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Mankato, Minn – No. 11 Michigan Tech shutout No. 12 Minnesota State 2-0 on Friday to stay alive in the McNaughton Trophy. The two teams will play for the CCHA Regular Season Title on Saturday at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center in the final game before the playoffs.
“It was a typical win for us,” coach Joe Shawhan said. It starts with the goalkeeper scoring a goal in time and taking a big penalty.
“Winner takes tomorrow night.”
Blake Pietila stopped all 35 shots he faced for his school-ninth shutout of the season and Tech-record 19th career shutout. It was the seventh shutout of the season Friday night as the Huskies blanked the Mavs in Mankato for the first time since November 2003.
“We knew what was on the line and we knew we had to give ourselves a chance to play for the title tomorrow,” Blake said. “Anytime you can make big saves early, you can build confidence and expect your team to get one for you.”
After a scoreless first two games, Kyle Kukkkonen broke the ice with his 15th goal of the season at 3:43. Logan Pietila hits a rebound to Evan Orr. Kukkonen beat a defender to the goal and hit the winner in the final play.
“We ran a faceoff game,” Kukkonen said. “I was able to get away from my guy a little bit and I got the tackle again and snuck it in.”
Logan Pietila and Ryland Mosley made it 2-0 after the goal, but were unable to take a two-goal lead.
MSU (20-12-1, 15-9-1 CCHA) pulled the goalie with 1:44 left. Logan Pietila made it 2-0 10 seconds later with his 11th goal of the season. Ryland Mosley and Brett Thorne assisted on the play.
The Mavs got a late power play and went 6-for-4 with the extra hitter, but Blake made three saves to close out the shutout — MSU’s first at home since January 2019 against Lake Superior State.
Blake Pietila had eight saves in the first season, 14 in the second and 13 in the third for his 56th win. He stopped Ondrej Pavel on a short-handed breakaway early in the second and also later stonewalled Cade Borchardt.
“Black is amazing,” Kukkonen added. “You can tell he’s been locked in since Monday. He’s a big game player, and it’s amazing to have him back out there.”
Shots were 35-25 in favor of the Mavs. Keenan Rancière had 23 saves for the home team.
Tech was 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and 0-for-3 on the power play.
The Huskies improved to 22-8-4 overall and 15-6-4 in the CCHA. Tech is 12-4-1 on the road, and its 22 wins ranks fourth nationally.
The puck drops at 7:07 pm Eastern Saturday for the regular season finale.
“I think it will really prepare us for the game this weekend,” Pietila said. “I’ve never had the opportunity to play for the MacNaughton Cup, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow and I’ll be ready for that.”
“We all know what’s at stake this weekend,” added Kukkonen. “We’ve been proving people wrong all season, and we just have to stick to the system and do the little things tomorrow. They’re a great team and we’re a great team. It’s going to be another battle.”
The Mavs will honor their seniors before the game and there will be a trophy presentation on the ice after the game for the winner.
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