The Huskies finished the regular season 16-15-3 overall and 12-11-3 in CCHA play after dropping both games last weekend against the St. Thomas Tommies on the road.

“We would have liked better results, obviously,” said Huskies assistant coach Jordy Murray. “They were pretty meaningful games. We would like to play in front of our fans this weekend, and give our seniors another night at the Mac. So, not happy with the results.

“I think we did some good things. I think we made too many coverage mistakes, and (had) too many things that bit us. They’re a great transition team. You have to limit your turnovers, and you have to climb like crazy to help our ‘D’ (defense) out. I think some things that we’ve been talking about, and working on, showed up in our game, and we’ll just keep talking about and working on them.”

All that being said, Murray likes facing the Falcons again.

Michigan Tech forward Marcus Pedersen celebrates after scoring a goal in a game against Ferris State Saturday, Feb. 22, at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

“I think I do like the matchup this weekend against Bowling Green,” he said, “so, that’s what we’re really focusing on right now.”

While the Huskies lost both games last weekend by one goal each, the coaching staff did like the finish on Friday, where the Huskies trailed 4-0, and scored three straight goals in the game’s final 6:41.

“We knew that St. Thomas, they’re not a heavy pressure team, just like aren’t on their kill,” Murray said. “So, our skill guys would have a little bit of time, if we had that extra attacker, and that extra player to win pucks back. I thought both units did a really good job. We, obviously, had possession in their zone early, sustained possession, and got some pucks to the net and bodies to the net. (We) ended up scoring a few goals and made it interesting.

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough, and ended up taking a penalty off a faceoff. We couldn’t get that fourth one, but (that) was exciting. We would have liked it to not come to that. We, obviously, had opportunities earlier in the game to finish, and their goalie played great, but, yeah, you don’t want to have a desperation move like that when you’re down four goals in big games.”

One player whose effort stood out throughout the weekend was sophomore center Max Koskipirtti. The second-year star had two assists on Friday to improve his totals this season to seven goals and 27 points, both up from his four goals and 21 points as a freshman.

“I would say, maybe the regular fan might not notice him, (but) we notice him so much on video,” said Murray. “He’s our smartest forward on both sides of the puck. He’s always where we need him to be defensively, and he’s really responsible, maybe too responsible at times, which maybe has limited his offense even though he has 20-some points. We can put him out on the ice against any line. We can play him with any of our players. We have him playing with Stiven (Sardarian), because he does a great job on the offensive side, can make plays with Stiven, and think with Stiven, but, also, he can cover if Stiven is out of place defensively or maybe cheating for offense a little bit. He’s there to cover for him. So, Max has been great for us. I think he’s been our most consistent player, too, which helps. I think it’s just because his brain is elite. He’s always in the right spot. He never has a bad game.”

Another player who has grown into a leadership role this season has been senior forward Alex Nordstrom, who has been playing the last four games with Koskipirtti and Sardarian, who leads the Huskies in scoring with 10 goals and 34 points.

“I think everyone wants to play with Alex right now, because he’s feeling really good about his game offensively, and he’s making plays, but also he just gets players pucks back. He’s always been a really good forechecker. Now, he’s making plays when he gets these pucks back on the forecheck.”

Nordstrom finished the season strong with six goals in his last eight games, including a hat trick against Ferris State.

“You’re just so happy for a kid who does it the right way, and has really bought in,” Murray said. “I just did video with him (Tuesday) and the best thing with him is he hasn’t changed his game at all now that he’s playing in a top-six role. He’s playing the same way. He’s forechecking just as hard. He’s getting back on defense just as hard. The one thing he’s probably added, and I mentioned it earlier, is now he’s creating turnovers. Now he’s making plays off of these turnovers.

“Last year, he would try to drive everyone wide, because he had the speed. Now he knows, if he’s getting cut off, he can cut back, and make a play in the second layer and the third layer. So, I think he has added some things to his game, and I don’t know if it’s anything to do with coaching. I think he’s just feeling really good about his game, and (is) confident right now. That’s where the plays are coming from. It’s the base that has made him successful. It’s him being great, having good energy on the forecheck, and then getting to the net and being around the net. That’s where 90% of his goals have come recently, right around the net.”

SCOUTING THE FALCONS

The Falcons finished the regular season 16-13-4 overall and 12-10-4 in CCHA play after splitting with Lake Superior State to close things out. They are 3-5 in their last eight games, including a loss to the U.S. National Development Team Program.

They are led offensively by senior forward Ryan O’Hara, who has 11 goals and 32 points in 33 games. Sophomore forward Brody Waters leads the team in goals (16), and has 21 points in 33 games. Sophomore forward Ben Doran and junior forward Brett Pfoh both have 18 points each.

“They’re an older team,” Murray said. “They’re a bigger, I would say, heavier team than a St. Thomas, who’s mostly a transition team, a fast team. I think we have to be ready for a dog fight, and ready for a game that’s going to be won down low.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a ton of rush opportunities. There could be, for sure, but I think it’s about us being really good on our forecheck, creating zone time, and sustaining zone time, and then winning our battles off the wall and getting to the net. It just might be sloppy at times, but that’s when we’re at our best, and I think they want to make it sloppy as well.”

The Falcons have split time between senior Christian Stoever and sophomore Cole Moore between the pipes. Moore has appeared in 20 games, going 6-11-1 with a 2.80 goals against average and a .906 save percentage. Stoever has appeared in 15 games, going 10-2-3 with a 1.95 goals against average and a .939 save percentage.

GAME TIMES

The Huskies and Falcons will meet both Friday and Saturday nights at 7:07 p.m. at the Slater Family Ice Arena in Bowling Green, Ohio. If a third game is necessary, it will be on Sunday at 5:07 p.m.