Huskies down 3-0 after one period
MANKATO, Minn. – The Michigan Tech hockey team suffered its first road loss of the season with a 5-2 defeat at No. 12 Minnesota State. The Mavericks jumped out to a 3-0 lead and didn’t let the Huskies get closer than two goals the rest of the way.
“We struggled tonight, even with the simplest things,” Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. “You make your name performing against good teams, and we didn’t show up tonight. We need to flush it and be more competitive tomorrow night.”
Entering the second period down three, Stiven Sardarian got the Huskies on the board 5:56 after intermission with his team-leading 10th of the season. He put in a rebound after a shot by Kasper Vaharautio bounced out into the slot. Matthew Campbell also assisted on Sardarian’s 19th collegiate goal.
MSU (16-5-2, 11-2-2 CCHA) retook its three-goal lead 6:41 later when Jakob Stender chipped in a loose puck in the crease. Will Hillman assisted with the initial shot on goal.
Nick Williams made it a two-goal margin with 4:27 left in the third with a long shot through traffic for his first goal of the season and second of his career.
The Mavs quickly responded again—only 40 seconds later—when Kaden Bohlsen scored from Rhett Pitlick and Josh Groll for the final tally.
MSU dominated shots 34-18. Derek Mullahy made the start for the Huskies and made 11 saves through the first period. Ryan Manzella played the final 40:00 and stopped 18 shots. Alex Tracy made 16 saves for the home team.
The Mavs opened scoring 7:41 into the game with a long shot through traffic off the stick of Luke Ashton on the power play. Luigi Benincasa and Evan Murr were credited with the assists.
Rhett Pitlick made it 2-0 when he had a one-handed tip-in goal from a sharp angle at 11:18 of the first period. Evan Murr and Ralfs Bergmanis assisted on the play.
Adam Eisele scored the third goal of the period with a redirecting tip from Campbell Cichosz with only 12.3 seconds left before the first intermission.
Tech (12-9-2, 8-5-2 CCHA) was 0-for-2 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill.
The teams will play for the fourth time in the regular season at 7:07 p.m. Eastern on Saturday. The Mavs have won the first three contests.
