Huskies look toward the semifinals in Minnesota
Michigan Tech Huskies men’s ice hockey punched its ticket to the semifinals of the CCHA Mason Cup Playoffs after sweeping the Bowling Green Falcons men’s ice hockey in a best-of-three quarterfinal series at MacInnes Student Ice Arena. Michigan Tech entered the postseason as the fourth seed in the CCHA tournament and hosted Bowling Green just one week after suffering back-to-back losses to the Falcons to close the regular season. With the stakes raised in the playoffs, the Huskies responded with strong performances on home ice to advance to the next round.
Game one on Mar. 6 set the tone for the series, as the Huskies secured a 5–3 victory in front of the home crowd. Michigan Tech maintained control throughout the game, answering each goal from Bowling Green and capitalizing on key offensive opportunities. A power play goal from Noah Reinhart proved to be the difference maker, giving the Huskies the final edge as they held off the Falcons late in the game. Game two on Mar. 7 was a much tighter contest, with both teams battling in a defensive matchup. The Huskies struck first with goals from Luca Fasciano, Lauri Raiman, and Stiven Sardarian, giving Tech a narrow advantage heading into the final period. Bowling Green responded with a strong push in the third period, cutting into the lead and putting pressure on the Huskies’ defense.
Goaltender Owen Bartoszkiewicz played a major role throughout the weekend, making several key saves to keep the Falcons from completing a comeback attempt. His performance in net helped Michigan Tech maintain its slim lead late in Saturday’s game, ultimately sealing the 3–2 victory and completing the two-game sweep.
With the wins, Michigan Tech improved its overall record to 23-12-3 and its conference record to 16-7-3. The series victory also served as redemption for the Huskies after their losses to Bowling Green the previous weekend. The Huskies will now travel to Mankato, MN, to face the Minnesota State Mavericks men’s ice hockey in the CCHA semifinal round. The matchup is scheduled for Mar. 14 at 8:07 p.m. Eastern time, with Michigan Tech looking to continue its postseason run and move one step closer to the Mason Cup championship.
