60 Days. 60 Teams. 600 Words (or Less): Michigan Tech

Michigan Tech

2018-19 Record: 14-20-4 (13-12-3, 6th in WCHA)
Head Coach: Joe Shawhan, 3rd Year
Top returning scorers: Seamus Donohue (1G-21A) and Brian Halonen (12G-9A)
Top returning goaltender: Matt Jurusik (R-Sr.)

Greetings from the Great Lake State (Upper Peninsula Edition)! Today's preview comes on a day on the calendar where the weather would be nowhere near the  Winter Carnival. (Speaking of, how did Michigan Tech's Winter Carnival not end up as a Sufjan Stevens song? There was one for Romulus.) Michigan Tech had a pair of overtime games without a win in the most recent Winter Carnival, which might be a good place to start with this year's Huskies team.

Michigan Tech, following an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2018, went 1-2-4 in OT and 1-6-1 in non-conference play to snap a four-season streak of 20+ wins. The Huskies won only twice after Winter Carnival with both games being against the worst team in the Pairwise. Things were not as beautiful as scenic Houghton during the fall, however, Michigan Tech does return several key players and a sophomore class with a year of experience under its belt for 2019-20.

What's New: Remember how Michigan Tech had several Pietilas? They're back...in twins form!

Logan and Blake Pietila (no, not that one - he plays goalie) are among a seven-person Huskies freshman class. These Pietilas, who are tangentially related to the three other ones (Chad, Aaron and first Blake), come from downstate Michigan and committed to Michigan Tech on the same day. They will be reuniting with one another after playing separate Iowa-based USHL teams (Logan on defense in Dubuque, Blake in Cedar Rapids).

And if that's not enough, the Huskies also have two freshmen who will be on their seventh season of teammates in forwards Logan Ganie and Parker Saretsky.

Basically, 2019-20 is not as far out as the season where the Huskies had three Pietilas, a Hietala and two Johnstones, but getting in the conversation. If another Blake Hietala is on the horizon, it'll happen in Houghton. (Sadly, the family ties get broken in one place as the third Watson brother is going to Mercyhurst rather than Tech.)

What else is new? Michigan Tech hosts travel to old WCHA foe North Dakota for the US Hall of Fame Game, to Arizona in early January after the GLI to get out of the cold, and is one of seven teams to leave the WCHA.

Closing Thoughts: The Pairwise seems to have a wicked sense of humor for being a math formula that coldly decides the NCAA Tournament at-large bids. Three straight days of similar teams, all of whom made the 2018 NCAA Tournament and missed 2019. All three went on hot second-half runs, winning conference tournaments and getting in despite not being in the top 16 of the Pairwise.

Of the three, Michigan Tech has the least to replace this season. The Huskies already went through it with 20 underclassmen and are already building up. Van Wilder Award nominee Matt Jurusik provides stability in goal. 2018-19's freshman class had four forwards who scored six or more goals. Getting more from them (i.e. Alec Broetzman, who had 25 goals in his last year of juniors, had six as a freshman) would go a long way to separating the Huskies from the other two.

11 more words? Screw Flanders Tech's sweaters are also worth writing a song about.

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