The Husky hockey team traveled to the AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minnesota for the annual Ice Breaker Tournament this past weekend. In the first game, the Huskies defeated the sixteenth ranked Union Dutchmen 6-3, to advance to face the hosts, the sixth-ranked Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, where the Huskies completed the comeback 4-3 to win the Ice Breaker Tournament Championship.
On Friday, Oct. 6, the Huskies started the scoring against the Dutchmen with a goal at the 3:23 mark by freshman Mitch Meek, his first ever goal in a Tech uniform, assist from Alex Gillies. Union tied the game at one apiece at the 6:58 mark. A tripping penalty was called on Union, which the Huskies Dane Birks capitalized on from Mark Auk and Brent Baltus at the 12:59 mark.
The Huskies finished out the first period with another score at the 15:41 mark by Mark Auk from Alex Gillies and Thomas Beretta to end the first with a 3-1 lead.
Joel L’Esperance scored the lone goal in the second period from Gavin Gould and Jake Lucchini at the 6:15 mark. Union opened the third period with a bang as they scored two goals at the 3:09 and 5:46 marks to make it 4-3.
Joel L’Esperance scored for the second time of the night at the 9:22 mark with an assist from Jake Lucchini. Union pulled their goalie at the 18:14 mark, which Jake Jackson turned into another goal with an assist from Mark Auk to seal the victory for the Huskies.
Union outshot the Huskies 38-20. Junior transfer goaltender Patrick “Packy” Munson started for the second time as a Husky, saving 35 shots on goal. The Huskies had three penalties throughout the game for a total of six minutes in the penalty box.
In the second game later Friday night, the sixth ranked Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs defeated the third ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers in a thrilling overtime 4-3 victory for the hosts.
On Saturday, Oct. 7, the Huskies fell behind early on, only 39 seconds into the game, as UMD took the 1-0 advantage. At the 8:32 mark of the first period UMD took the 2-0 advantage.
UMD received two penalties, which put Tech on a two-man advantage, and the Huskies made the Bulldogs pay. At the 11:47 mark Mark Auk scored from Mitch Reinke and Jake Lucchini, on the power-play to get the Huskies on the board.
Then, at the 12:49 mark, the Houghton native Raymond Brice scored his first ever goal for the Huskies, unassisted. The end of the first period resulted in a 2-2 score.
“We got a break on the five on three, especially with a lot of time on the clock,” said Huskies head coach Joe Shawhan. “We were fortunate to pop one in and tie the hockey game. That was the turning point. It could’ve turned into a rout if that hadn’t occurred.”
The Huskies were the first to strike in the second period, on the power-play, as Gavin Gould got the puck past the goaltender at the 6:58 mark, assisted by Jake Lucchini and Mitch Reinke.
Tech’s Justin Misiak went to the penalty box, and the Bulldogs made Tech pay, as they tied it back up to make it 3-3. However, Justin Misiak would make up for the penalty and goal by scoring the game-winner at the 10:14 mark with his first goal as a Husky. Assisted by Alex Smith and transfer Keegan Ford, his goal put the Huskies up 4-3, which remained the score throughout the rest of the game.
For the second night in a row, the opponent outshot the Huskies by quite a bit, 36-17. Packy Munson, however, is proving to be unstoppable in the net making 33 saves on the night. The Huskies had four penalties for a total of eight minutes, but Tech went three for seven on the power play for the night.
“To hold a team like that scoreless for the last 25 minutes is great,” Shawhan stated. “There’s a lot of character within our locker room. Now it’s on our team and our staff to cultivate that and allow that to nurture and grow and see where it can take us.”
In the earlier game, the Minnesota Golden Gophers defeated the Union Dutchmen 2-0, to earn third-place in the tournament.
The Huskies, now 2-1 overall, are again on the road next weekend, as they open WCHA play in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan for a showdown with the Lake Superior State Lakers. LSSU is off to a 1-1 start, splitting with Northern Michigan this past weekend.
