During Winter Carnival at Michigan Tech, the hockey fans were ready for some action. Friday and Saturday night’s hockey games hosting Bowling Green were sold out in attendance and the crowds were buzzing with enthusiasm. Friday night the Huskies fell to the Falcons but managed to bounce back on Saturday to split the victory.
The Falcons broke the ice Friday night with a goal by Nathan Burke, only to be followed by a Husky goal at the end of the first period by Kyle Kukkonen. The end of the second period saw Michigan Tech trailing Bowling Green 3-1 with both goals scored by Seth Fyton for the Falcons. Bowling Green proceeded to score two more goals in the third by Ryan O’Hara and Alex Barber. Michigan Tech finally scored the last goal of the game by Kyle Kukkonen, giving him two for the night. The final score Friday night was 5-2 with Bowling Green taking the victory on Winter Carnival opening hockey night.
Saturday night saw a different game for both teams. The first period began in the same fashion as the previous night, with one goal scored by Austen Swankler for the Bowling Green Falcons. Luckily, for the Huskies, Kyle Kukkonen received a cross-ice pass at the blue line, drove the net, and proceeded to score to tie the game 1-1, giving him his third goal of the weekend. Michigan Tech was the first to score in the second period with a one-of-a-kind tip-in screen deflected shot by Ryan Mosley. Ashbrook, from along the strongside half wall, passed the puck to Thorne, who ripped a hard shot to the net, just as Ryan Mosley skated in front. Mosley deflected the shot straight into the goal to put the Huskies up 2-1. The Huskies again scored a few minutes later with Tristain Ashbrook burying the puck after a scramble in front of the Bowling Green net.
At the end of the third period, Bowling Green pulled their goalie to score another goal and get the game within one. Michigan Tech, however, shortly scored on the Falcon’s empty net to tuck the game away 4-2 and wrap up the Winter Carnival series against the hockey team from Ohio. As a first-time Winter Carnival participant, Kyle Kukkonen states, “It was a blast being a part of Winter Carnival for the first time. I’ve heard about it from my cousins and family but to finally be a part of it and see the ice statues and the crowds we get from Winter Carnival was super special.”
