Freshman winger Alex MacLeod notched his sixth power play marker of the season to get the Huskies the lead late in the first period. The goal, which came at 18:54, was assisted by senior center Alex Gagne, who fed MacLeod in front of the net and sophomore defenseman Deron Cousens.

A second period explosion from Sioux captain Ryan Duncan gave the Sioux a two goal lead 11:46 into the second period. Duncan was originally credited with the natural hat trick, but the second Sioux goal was later credited to Chris VandeVelde. Huskies’ head coach Jamie Russell pulled freshman goaltender Josh Robinson after the third goal in favor of senior Rob Nolan.

The Huskies cut the lead to one when sophomore winger Jordan Baker netted a power play goal of his own at 17:31. The goal, Baker’s 16th of the season, came on a four-on-three advantage and was assisted by junior winger Drew Dobson and assistant captain Geoff Kinrade.

The Sioux regained the two-goal lead five and a half minutes into the third.

Dobson cut the lead to one again with his fifth goal of the season with 3:25 to go in regulation, causing the Sioux-friendly crowd to panic. Baker and freshman defenseman Ricky Doriott both assisted on the goal.

Russell pulled Nolan with about a minute and a half to go, but the Huskies couldn’t quite get the puck past Brad Eidsness in the end.

On Friday, the Huskies slowed down the early stages of the game, keeping the Sioux at bay. The strategy frustrated the Sioux through most of the first period, until they broke through at 17:04.

In the second period, the Sioux struck twice in the first 6:08. The first tally was a power play marker at 3:00. The other was even strength. The Sioux outshot the Huskies 17-7 for the period.

Freshman winger Alex MacLeod cut the Sioux lead to two with a power play marker of his own 6:13 into the third period. Senior center Alex Gagne fed the puck to captain John Schwarz, whose shot was redirected by MacLeod past Brad Eidsness, the Sioux netminder.

The Sioux struck twice in 42 seconds around mid-period to put the game out of reach and ending Rob Nolan’s night between the pipes for the Huskies. The first goal was shorthanded, which really handcuffed the Huskies.

Former Huskies’ forward Matt Ulwelling was a linesman for the games.

Huskies Sting Gophers, Earn Split

To start Spring Break off the right way, the Huskies got three goals from Dobson on Friday, March 6, to beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 6-5, in overtime.

The Gophers struck just 2:21 in. Senior winger Justin St. Louis evened the game at 6:24 on a miscue by Gophers’ goalie Alex Kangas.

The Huskies exploded out of the gates in the second period, as Dobson struck twice in a 48-second span to start the second period. After Kangas was pulled, Baker gave the Huskies a three-goal lead by the time five minutes had gone by.

The second half of the period belonged to the Gophers, who pulled even with a pair of goals in the last 20 seconds.

Dobson regained the lead for the Huskies 10:19 into the third. The Gophers managed to even the game with just under four minutes left.

In the extra session, Cousens fired a shot from the point on the power play and found the back of the net to give the Huskies the win.

On Saturday, Nolan made 23 saves in a 2-0 loss as the Gophers earned the fifth and final home playoff spot.

For full details of the games, head over the MTU Lode Web site and read the live blogs.

The majority of the injuries that Tech players face are serious injuries, keeping them unavailable for several weeks. “It is odd to get this many injuries that are this serious,” Coach Jamie Russell explained as he listed his injured players. Mikael Lickteig is expected to miss the most time, as he recently had surgery and is expected to be out the rest of the season. Bryce Reddick, Ricky Doriott and Senior Captain John Schwarz are not expected to return until early to mid-December.

Some players can be expected to return soon, however. Malcolm Gwilliam has been skating with an injury and is expected to continue playing through it. Justin St. Louis suffered an injury during the Colorado College series but returned in time for the Wisconsin series. Ryan Angelow is also expected to return soon and will be a welcomed return, especially for the special teams’ lines.

