The Michigan Tech Huskies hockey team (14-12-5, 10-9-5 WCHA) went down to Bowling Green, Ohio to face the Bowling Green State Falcons (17-9-6, 14-5-5 WCHA). The Huskies fell hard to the Falcons Friday night, losing 7-2, however, Tech rebounded with a statement by shutting out the Falcons 4-0 Saturday, on BGSU’s senior night.
On Friday, Feb. 2, junior Patrick (Packy) Munson got the start in net for the Huskies. The first period saw both goaltenders become brick walls, as no one was able to get on the scoreboard. The second period was a different story.
The Falcons got on the board first at the 2:28 mark as Packy couldn’t close the gap to make the save. Sophomore Todd Kiilunen received a penalty for hooking at the 3:42 mark of the second period. BGSU capitalized on the man advantage just over a minute later to take the 2-0 lead. Two minutes later the Falcons increased their lead to three as they slipped the puck past Packy. Freshman Robbie Beydoun finished the game in net for the Huskies.
The Falcons slid the puck past Beydoun just 30 seconds of coming into the game. The third period ended at 3-0 in favor of the Falcons. The third period had a lot more action, the Huskies finally got on the board at the 3:48 mark of the period as sophomore Alex Smith landed a goal, assisted by junior Jake Jackson. However, the Falcons went up 4-0 at the 3:48 mark. Huskies sophomore Thomas Beretta received a penalty for slashing at the 10:58 mark. The Falcons capitalized on the man advantage just three seconds into the penalty to make it 5-0 in favor of Bowling Green.
Michigan Tech got on the board again just over two minutes after BGSU made it 5-1, as junior Jake Lucchini sank the puck in the goal, assisted by Smith and senior Mark Auk. Two and a half minutes later Bowling Green got on the board again as they took the 6-2 lead. Not even 20 seconds later BGSU got on the board again as they took the 7-2 lead. Fifteen seconds after Bowling Green’s seventh goal a bowling green player, Huskies freshmen Cooper Watson and Smith each received 10-minute game misconducts after getting a bit too physical, resulting in each player getting ejected from the game.
Tech outshot the Falcons 29-23, while Munson made six saves, and Beydoun made ten saves. The Huskies went 0-8 on the powerplay and Tech spent 36 minutes in the penalty box, on ten penalties.
On Saturday, Feb. 3, Beydoun got the start in net for Tech, which proved to be the best move, as he was an unstoppable force in net.
The Huskies got on the board in the first period as sophomore Gavin Gould netted the puck past the Falcon goalie at the 12:49 mark, assisted by Lucchini. The end of the first would result in a 1-0 lead for the Huskies.
Lucchini netted Techs second goal at the 9:06 mark of the second period to give the Huskies the 2-0 lead, assisted by Gould and freshman Tyler Rockwell. Four minutes following the Lucchini goal, a Bowling Green player received a ten-minute game misconduct for checking from behind, resulting in a game ejection for the BGSU player.
A minute and a half into the powerplay for the Huskies, Auk became a sharpshooter, as he banked in a shot for the 3-0 lead, assisted by freshman Mitch Meek. The end of the second period saw the Huskies up 3-0.
Lucchini got his second goal of the night at the 14:30 mark of the fourth, assisted by senior Joel L’Esperance. Two and a half minutes after the goal, Kiilunen was ejected from the game for checking from behind.
The Huskies outshot the Falcons 27-26, while Beydoun made 26 saves. Tech went 1-6 on the powerplay and spent 29 minutes in the penalty box on nine penalties. This was the second shutout for the Huskies this season, the other coming at home against Lake Superior State, 3-0, as Beydoun was also in net for the Huskies that night.
The Huskies will start a long home-stand as they face the Bemidji State Beavers (14-10-6, 11-7-4 WCHA) in the Winter Carnival series. Puck drops at 7:07 p.m. Friday night, and a special 5:07 p.m. start Saturday. The Beavers are coming off of a weekend of being swept at home against the Lake Superior State Lakers, losing by scores of 2-0 both Friday and Saturday. The Huskies are currently chasing the Beavers for the last home spot in the first round of the WCHA playoffs, Tech is currently two points behind BSU in the WCHA standings.
