by Tim Rappleye/CHN Reporter
Michigan Tech did it the hard way.
The Huskies gained the first automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA tournament by defeating the hottest team in hockey — Bemidji State — 2-1 on the road. It is the third straight NCAA Tournament bid for Joe Shawhan’s Huskies, but this was the toughest of the three.
Bemidi State entered the Mason Cup championship game brimming with confidence from an 11-game unbeaten streak. The Beavers had come back from deficits all season long, including tying a quarterfinal game in the final 39 seconds two weeks ago against Ferris.
But despite outshooting the Huskies 17-6 in the final period, the Beavers couldn’t tie the championship game against Michigan Tech goalie Blake Pietila. At the final buzzer, the stick from the winning goalie sailed out his right hand.
“Unbelievable, I can’t describe it,” Pietila said. “I played here five years, this is the first win in the playoff championship. Tonight I’ll be rewinding the video and watching everybody’s reaction.”
In the handshake line, Pietila found himself face-to-face with the goalie that replaced him as CCHA goalie of the year. He and Mattias Sholl paused for a quick chat. “He said congrats, and that I was tough to play against,” said Pietila. “I said I appreciated that.”
Pietila’s 2023-24 season mirrored his team’s — a struggle out of the gate, and then a hot second half. The Huskies started the year with one of the least experienced defense corps in the league, and the entire team failed to live up to its status as CCHA preseason favorites. Since the turnaround, coach Joe Shawhan frequently credits the maturing of his defensemen as the key to salvaging the season. On this night, the entire Tech roster lived to defend.
“Our guys blocked shots,” Shawhan said. “Our D had to grind it out. You win from the goal on out, the defensive team out. The growth of our defensive corps has been phenomenal.”
Bemidji State had spent the past 11 games making life miserable for defensemen with their forecheck, but the Tech D found a way to neutralize coach Tom Serratore’s notorious “Ground Game.”
“They broke the puck out so well,” Serratore said. “Short little passes. We were one step behind on the…
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