After sweeping Northern Michigan (1-7-0) our Michigan Tech Huskies (4-2-0) set their sights on Big Rapids and the Ferris State Bulldogs (2-6-2). The Bulldogs were swept on the road at Bowling Green (5-3-0) while Head Coach Bob Daniels is currently one win away from a historic 500 career wins as a Division I head coach.
Analysis
The Bulldogs are still in a state of flux as this early season continues. There has been some turn over and Coach Daniels has used everything in his power to try and put the best possible team on the ice. Looking at their top players we see:
The biggest note is how little Ferris has managed so far in the scoring department. They dipped into the transfer portal, picking up Itagaki from Army, Cole Burtch from Western Michigan, and Gavin Best from Michigan State. All three players make the preview’s stat cut to be included, but given how low the team’s scoring is, it really isn’t say much going into this weekend.
FSU is currently averaging 1.8 goals a game (tied for 51st overall) while allowing 3.6 goals a game (tied for 54th overall; lower is better). Additionally they have been getting destroyed on special teams with a 6.3 PP% (56th overall) and 67.4 PK% (60th overall). Adding insult to injury Ferris is currently 18th in the country with 10.9 penalty minutes a game. They are not playing clean hockey and are not able to keep the puck out of the net when they are punished on the PK.
Sadly for readers, this is where our coverage of FSU will stop. Augie is currently on vacation and did not bring a computer with him to do any instat analysis (a choice I would have made too, if in his shoes). The moral of the story for Ferris is this though: They are similar to NMU and Tech should be the better team on paper and in practice.
Speaking of Tech, our Huskies managed to put on a stressful but enjoyable outcome for fans. The biggest story line out of the weekend is Derek Mullahy’s outstanding weekend giving up only 3 goals in two games with the first being a shutout. Additionally, the rise of Lauri Raiman, Trevor Kukkonen, and Tom Leppä’s line showed what they are capable of accomplishing.
Beginning with Mullahy’s performance. He showed just what he is capable of when a competent, sound defensive team plays in front of him. Yes, game two saw massive system breakdowns which left him out to dry, but his resilience and the coaching’s staff’s decision to keep him speaks volumes of how much they trust him and how composed he is.
Moving along to Tech’s top line all weekend we saw the rise of Leppä’s contributions. He was rewarded with significant ice time and was the driving factor for his linemates’ success on the weekend. That is not to take credit away from Raiman and Kukkonen who both were able to deliver on their offensive opportunities which seemingly have been brewing since the Clarkson series. The stand out has really been the growth of Trevor Kukkonen who now is able to play without the comparison to his brother. He is seemingly doing everything right in Coach Shawhan’s system and has finally started reaping the rewards of increased ice time. I would look to this line again this weekend as Ferris is going to be physical.
Keys to the Game
- Rev your engines. This is going to be yet another perfect chance for Tech’s more offensively oriented players to get a chance to spur things to life. Isaac Gordon is a perfect example, still looking for his first goal but still managing a very respectable 4 assists in 6 games played so far.
- Special Teams. The PP and the PK for that matter, are going to be friendly to our Huskies this weekend. Though they need to fix the break downs they saw against Northern, this should be a good chance to perfect their systems.
- The hot seat. The real question is going to be: who’s in net? I think the coach staff is getting a better grasp on it, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Max and Derek split the weekend. Both have proved their metal and I think there is a good chance Tech’s tandem could be a winning combination.
My Prediction
I think the Huskies are going to sweep, spoiling Coach Daniel’s chance at win 500. The only question is whether or not fans have a heart attack like that in game two after the first period last weekend. I think Tech has learned their lesson from that, and should deliver a full 120 minutes of quality hockey. MTU wins 3-0. MTU wins 4-1.
The guys on our Chasing MacNaughton Podcast also made predictions for this coming series against the Bulldogs.
Cover photo courtesy Michigan Tech Athletics.
InStat plots created by Zach Aufdemberge.
How to Watch
Both games are available through Mix 93.5 for audio featuring Dirk Hembroff (free), via Midco Sports Plus* (paywall) for video. Game 1 will be Friday at 7:07 ET. Game 2 will be Saturday at 7:07 ET.
*Midco Sports Plus is also the source of all games played in CCHA buildings this season so don’t be afraid to sign up for a month or the year. Midco Sports Plus now has apps for iOS, Android, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku.
Jonathan graduated from Michigan Tech in the spring of 2018 with a degree in Physics and Social Science in addition to a minor in Social and Behavioral Studies. He spent his college career watching hockey with the Misfits where he became the treasurer in his last year. When not traveling to away games he resides in Hancock working for a local engineering company and keeping up with all things Tech Hockey.
