Game Gab - Nightly Post-Game Analysis
Come here after the games for analysis and insights from CHN Staff members.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Michigan Tech 2, North Dakota 1 - Saturday, March 16, 2013
10th-seeded Michigan Tech used a late goal from fourth line freshman wing C.J. Eick with 2:02 left in the game to win and force a Game 3. It snaps North Dakota's 14-game WCHA playoff winning streak. Eick raced up right wing, got UND goalie Clarke Saunders to lean a shade to his right, then flipped a backhander high past him on the short side for the winning goal. "I was trying to take it wide and get the puck on net," Eick said. "Ryan Furne made a great pass to put me on, I wouldn't say a breakaway, but I had a little step on them. ... I think he (Saunders) was making the read I was going to cut to the far post, so he leaned and I tried to tuck it short side." His goal came about 30 seconds after UND freshman star Rocco Grimaldi had a similar rush at Tech goalie Phoenix Copley, but slid his shot wide.
"I'm ecstatic. We have a new breed of Huskies. I hope North Dakota knows that tonight," Michigan Tech coach Mel Pearson said on radio after the game. "We have everything we need for success tomorrow. ... Time to shock the WCHA world."
Michigan Tech goalie Phoenix Copley had lost his previous four starts and given up 19 goals in those games, but he was superb tonight. "It was a hard-fought playoff game," UND coach Dave Hakstol said. "We came up one goal short. We battled hard. It was kind of an up-and-down first period, I thought they carried the momentum in the second period and we had a good push throughout the third. But it wasn't enough."
Friday, March 15, 2013
North Dakota 5, Michigan Tech 3 - Friday, March 15, 2013
Michigan Tech put up a strong fight, outshooting North Dakota, 34-24. But the skill of North Dakota won out in the end, including the game's third goal from Danny Kristo. "I thought we played very average tonight," Kristo said. "We didn't do the things we need to do to keep playing this time of the year, but we're going to move on and forget about this one." Freshman goalie Zane Gothberg finished with 31 saves for UND, but gave up two soft goals, including one from center ice at 15:14 of the third period by Tech defenseman Riley Sweeney that chopped UND's lead to 4-3. But Kristo scored 58 seconds later to make it 5-3, banking in a rebound off a Tech player from a sharp angle for his team-leading 23rd goal of the season.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Michigan Tech 5, St. Cloud State 1 - Saturday, March 2, 2013
St. Cloud State had a chance to wrap up its first MacNaughton Cup if it won and other things broke right. With that on the line, it came out a laid a clunker. Tech scored three goals in the first 4:23 of the game, and never looked back. It kind of leaves a bad taste for SCSU after winning Friday. Now St. Cloud has to travel to Wisconsin for two games, with Minnesota and North Dakota just two points behind and facing a much easier schedule.
“Well, it’s like coach said that it wouldn’t be right if the conference title didn’t come down to the end of the season with the way our league is,” St. Cloud center Nic Dowd told the St. Cloud Times. “That’s how it is in the WCHA. You get punched in the face, you’ve got to bounce back up and play another two games next weekend."
Mel Pearson played Jamie Phillips in net over a struggling Phoenix Copley, and it paid off. “It was 3-0 for a long time and the fourth goal was just a horrendous goal on our part,” SCSU coach Bob Motzko said to the Times. “Our top players touched the puck twice on that play. ... We had 55 minutes to go. But their goalie was solid. He was big and took up a lot of net and he stood up tall and we had a tough time getting anything by him.”
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Minnesota State 6, Michigan Tech 1 - Saturday, February 16, 2013
Four in a row and 6 of 7 now for Minnesota State, which is No. 7 in the Pairwise and still on the rise, under this remarkable first season under Mike Hastings. The reigning CHN Team of the Week now has 20 wins, just one shy of its best since joining Division I. Six different players scored, including Eriah Hayes (18) and Matt Leitner (12).
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Michigan Tech 2, Nebraska-Omaha 1 - Saturday, February 2, 2013
Mikael Lickteig scored at 2:56 of overtime to give Tech the win and a split of the weekend. That drops Nebraska-Omaha three points behind St. Cloud State for first place in the WCHA. Despite being so high up in the WCHA standings, UNO can't afford to take these hits, since a poor non-league record has the Mavericks at just 21st in the Pairwise right now, far from the NCAAs at the moment.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Minnesota-Duluth 5, Michigan Tech 4 - Saturday, January 12, 2013
Michigan Tech was unable to follow up its GLI success, getting swept on the weekend. Phoenix Copley's breakthrough back-to-back shutouts in the tournament were followed with a tough 1-0 loss Friday, and then this one turned more ugly. ... UMD was thrilled to finally get its top scorers back on the scoresheet, including freshman Tony Cameranesi. “We did a lot of great things as a team, it was one of our stronger games,” said Cameranesi, to the Duluth News-Tribune. “You get a little frustrated when you’re not scoring, but as long as you’re getting chances, you don’t mind, and we were getting chances. And you know eventually they’ll start going in.”
