due to COVID.

FIRST MEETING
• Michigan Tech swept Minnesota State in Mankato for the first time in program history on November 24-25. The Huskies won 3-2 in overtime Friday and 3-2 in regulation Saturday.
• Ryland Mosley scored twice on Friday, including the game-winner. Isaac Gordon scored each night while Jack Works and Max Koskipirtti also found the back of the net. Blake Pietila made 50 saves on the weekend.

SECOND MEETING
• Michigan Tech split with Minnesota State in the annual Winter Carnival series on February 9-10 at the Mac.
• The Huskies won 3-1 Friday and fell 4-2 Saturday.
• Tech won the shootout to break the total goal tie and win the MacInnes Trophy.
• Ryland Mosley, Logan Pietila, Jed Pietila, Tyrone Bronte, and Marcus Pedersen scored the goals.

HUSKIES AGAINST MSU
• Ryland Mosley – 3 goals, 2 assists
• Kyle Kukkonen – 3 goals, 1 assist
• Logan Pietila – 2 goals, 2 assists
• Arvid Caderoth – 4 assists
• Isaac Gordon – 2 goals, 1 assist
• Kash Rasmussen – 1 goal, 2 assists
• Jed Pietila – 1 goal, 2 assists.

POINT STREAKS
4 Game
• Max Koskipirtti – 5 assists
3 Game
• Isaac Gordon – 3 goals, 5 assists
• Ryland Mosley – 3 goals, 3 assists
• Logan Pietila – 2 goals, 4 assists
• Blais Richartz – 2 goals, 1 assist
• Arvid Caderoth – 1 goal, 2 assists
• Jack Works – 1 goal, 1 assist

SCORING LEADER
• Freshman Isaac Gordon leads the Huskies with 18 goals and 36 points this season. He leads the CCHA in points and is ranked second in goals.
• His 36 points are the most by a Tech rookie since Colin Murphy in 2002-03 when he tallied 37.

MISC STATS
• MSU is 8-7-3 on the road.
• Tech is 10-7-3 at home.
• The Huskies are 7-1-2 when scoring three goals in a game.
• Eight of Isaac Gordon's 18 goals have been scored in the first period.
• 15 of Ryland Mosley's 17 goals have been scored after the first period.
• Tech is 10-1-3 when scoring the first goal of the third period.

STAT RANKINGS
• Tech leads the CCHA in the fewest penalty minutes per game (7.81) which ranks third in the nation.
• The Huskies lead the CCHA in shots on goal (32.46) and rank seventh nationally in total shots.
• Tech leads the CCHA in scoring defense (2.51) which is 15th nationally.
• Isaac Gordon leads the CCHA with 36 points and is second with 18 goals. Gordon is third in goals amongst NCAA rookies.
• Chase Pietila leads the team with 19 assists which ranks fourth in the CCHA and sixth in the nation amongst rookie defensemen. He leads the CCHA with 22 penalties.
• Ryland Mosley ranks fourth in the CCHA with 17 goals and sixth in points (30). He is also second in shots and third in power-play goals (7).
• Trevor Russell ranks fourth in the CCHA with 53 blocked shots.

GLI CHAMPS
• Michigan Tech won its 12th Great Lakes Invitational Championship on December 29 at Van Andel Arena.
• The Huskies came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Alaska 3-2 in overtime in the semifinal.
• Tech tied No. 7 Michigan State 3-3 and then defeated the Spartans 1-0 in the shootout.
• Jack Works had a hat trick in the title game and was named GLI MVP.
• Blake Pietila stopped a career-high 54 shots and then made all three saves in the shootout and was also named to the GLI All-Tournament Team.
• Ryland Mosley and Chase Pietila were also honored on the GLI All-Tournament Team.

KOSKIPIRTTI AT WJC
• Freshman Max Koskipirtti was on Finland's roster for the 2024 IIHF World Championship. Finland fell to Czechia 8-5 in the Bronze Medal game.
• Koskipirtti has skated in 19 games for the Huskies this season at center. He has tallied three goals and nine assists and is a plus-4. Koskipirtti scored the game-winning goal at Minnesota State (Nov. 25) and had a pair of assists against Augustana (Nov. 3).
• Blake Pietila (USA – 2013), Liam Garvey (USA – 1993), Pat Mikesch (USA - 1993), Jim Storm (USA - 1991), and Damian Rhodes (USA - 1988) are the previous five Huskies to play in the WJC.

HAT TRICK NOTES
• Ryland Mosley, Isaac Gordon, and Jack Works have each netted a hat trick this season.
• Bentley, Maine, Northeastern, Penn State, and Wisconsin also have three different players with hat tricks. Bentley leads the nation with four hat tricks.
• The last time Tech had three hat tricks in a season was 2019-20 when the Huskies had five.

