Michigan Tech forward Isaac Gordon battles with a Minnesota State defender for the puck during a game Friday at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)
HOUGHTON — It had been 19 years since the Michigan Tech Huskies hockey team did what it did Saturday night against then-No. 17 Minnesota State. With a 4-1 win, the Huskies swept the Mavericks with two regulation wins for the first time since 2007, and found themselves ranked this week at No. 19.
With the wins, the Huskies improved to 16-8-2 overall and 11-3-2 in CCHA play. However, despite picking up six points, they remained in third place in the conference behind Augustana and St. Thomas.
Still, getting two wins over the Mavericks was important for the Huskies.
“Big weekend for us,” said Huskies coach Bill Muckalt. “Anytime you can sweep in this league, you’ve had a great weekend. A lot of respect for their coach, their team. They pushed hard in the third period Saturday night. Obviously, it’s a horse race and points are at a premium, so we have to continue to take care of business.”
Earlier this season, the Huskies went into Mankato, Minnesota, and suffered a pair of regulation losses to the Mavericks. This time around, Muckalt felt his team earned its success at home.
“(We) weren’t great the Friday down there, but I thought Saturday we had a good game down there before Christmas,” he said. “Didn’t get the result we wanted, but we got the breaks on (this) Saturday night, created that separation, and, obviously, the result (was) probably be the biggest difference.”
One of the biggest factors in the two wins was the play of sophomore defenseman Luca Fasciano. He had an assist in the 3-1 win on Friday, and followed that up with a goal and an assist Saturday. He was named CCHA Defensive Player of the Week.
“He’s got size,” said Muckalt. “You can’t teach size. He skates extremely well. He’s got a good shot. That was a great individual effort on the first goal Saturday night.
“I really like what he brings to our group. He’s playing with confidence.”
While he only has six points on the season, four of them have come in the last three games.
Fasciano wasn’t the only Huskies player honored by the conference this week. Junior goaltender Owen Bartoszkiewicz was named CCHA Goaltender of the Week. He held the Mavericks to just two goals all weekend and finished with a .972 save percentage. The transfer from Lindenwood has been outstanding for the Huskies all season, sporting a 16-7-2 record with a 2.24 goals against average and a .921 save percentage.
“I think he was unbelievable,” said Muckalt. “I mean, the result speaks for itself. He was rock solid.”
Of the two goals Bartoszkiewicz gave up, Muckalt felt the one Saturday could have been challenged.
“I lost the time out on what I thought was a pretty obvious infraction, that was not a hockey play,” he said. “We lost that time out, and their first goal in the third period, I think I would have challenged for goaltender interference. I think there’s a case for that, but I didn’t want to.
“We had a two-goal lead and I didn’t want to take a run the risk of having a penalty. The call wasn’t called that way on the ice, but it ended up having a potentially a bigger impact on the game.”
Bartoszkiewicz sealed the net from that point forward to preserve the win.
“Other than that, I thought he was perfect,” Muckalt said. “He was dialed. You could just see it when he’s playing well. That puck looked like a beach ball to him. He was picking up pucks through traffic, made some really good decisions, playing the puck on the breakout.
“He’s an awesome goaltender and the backbone of our team. He had a fantastic weekend.”
Another player who did not get credit from the conference for his efforts, but had an impact, was captain Isaac Gordon, who is playing on a line with alternate captain Max Koskipirtti and senior forward Stiven Sardarian. Gordon had an assist Friday and a goal Saturday, and is in the midst of a five-game point streak.
The trio have done everything Muckalt has asked of them.
“‘Koski’ has been unbelievable,” he said. “I think Isaac Gordon’s playing his best hockey. You can tell his motor is there. There’s chemistry. Obviously, ‘Stiv,’ had a couple of made plays and maybe ended up with like the third assist, but he generates every night, so I think they’re starting to find each other.
“They’re certainly a catalyst for our group. It’s nice to see ‘Gordo’ get rewarded. Big time play by ‘Koski,’ and ‘Stiv’ makes so many good plays as well. He probably had the third assist on two or three plays this weekend.”
Scouting the Wildcats
The Northern Michigan Wildcats come into this weekend 1-23 on the season and 1-15 in CCHA play. They are coming off a sweep last weekend at the hands of Augustana, 3-0 and 2-0. The Huskies won the previous two matchups, 4-1 at home and 4-2 at the Berry Events Center in Marquette.
That doesn’t mean these games will be easy.
“We have to understand it’s a rivalry weekend,” said Muckalt. “Rivalry games, throw the records out. It’s about compete. It’s about hard work, courage, playing with that juice, playing with that discipline, managing your emotions. A lot of it is that we have to be prepared and ready to start Friday night in a hostile environment.
“They’re a well coached team. They’ve gotten really good goaltending. They probably haven’t got the offensive run support that they’d wanted, but they’re in a lot of tight games, and they’re a dangerous opponent. So, we have to respect them, and put our best foot forward Friday night.”
Senior forward Caiden Gault leads the Wildcats in goals (12) and points (12) in 23 games this season.
Sophomore forward Jakub Altrichter has also been good with three goals and nine points in 20 games. He has two goals against the Huskies already this season.
Freshman goaltender Oliver Auyeung-Ashton played both games against the Vikings last weekend. He has appeared in 12 games, starting 10, and sports a 0-10 record with a 2.43 goals against average and a .934 save percentage. Junior goaltender William Gramme has also put up good numbers, starting 14 games. While he sports a 1-13 record, he had a 3.83 goals against average and a .904 save percentage.
Game times
The Huskies and Wildcats will renew their rivalry Friday at the Berry Events Center at 7:07 p.m. in Marquette. Saturday, the two teams are back at it in Houghton. Opening faceoff is set for 6:07 p.m. at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.