Huskies blank Seawolves to move to 7-0-0
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The No. 9-ranked Michigan Tech hockey team extended its winning streak to seven with a 2-0 shutout of Alaska Anchorage on Friday (Nov. 7) at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. Tech is now the only team in Division I college hockey that has won all of its games with a 7-0 overall record and a 5-0 mark in the WCHA.
With the 1965 NCAA National Championship Team in the building—after being inducted into the Michigan Tech Spots Hall of Fame—Malcolm Gould scored a goal and added an assist as Jamie Phillips picked up his third career shutout, stopping 19 shots.
“We had a good week of practice, and that translated into the game tonight,” Tech coach Mel Pearson said. “Anchorage has a big strong team. They play the body well. They tied us up and didn’t let us get second chances.
“Jamie had another strong game. He had a couple of big saves that kept the game at bay and gave us a chance to win.”
In the first period, the Huskies peppered UAA goaltender Olivier Mantha with 18 shots. Both Dylan Steman and Gould drew iron on grade A scoring chances. Steman had a partial breakaway that hit the post and Gould nailed the crossbar.
Tyler Heinonen opened the game’s scoring 6:31 into the second period on a power play. Gould took the initial shot on the right of Mantha, and Heinonen jammed in the rebound. Tanner Kero extended his point streak (2-3=5) to four games with an assist on Heinonen’s second goal of the season in back-to-back games.
On a rush 11:18 into the third, Gould tried feeding a pass up to Heinonen that was blocked by the defense. Gould picked up the loose puck with his back to the goal and spun around a shot that found the back of the net for his third of the year. He has also scored in back-to-back games and has a point in five of six appearances this season. Mike Neville and Shane Hanna assisted on the play.
“Whenever I get in, I just try and help the team however I can, whether it’s putting up points or playing solid defensively,” Gould said. “Obviously it feels good, and it was a sigh of relief for me, but it was important to get the win.”
Down by two, UAA pulled Mantha with over 3:00 to go. The Huskies didn’t take any chances and held off the late Seawolves charge.
Mantha stopped 44 of Tech’s season-high 46 shots on goal.
“Mantha made some big saves and battled hard,” said Pearson. “He gave them a chance to win, and that’s all you can ask for from your goaltender.”
Phillips stopped four in the first, seven in the second and eight in the third for the shutout. He ranks fourth in the nation in goals against average (1.14) and fifth in save percentage (95.7).
“We dominated the play for 60 minutes,” Phillips said. “The defense blocked a lot of shots, kept guys to the outside, and cleared away rebounds.”
UAA (4-3-2, 1-2-0 WCHA) took five minor penalties while the Huskies had four. Tech was 1-for-4 on the man advantage, and the Seawolves were 0-for-3.
The two teams wrap up the WCHA series at 7:07 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 8). The 1965 National Championship Team will be honored before faceoff, and Tom Bissett will be recognized during the second intermission.
(Information Courtesy of MTU Athletics)