The loss of these players has also affected the rest of the team. Defensive lines have been forced to change game-by-game to make up for the loss of Schwarz and Doriott. “We would like some stability with pairings but haven’t been able to get that.” In the Alaska Anchorage series, Russell had only 18 available players, forcing the defensemen to play with different players.

The special teams and the regular lineups have also been changed around, putting the pressure on freshmen, non-special teams players and the even the coach as far as determining lines. “We want to have competition at every spot; how hard you fight for pucks plays a key role in deciding lines and who’s playing.” Players such as freshman Alex MacLeod have moved up to the second line and power play. Other players, such as defensemen Dobson, Kinrade, Kivisto and senior center Alex Gange have all taken more ice time and special teams roles.

This was evident in the Wisconsin series last weekend. The Wisconsin power play was five-for-seven last Saturday, taking advantage of a tired Tech penalty kill, scoring four goals in the third period alone. With the use of four officials in NCAA hockey and the WCHA tightening up their officiating, this exposes the Huskies wounds even more.

“The scoring chances were fairly even,” said Head Coach Jamie Russell. “With the lineup we have right now, I was disappointed, but we did some pretty good things, and I thought we played some smart hockey.”

To make matters worse, the Huskies also had to play without captain John Schwarz, whose injury could keep him out for at least two more weeks.

Trailing 1-0 after an early powerplay marker in the first period Saturday, the Huskies stormed out of the gates, outshooting the Tigers 14-7, and struck just 2:34 in. Just after a 5-on-3 advantage ended with the Tigers’ forward still coming back into the play, sophomore winger Jordan Baker pounced on a loose puck in front of Richard Bachman and found the back of the net. Freshman winger Alex MacLeod and sophomore forward Bennett Royer both earned assists on Baker’s third of the season.

The Tigers struck twice in the first 9:57 of the third period to regain and extend their lead to 3-1. The latter goal came on the power play, as the Tigers would finish the game two-for-eight on the man advantage.

Down two with an offensive zone faceoff and just two and a half minutes left, Russell gambled and pulled senior netminder Rob Nolan. Nolan had already stopped 32 Tigers’ shots in the game.

“Robbie played extremely well (this weekend),” said Russell.

The Huskies controlled the game’s final minutes, but couldn’t beat Bachman until the 19:38 mark when freshman center Brett Olson squeezed one in. Junior defenseman John Kivisto and senior winger Malcolm Gwilliam both assisted on the goal.

“We’ve thrown a lot of responsibility on Brett,” said Russell. “He does a lot of the little things that don’t show up on a scoresheet, and it was nice to see him rewarded.”

With only 21.2 seconds left to work with, Russell elected to keep Nolan on the bench and go for broke. The Huskies pushed the puck forward off the draw and got the puck deep into the Tigers. Unfortunately, with every Huskies’ skater crashing the net, the puck squirted to the boards where a Tiger was able to lift the puck the length of the rink into the gaping net at the opposite end of the ice.

The Huskies managed a season-high 35 shots against Bachman, who proved this weekend why he was named WCHA MVP last year.

On Friday night, the Huskies came out flying, outshooting the Tigers 6-1 through the first 12 minutes and earning a power play chance very early on, but senior center Alex Gagne and company couldn’t bury the puck. Later in the first, the Huskies had another power play in which a miscue led to a Tigers’ shorthanded breakaway goal.

Nolan was called upon to keep the Huskies afloat in the second period as the Huskies lost forwards Bryce Reddick, a freshman, and Justin St. Louis, a senior, to injuries neither could return from. Nolan would finish the period with 18 stops to five for Bachman and 36 for the game.

“I think that with the injuries we were down to 10 forwards, and we just ran out of gas,” said Russell.

The game remained a one-goal affair until the 9:48 mark of the third, when the Tigers’ top scorer Chad Rau extended the lead.

