Three goals in four minutes with goalie pulled in third period
MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. – The Michigan Tech hockey team fell 4-3 on Friday at St. Thomas. The Huskies trailed 4-0 and made a late push but couldn’t complete the comeback to fall to 16-14-3 overall and 11-10-4 in the CCHA.
“I’m happy that we were able to execute late with some time and space,” Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. “Good habits and bad habits stand out at this time of the year. We have a ton of offensive talent but need to compete harder when we don’t have the puck.
“I’m hoping we can win tomorrow’s game for our fans. They want to watch our team play again at the Mac.”
Trailing 4-0 with 7:00 left in regulation, Coach Shawhan pulled the goaltender and the Huskies responded with three straight extra attacker goals.
Elias Jansson scored his team-leading 12th of the season, putting in a rebound with 5:41 on the clock after a shot by Matthew Campbell was saved. Jack Works also assisted in his return to the lineup.
Rylan Brown blasted in a long one-timer 1:32 later to make it a one-goal game. His third of the season was assisted by Matthew Campbell and Max Koskipirtti.
Tech then got a power play and scored 6-on-4. Elias Jansson had the puck behind the net and found Logan Morrell out front for a one-timer and his 11th goal of the season with 2:20 left in regulation. Max Koskipirtti added the second assist and now has 13 points in the last nine games.
The Huskies got another offensive zone faceoff but were whistled on an interference call. Max Koskipirtti and Chase Pietila had late chances, but goaltender Jake Sibell made two more saves of his 36 on the night to seal the win.
The Tommies (15-13-5, 12-9-4 CCHA) jumped out to a 4-0 lead with two goals in the first and a pair in the third. Ethan Gauer scored 2:42 into the game when he put in a rebound from Chase Foley and Casy Laylin.
UST added to the lead exactly 12:00 later when Ryan O’Neill scored after a cross-ice pass from Jake Braccini. Chase Cheslock also assisted on the play.
In the third period, the puck went off a linesman in the corner and bounced to the middle. Lucas Wahlin spun and blasted in a shot through traffic for a 3-0 lead with Matthew Gleason assisting on the play 5:37 after intermission.
Casy Laylin made it 4-0 when he collected a loose puck at the side of the net and scored from Quinton Pepper and Cole Miller at 10:18 of the third.
Tech dominated in shots 39-20. Ryan Manzella made 16 saves for the Black and Gold.
The Huskies were 1-for-2 on the power play and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill.
The teams will wrap up the 2024-25 regular season at 7:07 p.m. Eastern on Saturday at Saint Thomas Ice Arena. Tech enters the final game tied for fourth-place in the CCHA standings with Bowling Green. The Huskies are one point behind the Tommies and can secure home ice with a regulation win, overtime win, or shootout win.
