The Husky hockey team (13-11-5, 9-8-5 WCHA) traveled down to Big Rapids, Michigan to face the Ferris State Bulldogs (12-17-1, 9-12-1 WCHA) this past weekend, and unfortunately came out of the weekend on the short end of the stick. The Bulldogs defeated the Huskies 4-3 Friday, and 3-1 Saturday. Tech only had five defenders available for play Saturday night, due to a number of injuries throughout the team.
On Friday, Jan. 26, the Bulldogs struck the back of the net first, slipping the puck past Tech Goalie Junior Patrick (Packy) Munson, just a minute and 17 seconds into the game. Exactly six and a half minutes later MTU got on the board courtesy of freshman Greyson Reitmeier sharpshooting the puck into the net, assisted by freshmen Justin Misiak and Mitch Meek.
The second period was full of powerplay goals. Sophomore Mitch Reinke and Junior Jake Jackson received penalties for slashing just a minute apart from each other. However, Ferris State was able to slide the puck past Packy for the 2-1 lead. Not even 15 seconds later, still on the power play, the Bulldogs were able to net another for the 3-1 lead, not even five minutes into the second period. Tech head coach Joe Shawhan decided to put Hancock, Michigan native in net senior Devin Kero.
A Ferris State player received a game misconduct for charging, resulting in him being ejected from the game at the 6:35 mark. Sophomore Gavin Gould took advantage of the powerplay to keep the Huskies in the game 3-2, assisted by senior Joel L’Esperance and Reitmeier. A minute and a half later, still on the powerplay, sophomore Thomas Beretta tied up the game at three apiece, assisted by seniors Dylan Steman and Mark Auk. However, Auk would receive a penalty at the 17:33 mark for interference, and the Bulldogs were able to capitalize to retake the lead 4-3. Packy came back and played in net for the Huskies in the third period. Unfortunately, the Huskies weren’t able to get another goal to tie it back up and the Bulldogs went on to win 4-3.
The Huskies outshot the Bulldogs by 20, 38-18, with Packy making 12 saves, and Kero making 2 saves. Tech went 2-6 on the powerplay and had six penalties while spending 12 minutes in the penalty box.
On Saturday, Jan. 27, Packy got the start in net for the Huskies. Both goaltenders were brick walls the first period as no one was able to get the puck in either net, resulting in no goals being scored after the first period.
The second period was a completely different story. Houghton native Raymond Brice received a penalty at the 3:20 mark for cross-checking. With seven seconds left on the powerplay for the Bulldogs, they netted the first goal of the game to take a 1-0 lead. With ten minutes left Ferris knocked in another goal for the 2-0 lead.
The Bulldogs received a penalty at the 17:29 mark for boarding giving the Huskies a prime opportunity to get on the board. However, the Bulldogs had other ideas as they got a shorthanded goal to take the 3-0 lead to end the second.
Tech finally got on the board at the 13:09 mark as sophomore Alex Smith slid the puck past the Ferris Goalie, assisted by Gould. Ferris’s stout defense prevented any more opportunities for the Huskies, as the Bulldogs went on to sweep the Huskies.
“I’m not happy with the result, but the guys played hard,” Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. “A lot of guys played roles they’re not used to. We will be able to use this as an evaluation of our players and program moving forward.”
Tech outshot the Bulldogs again 27-24, and Packy made 21 saves on the night. Tech was 0-4 on the powerplay and had eight penalties for 16 minutes in the penalty box.
The Huskies will again be on the road next weekend as they travel to Bowling Green, Ohio to face the Bowling Green State Falcons (16-8-6, 13-4-5 WCHA), as the Huskies will try to catch up to the upper echelon of WCHA to hopefully gain home ice for the playoffs. The Falcons are coming off of a weekend sweep on the road at Lake Superior State, winning 5-3 Friday and 3-2 Saturday. The Huskies have not had great success against the Falcons so far this year losing 2-1, tying 2 apiece at home, and losing in the GLI championship game 4-1 in Detroit.