The Huskies had a golden opportunity late with a power play in last three minutes of the game, but couldn’t really get the puck into the slot. Bachman made a number of solid saves, but none from those Grade A areas in front.

The power play continues to plague the Huskies as they went 0-for-14 and are now 2-for-27 on the season.

Despite the numerous injuries to three seniors – centerman Ryan Angelow has only played one game this season – and the three freshmen – Ricky Doriott and Michael Lickteig both underwent surgery within the past week – there are some positives to take into the coming weeks. Mainly, the Huskies will be at home.

This weekend, the Huskies will face the Under-18 team of the U.S. Development Program. The team is fresh off a 3-3 tie at Cornell last weekend.

“They’re talented hockey players,” said Russell. “You’ve got some (future) NHL stars coming into the building.”

Team USA boasts a pair of goaltenders from the Northeast in John Cullen and Casey DeSmith.

Team USA also boasts six players from Minnesota and three from Michigan.

“We have some real good leadership up front,” said Russell. “We have some players that have seen quite a bit of ice time and understand their roles.”

All eyes will be on senior winger Malcolm Gwilliam, the highest-scoring returning forward. His 14 points were three shy of his career best, but he netted a pair of power-play markers. He’s set for a career year with classmate Alex Gagne as his pivot for a full season.

Gagne had just nine points last season but found a home on the top line for the last month of the season. This season, he’ll be the top centerman, and he should thrive in the role.

“[Gagne] had a significant injury in his first season,” said Russell. “He definitely skates very well, and I thought that he had a very effective second half on our first line.”

Senior center Ryan Angelow has developed over his career into a valuable faceoff specialist and penalty killer. The two-way forward will be taking the bulk of important faceoffs, at least during the early portion of the season.

Derek Kitti, a senior winger, will be counted on more heavily this season. It took him awhile to break into the lineup last season, but he proved valuable at both ends of the ice and will see his ice time increase if he continues to improve this season.

Two more senior wingers, Justin St. Louis and Alex Lord, will both battle for ice time. St. Louis had flashed brilliance at points during his career but needs to show consistancy this season. Lord, who battled an injury all last season, will be a valuable member of the penalty killing units this season, provided he can stay healthy.

Junior winger Ryan Bunger, a hard-nosed, lunch bucket forward won’t blow away defenders with his breakaway speed, but there isn’t another forward on the Huskies who will get their nose as dirty as he does in front of opposing goaltenders. His seven points a year ago were down from his freshman season, but he’s back with a renewed vigor this season.

“Ryan is a player we look [forward] to bring energy and a physical edge,” said Russell. “If the line he’s on can get pucks to the net, I think he has the ability to score goals like a Tomas Holmstrom.”

Sophomores Eric Kattelus, Jordan Baker and Bennett Royer will all vie for increased ice time this season. Kattelus, a center, had a solid freshman campaign in which the two-way forward proved his awareness at both ends of the ice.

Baker busted out of the gates but struggled to keep up that intensity as the season progressed. He appears to be built from the same mold as Mike Batovanja, but with a stronger offensive upside, so he’ll need to be more consistent this season.

“Jordan has really good speed and will start the year on one of our top two lines,” said Russell. “He’s at his best when he’s competitive.”

Looking a bit like a deer in the headlights, Royer struggled with the speed of the WCHA. However, when paired with Kattelus in the latter stages of the season, he seemed to settle in. His offensive ability should set him up well for a better season this year.

Six freshmen will be working to break into the lineup this season.

Mikael Lickteig, from Little Falls, Minn., scored 74 points in 58 games for the Alexandria Blizzard of the NAHL. He was named team MVP for his efforts.

A two-way forward, Alex MacLeod of Nelson, B.C., compiled 78 points over four seasons split between the Peniton Vees of the BCHL and the Camrose Kodiaks of the AJHL.

Brett Olson, the oldest member of the class, was captain of the Waterloo Blackhawks last season, where he posted 54 points. Olson, a center, has impressed the coaching staff with his poise both in and out of the locker room. He hails from Superior, Wis.

