The Michigan Tech hockey Huskies took the Broadmoor Trophy Saturday night in a 3-2 double overtime victory. 6:35 into the second overtime senior defenseman Shane Hanna scored to defeat Bowling Green, claim the Broadmoor Trophy, and advance to the NCAA Tournament.
Junior defenseman Matt Roy passed the puck up to Hanna who was alone on the Bowling Green blue line. Hanna shot over the goaltender’s glove as the crowd and team celebrated. “Great players make things happen,” said head coach Mel Pearson. “You can draw the X’s and O’s up all you want but once in a while you have to create something. He’s as good as any defenseman in this league.” “We had good control and they were changing… I hopped up hoping for something to happen and Matt found me like he usually does in practice. It worked out… This is an awesome experience. It’s hard to put into words what it means to everyone on this team,” Hanna commented. The Huskies took the lead in the second period with a goal by junior forward Joel L’Esperance.
Sophomore forward Jake Jackson made the game 2-0 at the 12:45 mark; however, two goals in the third period by Bowling Green would tie the game up. “We needed to get out of that third period. We were able to reset and refocus in the overtime,” Pearson commented. “If you said at the beginning of the season that we were going to overtime in the WCHA Championship Game, we all would’ve taken it,” L’Esperance commented, “We just needed to stick with the game plan and do what we need to do.”
WCHA commissioner Bill Robertson awarded the Broadmoor Trophy to the captains Cliff Watson, Brent Baltus, Shane Hanna, Michael Neville and Reid Sturos. He also gave the three stars to Matt Pohlkamp of Bowling Green, freshman goaltender Angus Redmond, and Hanna. Hanna was awarded the first star and Most Outstanding Player.
Coach Pearson waved all of the fans to the ice after the awards were given. “It’s more than the team, we’re just part of the community and this great university. We’ve had varsity hockey for 96 years and there’s a great tradition here. We’ve had some lean years, and it’s important to share this with the community,” Pearson commented. Michigan Tech now heads to the NCAA tournament for the 13th time in school history.
The Michigan Tech Hockey Huskies have won the National Championship three times in school history: 1962, 1965, and 1975. The Huskies will take on the No. 1 seed Denver on Saturday, March 25 at 1 p.m. at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The winner of this game will advance to play the winner of Union vs. Penn State for the Midwest Regional Championship and a spot in the Frozen Four in Chicago. “I give credit to our players. We’ve got a great group of guys. I went around the room after the third period and told each one of them that I was so proud of them and happy they were on our team. I shook each one of their hands. I care deeply about these guys and they’ve given so much to our university, this community, and our program,” Pearson commented. “They’ve worked so hard and earned this opportunity. I know they were disappointed we didn’t get into the NCAA Tournament last year. I’m happy to get back and get another shot at it.”
