Huskies failed to advance after losing 0-4 to the Wildcats on Saturday, March 11.
The fight for the CCHA Mason Cup kicked off Friday, March 3 as the Huskies faced off against the St. Thomas Tommies in the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The game was the first in a best-of-three series, where the Huskies ultimately secured the win.
The first and second periods saw no goals for either team, though both saw scoring opportunities. Blake Pietila stopped all 30 shots that came his way, earning yet another shutout. The game made his eighth Friday night shutout, tenth shutout of the season, and 20th career shutout. The shutout broke his previously set school records for both season and career shutouts and tied the CCHA record for season shutouts.
Late in the third, playing 4-on-4, with only 8:32 left on the clock, team captain Brett Thorne buried the game-winning goal off a pass from Jed Pietila. The goal marked Thorne’s third of the season and ninth of his career.
The Tommies pushed after the Huskies goal, trying to tie the game. St. Thomas pulled their goalie, Aaron Trotter, with about a minute of play left in hopes of scoring. They were unsuccessful, leading to the Huskies win.
In a postgame interview, when asked for comment about the game, Thorne said, “I give credit to St. Thomas. It was a grind. Every shift was hard worked, every puck battle was earned. It was a close one.”
In addition to Blake Pietila’s achievements, Jake Crespi skated in his 100th game, with 32 in the current season.
The Huskies faced off again with the Tommies the following night, where the Huskies swept the weekend, ending Saturday’s game with a score of 5-4, advancing the team to the Semifinals, where they faced rivals, the Northern Michigan University Wildcats.
Ultimately the Huskies failed to advance after losing 0-4 to the Northern Michigan University Wildcats on Saturday, March 11.