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.
• Jack Works had a hat trick in the GLI Championship game. He scored on the power play in the first period and added a pair of third-period goals. He was named MVP of the tournament after helping the Huskies to their 12th title.

CCHA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
• Mar. 11 – Isaac Gordon – CCHA Rookie of the Week
• Feb. 26 – Blake Pietila – CCHA Goaltender of the Week
• Feb. 26 – Jack Works – CCHA Forward of the Week
• Jan. 29 – Isaac Gordon – CCHA Rookie of the Week
• Jan. 22 – Isaac Gordon – CCHA Rookie of the Week
• Jan. 2 – Jack Works – CCHA Forward of the Week
• Jan. 2 – Blake Pietila – CCHA Goaltender of the Week
• Jan. 2 – Chase Pietila – CCHA Defenseman of the Week
• Jan. 2 – Chase Pietila – CCHA Rookie of the Week
• Dec. 4 – Blake Pietila – CCHA Goaltender of the Week
• Nov. 27 – Ryland Mosley – CCHA Forward of the Week
• Nov. 27 – Matthew Campbell – CCHA Defenseman of the Week
• Nov. 6 – Isaac Gordon – CCHA Rookie of the Week
• Nov. 6 – Chase Pietila – CCHA Defenseman of the Week

CCHA GOALTENDER OF THE MONTH
• Blake Pietila was the CCHA Goaltender of the Month for February.
• It's the second time this season and the eighth time in his career that he has been named the conference goaltender of the month.
• Pietila went 3-2-1 during February with a 1.99 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage. He earned one shutout and stopped over 25 shots four times with three 31-save games.

CCHA GOALTENDER OF THE MONTH
• Blake Pietila was named the CCHA Goaltender of the Month for December.
• It's the seventh time in his career that he was named the conference goaltender of the month.
• Pietila went 3-2-1 between the pipes with only one regulation loss in December. He held a 2.31 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage.

CCHA ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
• Isaac Gordon was named the CCHA Rookie of the Month for November after he tallied nine points for the Huskies in the second month of the season.
• Gordon scored seven goals and added a pair of assists in November. He had 23 shots on goal and was a plus-3.

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 16 so far this season.

CCHA STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
• Blake Pietila has been named the CCHA Student-Athlete of the Year.
• He earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in the spring and is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration, holding a 3.62 cumulative grade-point average.
• Other Huskies to be honored as the conference student-athlete of the year are Jamie Phillips (2015-16), Tanner Kero (2014-15), Eli Vlaisavljevich (2009-10), and Geoff Sarjeant (1991-92).

IN OVERTIME
• Tech has played 11 overtime games this season and is 3-2-6 in the extra session.
• The three wins are over Augustana (Ryland Mosley), Minnesota State (Ryland Mosley), and Alaska (Logan Pietila).
• The overtime losses are to Ferris State and Bowling Green.

IN THE SHOOTOUT
• Tech has been to six shootouts this season and is 2-4.
• The Huskies won 2-1 in a shootout against Alaska with Max Koskipirtti and Logan Pietila scoring.
• Tech won the GLI Championship with a 1-0 shootout win over Michigan State. Ryland Mosley scored the goal.
• The Huskies lost in a shootout at Minnesota Duluth, at St. Lawrence and home against Bemidji State and Northern Michigan. Kyle Kukkonen scored in the 2-1 loss to UMD and the Huskies didn't score in the shootout against the Skating Saints. Ryland Mosley scored in the shootout against the Beavers. Isaac Gordon scored against NMU.

PIETILA NOTES
• Blake Pietila ranking amongst active goaltenders
    74 wins – leads nation
    139 games played – leads nation
    24 shutouts – leads nation
    3,270 saves – third nationally
    .922 save percentage – sixth nationally
• Logan Pietila ranking amongst active players
    12 game-winners – leads nation
    5 shorthanded goals – second nationally
    177 games played – second nationally

COACH SHAWHAN
• Head Coach Joe Shawhan is in his seventh season behind the bench and holds a record of 136-102-26.
• 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.

NON-CONFERENCE
• Tech went 3-4-4 in the 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.
• In the 57th annual Great Lakes Invitational (Dec. 28-29) Tech defeated Alaska 3-2 in overtime and tied No. 7 Michigan State 3-3.

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 a between-the-legs goal in the 2-1 exhibition shootout win.

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)
• Austen Swankler – Nashville Predators (2022), Vegas Golden Knights (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.
• Austen Swankler played 71 games over the past two seasons with Bowling Green. He has tallied 70 collegiate points with 27 goals and 43 assists. He was named to the All-CCHA First Team in 2022-23 and to the CCHA All-Rookie Team in 2021-22.
• 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.

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

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.