Michigan Tech Huskies hockey coach Joe Shawhan has really liked the play of a line he and his staff has put together of freshman center Tom Leppa, junior winger Trevor Kukkonen, and sophomore winger Lauri Raiman.

Raiman had struggled to keep a regular spot in the lineup last season, especially in the second half of the season. Kukkonen, the older brother of Kyle, who is now at Wisconsin, had not really seen the ice in a game situation until this season, and Leppa is in his first season. However, the trio together is giving the Huskies something they need, leadership.

No, the Huskies are not struggling for leaders on the team, they have a captain in Jack Works, and several alternates in Isaac Gordon, Chase Pietila and Trevor Russell, but what Leppa, Kukkonen and Raiman are doing is giving the rest of the Huskies an example to follow on the ice.

“I’d be absolutely remiss if I didn’t mention, and really praise, the example that we’re getting out of Leppa and Kukkonen and Lauri Raiman,” said Shawhan after the Huskies’ 6-3 win over Northern Michigan on Saturday. “I am so happy for them. I think we said last week that my comments to them is, ‘You’re scoring in practice, you keep doing these things, scoring the game. Why not? Why do you say that I’m not this, or I’m not that, or I’ve never been scoring in games.’ Now they’re scoring in games. ‘Kukks’ gets two tonight, Lauri gets one. Lep is involved in everything.

Shawhan is using Leppa’s line in his discussion with the larger team.

“My message to the group is, ‘Fellas, you guys that are trying to get offense and get down and frustrated, because you don’t have offense. Figure the game out like these guys. Watch them. See how they’re creating chances, because if you create those chances, pucks are going to go in for you, because you’re the guys that naturally have done it your whole life. So fine, just learn the game,'” he said. “We’re trying to teach guys the game so that they can have long lasting success and that those are really life values that when they learn to not get down, and not get frustrated, and, ‘Oh, here we go again. I’m not the guy.’ We have a great example.”

Shawhan went back to praising Leppa’s line.

“Again, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say how much that those three now, everybody, everybody, but those three, are really setting a tone for our team,” he said. “We had them out both nights with the goalie out. ‘Kukks,’ I think potted the empty-netter tonight. So, I think right now they are in a lot of ways, along with some of our (defensemen) that are just grinding.

“I think they’re the pulse of our team right now, and I think that’s a good thing.”

Even senior winger Marcus Pedersen, who had a goal and two assists after the game was 3-1 in favor of the Wildcats, pointed out after the game on Saturday how well Leppa’s line has been playing.

“Leppa’s line played really good today, as well,” he said. “They’ve been good for a while.”

Kukkonen also had a chance to discuss what is working for his line.

“Us three, me, Lauri and Tom, I think we have just been working really hard in practice, kind of finding some chemistry, and it feels really good when pucks start going in the back of the net, for sure,” he said.

On Tuesday, during his media availability, Shawhan mentioned Leppa’s line and how close they were coming to being able to chip-in. He felt that the trio work well together.

“You can’t mention his (Kukkonen’s) name without mentioning Leppa and mentioning Lauri Raiman, and how that group, as a unit, had good synergy,” Shawhan said. “I mean, they led us in virtually every statistical category that lends itself to driving offense, and is indicative of strong defensive play. The only real time that that line had any trouble on the weekend (against Clarkson) was when a different centerman was out there in place of Leppa for whatever reason.

“So, that line has synergy. The sum of the work of the group is more than the individual part. So you can’t name one without naming the others.”

Kukkonen feels that Shawhan and his staff are doing a great job of pushing the trio to be even better than they have been to this point in the season.

“You know, it feels good,” Kukkonen said. “I mean, coaches always challenge us to be our best, and, you know, I think when we show up in a game like that, and show some resiliency coming back, it’s a really good feeling for the group.”

The Huskies return to action this weekend, as they hit the road for their first lengthy road trip to Ferris State.