Article by Felicity Harding. Photo by Felicity Harding.
The men’s hockey team wrapped up their regular season on Saturday night against the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. Neither team made any changes in net as sophomore goaltender Isak Posch started for the Huskies and freshman goaltender Adam Gajan started for the Bulldogs.
The Huskies had a rough start to Saturday’s game, coming out a little slow and sloppy. After a neutral zone turnover, sophomore defenseman Aaron Pionk was able to pass the puck up the ice to sophomore forward Anthony Menghini who was behind the Huskies defense. Menghini was able to beat Posch on his blocker side to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead 58 seconds into the game.
“Yeah, for whatever reason, we just came out flat tonight. It’s an important game. We want to go into the playoffs feeling good about our game, and for whatever reason, we didn’t have the juice to the jam,” said Huskies captain and senior Josh Luedtke.
The Bulldogs then got a two on one breakaway with senior forward Dominic James and Anthony Menghini. James was able to pass the puck cross ice to Menghini who went five hole on Isak Posch 10:30 into the period.
The Huskies were able to get on the board off of a faceoff win by sophomore forward Tyson Gross. Gross was able to win the puck back to freshman forward Gavyn Thoreson who got a shot off and in the back of the net from the top of the right face-off circle 11:19 into the period.
“We joke around about [the play]. [Thoreson] likes that play a lot. He’s good at picking that puck out and bringing it to the middle,” said sophomore forward Tyson Gross of the Thoreson goal.
The Bulldogs had a 2-1 lead at the end of the first after outshooting the Huskies 10-7 in the period.
The two teams saw a slower second period as neither team was able to find the back of the net in the 20 minutes after both teams got their fair share of chances. The Bulldogs outshot the Huskies 10-8 in the second period.
The Bulldogs were able to get a two-goal lead back in the third period after junior forward Aiden Dubinsky was able to get a shot off from the blue line. Dubinsky’s shot tipped off of junior forward Jack Smith and trickled past a screened Isak Posch. Smith’s goal came 7:41 into the period and was assisted by Dubinsky and senior forward Carter Loney.
With 5:47 left in the game and the Huskies desperate for a goal, Isak Posch was pulled for an extra skater. Just like Friday night, the extra skater paid off. Only 12 seconds after pulling the goalie, the Huskies were able to find the back of the net. Junior forward Adam Ingram was able to get a hard pass off to sophomore forward Verner Miettinen who was able to deflect it towards the net. The puck was able to tip off of a Bulldog and into the back of the net. Miettinen’s goal came 14:28 into the third and was assisted by Ingram and junior defenseman Cooper Wylie.
The Huskies tried to complete the comeback, but fell short losing 3-2 after being outshot 29-24. The Huskies and Bulldogs were both 0/1 on the powerplay and 1/1 on the penalty kill. Freshman goaltender Adam Gajan had 22 saves on 24 shots for a save percentage of .917 while sophomore goaltender Isak Posch had 26 save on 29 shots for a save percentage of .897.
“Everything was just off. Everything. The simplest of passes, the simplest of plays, simplest of execution, we weren’t there tonight. And we talked to our team about it, we need to flush this immediately,” said head coach of the Huskies Brett Larson.
“It’s definitely tough. [Saturday’s game was] a meaningless game when you look at it pairwise and standing wise, but it was a great crowd tonight, and it was a senior night, and it meant a lot to us. It’s tough to not get the outcome that we wanted on a special night for sure,” said sophomore forward Tyson Gross after Saturday’s game.
While the Huskies did not have the ending they wanted at home, the senior’s were still grateful and able to reflect on their time as a Husky.
“Everyone says it goes fast, but until you’re in that spot, you don’t ever think you’re going to be in that spot, to be honest, and it’s crazy how fast it goes. But as far as tonight, just so thankful for this group, such a great group of guys. The culture in that room is so special. It’s what’s made my time over these past four years so special, and I can never thank everyone enough in that room, like the coaching staff, the players, the lifelong friendships that I’ll have for the rest of my life,” said Luedtke.
While the regular season is over, the Huskies will now travel to Kalamazoo, Michigan to take on the NCHC Regular Season Champions, the Western Michigan Broncos at an arena that is hard to play in.
“We’ve dealt with a ton of adversity this year and huge testament to the guys because no one’s gave up, no one’s quit, no one started to point the finger in the room. Guys have just stuck together and continue to battle every day and work, so we know that that’s what we’re going to continue to have to do, our back’s against the wall and we’re just going to have to find a way to deal with adversity. We’re going to face moments where we’re not going to have the lead for games, and we always believe that we can come back. We just have a ton of belief in the room, and we know we’re going to need it going forward,” said Luedtke of the upcoming playoff series against Western Michigan.
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