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Michigan Tech 4, Western Michigan 0 - Sunday, December 30, 2012
Michigan Tech wins the GLI for the first time since current coach Mel Pearson was playing, in 1980. This is such a storied program, and it's been so long since it tasted anywhere near that kind of success. But Pearson is getting the most out of this program, and perhaps even brighter days are ahead. Not only did Tech win the GLI, but it recorded shutouts in both games. And not only that, but it got the shutouts from Pheonix Copley, who had just a 1-6 record coming into the tournament. It also did it without Blake Pietela, who is playing for Team USA at the World Juniors.
We'll have more on this tournament soon.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Michigan Tech 3, Wisconsin 3 - Saturday, December 8, 2012
Wisconsin remains winless at home, a thought that's somewhat hard to fathom for the storied program. It gets a pair of home games next weekend against Alabama-Huntsville, which may provide a temporary respite. It's been a season of struggles in so many ways for the Badgers. But a bright spot in this game was the first goals of the season each for big sophomore forwards Joseph LaBate and Brendan Woods, each of whom had five goals as freshmen. The biggest problem is a lack of production overall, with Mark Zengerle out and not enough players picking up the slack. Nic Kerdiles has yet to score, and is still getting his feet wet. The power play sits at an abysmal 11 percent.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Nebraska-Omaha 5, Michigan Tech 3 - Saturday, November 3, 2012
Not many teams were able to get sweeps this weekend, but UNO was one, doing it in Houghton. Friday, it was Zahn Raubenheimer scoring both Mavericks' goals, including the game-winning shorthanded effort late in the third. The 23-year old junior followed that up Saturday by scoring two more in the four-goal second period as UNO pulled away. Raubenheimer equaled the total goals he had as a freshman (he had just one last season).
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Denver 5, Michigan Tech 2 - Saturday, October 27, 2012
Denver followed up two non-league wins by sweeping its WCHA opening weekend series. In four games, the Pioneers have scored five goals in every game for a total of 20. Joey LeLeggia and Daniel Doremus each scored their third in this one. Early on at least, Denver looks like a very complete team, as much as any team in the conference when you consider Minnesota has untested goaltending while Denver has three experienced ones. "We're getting good balance," Denver coach George Gwozdecky said. "Adam Murray’s teammates didn't make it easy on him tonight. He earned that win. I was pleased with the way we started the game. I thought we dictated the pace early, kind of like they did to us last night. We had some avoidable penalties in the second period, and we never really got back into sync after that. They had their chances, but our penalty kill, including Adam Murray, did an outstanding job tonight."
North Dakota 6, Michigan Tech 0 - Sunday, March 17, 2013
North Dakota delivered one of its most complete games of the season to eliminate Michigan Tech. North Dakota will face Colorado College in the Final Five play-in game on Thursday. This marks the 11th straight year UND -- winners of the last three WCHA tournament titles -- has advanced to the Final Five, tying the league record for longest streak set by Minnesota (1999-2009). Goalies Clarke Saunders (27 stops) and senior Tate Maris (1) combined for the shutout. Maris, who played the last 4:02 of the game, saw his first varsity action in his four years and entered to a thunderous ovation from the fans.
"I thought the level of play was our most complete of the year, without a question," UND coach Dave Hakstol said. "We played at a playoff level for three periods. That started right from the drop of the (opening) puck." UND ran away with the game with an explosive four-goal second period, the most goals in a single period for UND since they scored four against Alaska Anchorage on Oct. 28. "Sometimes you can score the first goal in a game and maybe not deserve it," Hakstol said. "We deserved it tonight and we kept our foot on the gas after we got the first one."
Maris, much loved by his teammates, got a chance to play in goal for UND. "Easy decision," Hakstol said. "It means an awful lot to the guys in that locker room. He (Maris) means a ton to our program. He's earned a helluva lot more minutes than four over his time here." Maris, a walk-on from Denver, Colo., has practiced with the team every day, but never got into an actual game -- until now. "It's kind of indescribable," Maris said. "I guess I'm at a loss of words for it. It's kind of four years pushed into four minutes right there at the end. It's pretty surreal, to say the least."
Michigan Tech hopes it laid a foundation for the future. "It's a program we'd like to become in a lot of ways," Tech coach Mel Pearson said on his post-game show. "We'll get there. It's a tough night to look at all the accomplishments, but our program is growing and heading in the right direction. ... (The future) starts now and we have to get better. We can't be satisfied just accomplishing things here and there."
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