No. 20 Michigan Tech edges No. 16 Augustana to secure Winter Carnival sweep

HOUGHTON, Mich. — It was a CCHA series that had a heavy playoff feel, and the 20th-ranked Michigan Tech Huskies emerged with a sweep.

Defenseman Jack Anderson continued his hot streak in the second half of the season with the game-winning goal at the 10:33 mark of the final period, and MTU held on for a 4-3 victory over No. 16 Augustana on Saturday night at John MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

Brett Meerman notched a pair of goals for the Vikings (18-9-3), while goalie Josh Kotai notched 31 saves in a losing effort.

With the loss, Augustana drops to third place in the CCHA standings with 42 points. The Vikings are now 12-6-3 in conference play and 5-8 away from Midco Arena.

Meerman scored twice in the opening period, during which the Vikings were out-shot 12-5.

At 7:55 in the period, Easton Young collected the puck on a scramble in front of the net before sending it into the neutral zone for Meerman, who converted the breakaway chance by sliding it through the five-hole of MTU goaltender Owen Bartoszkiewicz.

The Huskies (20-10-2) answered at the 11:21 mark when Michael Cicek scored on a rebound in front of the net, tying the game at 1-1.

However, with 7:31 remaining in the frame, Meerman one-timed a power-play goal past Bartoszkiewicz to give the visitors a 2-1 advantage. Colton Friesen and Hayden Hennen each picked up an assist on the tally.

After Matthew Van Blaricom scored at 9:33 in the second to pull the Huskies even at 2-2, Carter Theissen answered for the Vikings 56 seconds later, redirecting Cole Burtch’s shot from the blue line to give Augustana 3-2 lead. It was the first career goal for Theissen, with Leo Bulgakov getting credit for a secondary helper on the goal.

But MTU wasn’t finished.

The Huskies played in the offensive zone for most of the second period, during which they out-shot the Vikings 18-8, and with 4:22 left in the period, Luca Fasciano fired the puck into the top corner of the net with traffic in front of Kotai, tying the game at 3-3.

Contributed / Michigan Tech Athletics

The Vikings out-shot the Huskies 7-5 in the final period but were unable to convert on several grade-A opportunities that were denied by Bartoszkiewicz.

Then, at a little past the midway mark in the period, Anderson retrieved the puck after a face-off win and wired it into the net to seal the final score.

Bartoszkiewicz recorded 17 saves to pick up his 20th win of the season between the pipes for the Huskies, who claimed five of six points in the weekend series to grab control of second place in the CCHA standings with 45 points.

MTU finished with a 35-20 advantage in shots on goal. The Huskies won 32 of 54 face-off draws (59.3%) in the contest.

In front of a sellout crowd, Anderson was named Winter Carnival MVP. He finished the series with three points, including a pair of goals, and has now generated six points in his last three games.

Augustana combined for 18 blocked shots in Saturday’s game. Hennen led the way with four blocks.

The Vikings will look to bounce back next week when they take on Bowling Green in a two-game series at Midco Arena. Augustana is 13-1-3 on home ice this season.

Trent Singer is a sports reporter for Sioux Falls Live. He focuses his coverage on Augustana men’s hockey and Sioux Falls area sports. Singer’s previous stops include Just Women’s Sports, the Southeast Missourian and the Kentucky New Era.