The Michigan Tech Hockey Huskies fell to the Northern Michigan University Wildcats 5-3 on Saturday at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The first round of WCHA Playoffs will be held in Houghton where the Huskies will face off against the Lake Superior State University Lakers. Eight seniors were honored on Saturday, forward Brent Baltus, defenseman Shane Hanna, forward Tyler Heinonen, defenseman Chris Leibinger, forward Michael Neville, forward Reid Sturos, defenseman Cliff Watson and goaltender Matt Wintjes, all took the ice after the game.
This year’s senior class boasts 84 wins over four years, which is the most since the 1984 senior class. They also participated in the NCAA Tournament, brought home the MacNaughton Cup, and in 2014-2015 were ranked No. 1 in the country. “It was a tough loss tonight…I’m disappointed for our seniors who have done so much for this program, but like Cliff Watson said after the game, ‘Let’s just win the last game we play here.’ If we do that as a team, that means we’ll be playing a lot more hockey.” Head Coach Mel Pearson stated. Just over a minute after the puck drop, junior forward Joel L’Esperance scored his eighth goal of the season.
Junior forward Alex Gillies and sophomore defenseman Dane Birks are credited with the assists. The game was tied on a power play goal by NMU. Early on in the second period the Wildcats scored again to take their first lead of the night. Sophomore Jake Jackson tied up the game with his sixth goal of the year. Sturos and freshman goaltender Angus Redmond are credited with the assists. In the final minute of the period both teams scored.
Freshman forward Gavin Gould tied up the game on the power play. The assists were credited to Hanna and junior defenseman Matt Roy. Two goals in the third period allowed the Wildcats to pull the win. Pulling Redmond for an extra man advantage late in the third led to an empty net goal that would seal the fate of the night. “We played hard and generated some really good scoring opportunities… We just couldn’t capitalize. You can’t give up four goals at home and expect to win. They found a way to get the job done tonight and I give them credit.” Pearson commented. The Huskies will take on the seventh seed Lake Superior State University Lakers while the Wildcats, seeded eighth, will travel to the top seeded Bemidji State. Earlier this season the Huskies took on the Lakers where the Huskies won 6-1 and 4-2. The puck will drop at 7:07pm on Friday and Saturday and Sunday if necessary.
Tickets are available at the SDC ticket office.
