Koskipirtti, Jansson score for Huskies in regulation
HOUGHTON, Mich. – In a battle of the two top CCHA teams, Michigan Tech skated to a 2-2 tie with Bemidji State on Friday at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The Beavers earned the extra conference point with a shootout win after overtime.
“It was an exciting hockey game against two good teams. A one-shot hockey game,” Tech coach Bill Muckalt said. “If we have any aspirations about winning this league, they’re going to be a team we’ll have to reckon with.
“I didn’t like our penalties in the third period, but we competed and battled hard tonight.
They’re a good hockey team. Give them credit for getting the extra point.”
BSU (7-4-2, 5-0-2 CCHA) opened the game’s scoring 11:12 into the game when Oliver Peer settled a loose puck and fired it through traffic with assists going to Adam Flammang and Patrik Satosaari.
The Huskies (7-3-1, 4-0-1 CCHA) tied it up 3:02 later when Max Koskipirtti scored on the power play. Isaac Gordon dumped the puck into the zone, and it bounced off the glass and bounced out front. Koskipirtti put in his fifth of the season and 16th of his career. Tyler Miller added the second assist.
After no scoring in the second period, Tech got a go-ahead goal when Stiven Sardarian faked that he was carrying the puck behind the net but instead flipped it back to Elias Jansson. He roofed it past the goalie for a 2-1 lead 3:56 into the third. Sardarian extended his point streak to 10 games while Reid Andresen added the second assist.
The Beavers dominated most of the third, outshooting the Huskies 13-4. They got a late power play and tied the game when Adam Flammang scored in the crease from Kasper Magnussen and Hudson Thornton with 3:46 left.
In the 3-on-3 overtime, both teams had a number of chances. Owen Bartoszkiewicz made four big saves—mostly on odd man rushes—and the teams settled for a tie.
The Beavers won the shootout 2-1 in four rounds. Isaac Gordon scored to extend it to a fourth round. Vincent Labelle and Oliver Peer found the back of the net for the Beavers. Max Koskipirtti, Stiven Sardarian, and Elias Jansson also had turns in the shootout.
BSU outshot Tech 35-26. Both teams were whistled for four penalties and both were 1-for-4 on the man advantage.
The two teams will wrap up the CCHA series on Saturday at 6:07 p.m.