“Brett is an older freshman,” said Russell. “He was a late bloomer, and I think that we’re going to see him settle in a little faster than the rest.”

Son of former NHL goaltender Pokey Reddick, Bryce Reddick played for the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the BCHL where he notched 55 points. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he earned Most Sportsmanlike for the Capitals each of the last two seasons and should be a solid scoring winger for the Huskies.

Seth Soley, a two-way winger from Elk Mound, Wis., will look to have a season like Kattelus. Soley isn’t afraid to get his nose dirty, but he is also conscious in his end, which is something the Huskies’ coaching staff has been preaching the last two seasons with much success.

The Vettre, Norway, born Peter Rohn will have to spend the first 17 games of the season watching his teammates from the press box as he played 17 games over two seasons in the Norweigan Elite League. Last season, he posted 50 points en route to team MVP honors with the Green Mountain Glades of the Eastern Junior Hockey League last season.

Despite the loss of Rohn for the first half of the season, depth is the key word for the Huskies this season. Russell is excited about the possibilities, and certainly if the large freshman class lives up to its billing, there should be plenty to cheer about for Huskies fans this season.

“It’s going to be an interesting year with nine seniors and nine freshmen,” said Russell.

None will be under a larger microscope than netminder Rob Nolan. Nolan has split each of his first three seasons with Michael-Lee Teslak, and while neither ever claimed that competition was a problem, Nolan has been stonger when he’s had to carry the load himself. Compiling a 13-29-5 record over his first three seasons, Nolan will need to at least finish in double-digits in wins if the Huskies are going to compete for home ice.

“Robbie responded really well when he was called upon last season,” said Russell. “I have a lot confidence in Robbie.”

Nolan will have the luxury of playing behind two wiley veterans in assistant captain Geoff Kinrade and captain John Schwarz.

Kinrade equaled career highs in goals (5), assists (14), and points (19) while setting a new high in power play markers (4). He’ll be counted on to continue the rush up the ice as well as be the focal point of the power play this season.

While Schwarz notched his first career goal last season, he struggled early with his new leadership role. This season, he’ll need to be the rock that he developed into as the season progressed, freeing up one of the other puck-carrying defensemen to lead the rush.

“The strides that John has made since his freshman year have been tremendous,” said Russell. “John played, at times, five to six games in a row of error-free hockey.”

Up front, fifth-year senior winger Malcolm Gwilliam is the highest-scoring returning forward. His 14 points last season were disappointing, but he set a new high in assists with nine. He’ll need to boost those numbers this season as the team’s main offensive threat.

Ryan Angelow, a centerman, could be this season’s version of Tyler Skworchinski, as he became counted on to take key faceoffs late in big games last season. He’ll be leaned on heavily to do the same this season.

“Ryan has been very successful in the faceoff circle,” said Russell. “He’s a guy that’s been a penalty killer and logged a lot of ice time for us.”

Centerman Alex Gagne is heading into his third and final season with the Huskies looking to bounce back from a disappointing nine-point campaign.

Rounding out the class are three wingers all vying for increased ice time this season. Derek Kitti, Alex Lord and Justin St. Louis all struggled to find their way into the lineup over the course of their careers, but when they have been in, they’ve made it count.

Kitti needed three seasons to figure out where he fit in the WCHA. Fans of Skworchinski will remember that Tyler needed three seasons to figure himself out, and look where it got him.

Lord and St. Louis battled injuries and inconsistency the last couple of seasons. When St. Louis is on, he can score at will; just ask the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Lord is a tough-as-nails winger who will battle for every inch.

Barring major injuries this season, the Huskies just might be in line for a season like the one they had two years ago. Having lost Chris Conner, Brandon Schwartz, and Taggart Desmet to graduation, that version of the Huskies rattled off 18 victories, so the possibility is out there.