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Tuesday, November 27, 2012
SPORTS
Michigan Tech Lode
After a sweep on the road, Huskies return home ready for dogfight JORDAN ERICKSON Sports Editor
The Bulldogs The Bulldogs are almost two months into to play, and are finding themselves in an unfamiliarly low rank of the WCHA with only one win to their name. Friday night the third-to-last Bulldogs gained a much-needed 2-1 victory over visiting St. Cloud State. The win snapped a sevengame losing streak, but the celebration wouldn’t last long as the Bulldogs went on to a 5-1 loss the next night. The Bulldogs are off to their weakest start since 2000, when the team had only one win in the first 10 games of the season. The Bulldog’s offense sits at third-to-last in the WCHA for goals per game, averaging only 2.12, but the team is first in the conference for penalty minutes per game, adding to their troubles. High penalty minutes combined with a lackluster penalty kill unit only adding to their scoring troubles.
The Huskies The Huskies took four tough-fought points out of Bemidji two weekends ago, clinching overtime wins both nights. With 5-4, 2-1 wins, the Huskies’ close games put them back on the winning track after getting swept their past two weekends of competition. Underclassmen currently lead the Huskies in point
The Huskies return to action this weekend as they host the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs.
production. The top-five spots for point leaders are currently freshman and sophomores, with freshman forward Alex Petan leading the Huskies overall with 10 points. Senior Kevin Genoe earned his first wins of the season as he anchored the Huskies in net during the sweep. Genoe has been sharing time between the pipes with freshman Phenoix Copley, who did not make the trip after struggling since his first and only win of the season back on Oct. 19.
Who’s Hot: Even though his team has been unable to generate scoring overall, senior forward Mike Siedel has 14 points on the season (eight goals, six assists) putting him at the leading spot for the Bulldogs in points. The 5’10, 175 lb winger had the long goal in the Bulldogs’ Saturday night loss and has only one game so far this season where he left the ice without his name on the point sheet.
Husky forward Jujhar Khaira had a breakout weekend at Bemidji, with four points, including two power play goals in the final eight minutes of Friday night’s game, allowing the Huskies to take the game to overtime. The Surrey, B.C. native also had the primary assist on the game-winning goal Saturday night.
Puck Drop: The Huskies got the confidence boost they needed after their sweep
Photo by Ben Wittbrodt
of Bemidji, but after taking the holiday weekend off, it might be hard to keep the momentum going. On their side is the homeice advantage combined with hosting a struggling team. The Huskies can’t take anything for granted at this point, needing every point they can get. The Bulldogs are disadvantaged in almost every way, the best they’ve done while traveling this year is squeaking out two ties.