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Mitten Hockey story card: Michigan Tech Huskies, NCAA Division I
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What Michigan Tech’s numbers say before Lake Superior State visits

Michigan Tech’s goaltending and defense have carried a strong start, and an in-state CCHA series at the MacInnes puts its power play under the microscope.

Shaun
4–6 minutes
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Michigan Tech has built its 6-2-2 start the old-fashioned way: by not giving anything up. As the No. 14 Huskies host Lake Superior State at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena on Friday (7:07 p.m.) and Saturday (6:07 p.m.), the numbers point to a team whose defense and goaltending are already at a national level, and whose power play is the clearest thing left to fix.

Here’s what the stats sheets say about both sides, and what the rest of November looks like for Bill Muckalt’s team.

The defense travels

Tech has allowed 19 goals in 10 games, 1.9 a game, which Michigan Tech Athletics says ranks ninth in the country. The more telling number is how consistent it has been: the Huskies have allowed two goals or fewer in nine of their 10 games. The only exception was a 5-3 loss at St. Cloud State on Oct. 10.

That hasn’t come from suppressing shots. Tech has outshot its opponents just 308-307 over 10 games, essentially dead even. The gap is finishing and saving: Tech is shooting 8.8% while opponents are shooting 6.2%.

Most of that 6.2% belongs to Owen Bartoszkiewicz. He has played 608 of the team’s 612 minutes, with a 1.78 goals-against average, a .941 save percentage, 288 saves, and a 6-2-2 record. He was the CCHA’s Goaltender of the Month for October and stopped 60 of 64 shots against then-No. 8 Augustana last weekend, according to the school. His 40 career wins rank second among active NCAA goaltenders.

A .941 save percentage is hard to sustain over a full season, so the honest read is that Tech’s even shot share leaves some risk if Bartoszkiewicz cools off. So far, he hasn’t.

Scoring by committee

Tech has scored 27 goals, 2.7 a game, and no skater has more than four. Matthew Van Blaricom leads with eight points (four goals, four assists) and a team-best plus-9. Luke Shipley has seven points, while Teydon Trembecky (four goals in eight games) and Conner Roulette have six apiece. Defenseman Tyler Miller, named CCHA Defenseman of the Week after a goal and two assists against Augustana, has five points, and Tom Leppa has five assists.

The Huskies also finish strong: 12 of their 27 goals have come in the third period. Trembecky and Van Blaricom each have two game-winners, tied for sixth nationally. Tech has also scored three or more goals in seven of its 10 games, which, paired with that defense, is usually enough.

The number that has to move

Tech’s power play is 3-for-24, 12.5%. Its penalty kill has allowed six goals on 27 chances, about 77.8%. Special teams are a net minus so far, and the team has gotten by on five-on-five play and goaltending.

That makes this weekend a useful test. Lake Superior State has taken 46 penalties for 117 minutes in eight games, and opponents have had 36 power plays against the Lakers, 4.5 a game. They’ve scored on eight of them, also a 77.8% kill. If Tech’s power play is going to turn a corner, a weekend against a team that spends this much time short-handed is the place for it.

What Lake Superior State brings

The Lakers arrive 2-4-2 overall and 0-2-2 in the CCHA under 13th-year coach Damon Whitten, after being picked sixth in both preseason polls. They’ve scored 2.8 goals a game and allowed 3.9, and they’ve been outshot 32.5 to 26.6 per game.

Charles Savoie leads them with 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in seven games. Cooper Foster has nine points, Casper Nässén seven, with two of the team’s five power-play goals, and Calem Mangone six. Their power play, at 18.5% (5-for-27), has been better than Tech’s.

In goal, Anders Miller has a 2.94 goals-against average and .899 save percentage in five games, and Andrew Oke is at 4.05 and .889 in three. The Lakers’ last CCHA weekend was a pair of 2-2 ties at Minnesota State.

History leans toward Tech, too. The Huskies lead the all-time series 58-31-10 and are 35-13-3 against the Lakers in Houghton, according to Michigan Tech Athletics. Tech has lost one of the last five meetings. The teams meet again Jan. 29-30 in Sault Ste. Marie.

Mitten Hockey’s take

On paper, this is the most favorable matchup Tech has had in conference play. The Huskies are 4-0-2 at home, the Lakers have spent much of their season being outshot, and Bartoszkiewicz has been the best goaltender in the series by a wide margin. Our lean is that Tech takes most of the six points available this weekend.

The hedge is the scoring margin. Tech’s games have been tight, with three one-goal decisions and two ties in 10 outings, and a team that wins this way can see a series swing on a single power play or a hot goaltender. If Tech’s power play keeps going 1-for-8, the Lakers’ penalty trouble won’t cost them much.

The rest of November

After this weekend, Tech travels to Mankato for a CCHA series at Minnesota State on Nov. 20-21, then has two weeks before a home-and-home with Northern Michigan on Dec. 4-5. Tech sat No. 20 in College Hockey News’ NPI table last week, as Mitten Hockey’s rankings roundup noted, just outside the top 16 that make the NCAA field. Four or more points this weekend and a solid trip to Mankato would put Tech in a good spot heading into December.

For more on last weekend, see our Michigan Tech series wrap against Augustana.

Sources

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