Michigan Tech’s Hockey Team faced off against Bemidji State this last Friday, Oct. 21, for the opening game of the 2022 Central Collegiate Hockey Association conference (CCHA). The game started out with a strong lead by Michigan Tech, but ultimately the Huskies slipped in the third period and couldn’t close out the win. Overall, Michigan Tech suffered an overwhelming loss with a final score of 2-5, but fans are still hopeful that this loss is simply a one-off and are getting ready for an exciting hockey season to come.
The start of the first period looked promising for Tech with a goal being made after a short two minutes and eight seconds by Logan Ganie, although this was followed by a slow period with only a total of 10 shots on goal after 10 minutes and 20 shots on goal at the end of the period. This gave the impression that the teams were evenly matched and left Tech fans hopeful for a win.
The beginning of the second period seemed to spell even better odds for the Huskies with another early goal by Ryland Mosley at the time of 3:41. Michigan Tech was put to the test only a few minutes later after receiving two penalties and giving Bemidji State a power play. Michigan Tech outlasted the power play, although it was immediately followed with the first goal by Bemidji State at the time of 8:27 by Lleyton Roed. Most Tech fans were still confident for a win though, as the second period wrapped up and the Huskies led 2-1, with just one-third of the shots on goal that Bemidji State had.
The third period seemed to start strong for the Huskies as well with a third goal at the time of 4:22 by Kash Rasmussen, but the opposing head coach challenged the goal and it was ultimately called back due to goaltender interference, resetting the score back to 2-1. This seemed to spell the beginning of the end for the Huskies as Bemidji State made an impressive comeback. The Beavers scored four straight goals in just over six minutes, bringing the score to 2-5. The Huskies tried their best to bring it back, but Bemidji was able to hold out for the remainder of the game without any more Husky goals. Michigan Tech fan Fisher Weber shared his frustrations at the end of the third period, “We just got whooped. That was just embarrassing to watch,”.
In a post-game interview, Head coach of the Michigan Tech Hockey Team, Joe Shawhan, gave his thoughts on the loss, “I thought we were pretty good in the first five. Blake kept us in the game, but they brought it to a level that we may not be capable of getting to,” he
continued ”The reality of it is, throughout the game we were hanging on. They’re much better than we are at this point”. Hopefully, this loss will help the team to come back stronger in future games and make this season one to remember for Husky fans.
