David Archambeau/For the Gazette Michigan Tech defenseman Nick Williams carries the puck in the offensive zone during a game Friday against Lake Superior State at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton.

By DAVER KARNOSKY

dkarnosky@mininggazette.com

HOUGHTON — After blowing a two-goal lead in a loss on Friday night, the Michigan Tech Huskies hockey team bounced back Saturday with a win to salvage a split with the Lake Superior State Lakers this past weekend at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

With the win on Saturday, the Huskies improved to 12-8-2 overall and 8-4-2 in CCHA play.

HUSKIES HOLD OFF LAKERS SATURDAY, 1-0

Freshman goaltender Ryan Manzella made 21 saves in his first start at home as the Huskies earned a 1-0 win Saturday over the Lakers.

“That’s the type of game we’re looking for,” said Huskies coach Joe Shawhan. “This game tonight, if we played like we did last night, would have probably had the same result, 3-2 loss, 3-1 loss, with an empty net, something like that. I thought our guys played a lot more connected, a lot more unified.”

Manzella, who first stepped on campus in Houghton on Monday after joining the team in Grand Rapids for the Great Lakes Invitational, made his home debut in the contest, earning a shutout along the way.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “I mean, since I got here, all the guys were talking about how crazy it is to play here. Then, obviously, being on the road for two weeks and finally getting here, and getting the chance to play in front of the fans, the experience is surreal.”

Manzella, who made his debut in relief during the GLI against Northern Michigan, has hardly had time to adjust to college life after playing the first half of the season for Sioux Falls in the USHL.

“I think, honestly, it was perfect,” he said. “There’s kind of no time to think, kind of get just thrown in, then just kind of start playing your game, and then get comfortable. I think it was kind of the perfect situation to kind of get my feet wet.”

For two periods Saturday, Manzella had to be perfect to keep the Huskies in the game, and he did so, making 13 saves, including six in the first period before his teammates got their second shot on net.

In the third period, Michigan Tech finally found a way to solve Lakers goaltender Rorke Applebee. Senior forward Alex Nordstrom got the play started by beating out an icing. He got the puck freed and over to sophomore forward Lauri Raiman, who fired a shot on goal from the right circle. Then, as he drove across the slot, sophomore forward Owen Baker batted the rebound past Applebee at 2:37.

Shawhan loved how Nordstrom got the play started.

“Really want to give a good shout out tonight,” he said. “We had a really good, little, minor thing out of Alex Nordstrom, beating them to that icing. That play’s an icing faceoff back in our zone. Beating them to that icing, and then winning a battle, we get to play the Bakes, and he could finish it off.”

Shawhan also was impressed with how Manzella finished the game, as the Huskies gave up eight shots in the third period, and he was there each and every time, including on a 2-on-1 break that saw Dawson Tritt fire a one-timer that Manzella pushed across his crease to catch.

“There were some really big saves he made,” Shawhan said. “That 2-on-1 was (outstanding). He’s a good goaltender. Lucky to have him, really lucky to have him. Very confident to put him in the net.

“That’s three starts now, probably, in six games since he’s been with us, three wins, a couple overtime wins and a shutout. Good start for the young man, and it’s not always going to be easy, and it wasn’t easy tonight, but we’d like him to continue to gain confidence and adjust to the game. He’s done a great job.”

Applebee made 30 saves in the loss.

HUSKIES FALL TO LAKERS FRIDAY, 4-2

Despite scoring twice in the first 6:12 of the middle frame to jump out to a two-goal lead, the Huskies fell to the Lakers Friday night, 4-2.

Shawhan was disappointed with his team in the loss.

“We don’t pay enough attention to detail, and so we have a lot of guys that just kind of go through the motions,” he said. (We have a lot of players who) really need to learn, need to really want to be difference-makers in a hockey game, because that turns into chasing the game, and grinding it out. You see we lose a lot of those games.”

After a scoreless first period, the Huskies struck just 2:28 into the second period. Freshman center Ryder Matter won the faceoff to the left of Lakers goaltender Rorke Applebee. Junior forward Trevor Kukkonen rushed to the puck and moved it back to alternate captain Chase Pietila at the right point. Pietila skated into the right circle and beat Applebee with a wrist shot.

The Huskies struck again at 6:12 while on the power play when junior forward Stiven Sardarian moved the puck along the top of the umbrella to junior defenseman Matthew Campbell, who blasted a shot home.

Kukkonen picked up his second point of the night on the play.

That two-goal advantage lasted all of 40 seconds before a shot from Bryan Huggins bounced off the boards behind Huskies netminder Derek Mullahy, bounced back out and off of him and into the net.

Then, the Lakers struck again at 7:29 when Reagan Milburn batted a pass from Dawson Tritt past Mullahy.

The Huskies had a golden opportunity to regain a one-goal advantage with 6:32 left in the middle frame when Sardarian fired a shot on goal with sophomore defenseman Nick Williams crashing the net. The puck rebounded off the post to Applebee’s right, right to Williams, who fired a backhand on goal. That shot was saved, but the puck bounced up in the air and over to freshman center Logan Morrell, who nearly scored on his rebound chance. He would have, had a Lakers’ defender not knocked the puck away from the net at the last second.

The game remained 2-2 into the third period, where Sasha Teleguine broke the tie with a goal on a 1-on-1 rush at 3:22.

Teleguine then closed the scoring with an empty-net tally at 17:58.

Mullahy made 14 saves in the loss for the Huskies. The Lakers’ Applebee made 37 saves to earn the win.

UP NEXT

The Huskies hit the road next weekend to face the Minnesota State Mavericks.