HOUGHTON, Mich. — The Bemidji State Beavers came into Saturday’s matchup with the Michigan Tech Huskies with the nation’s second-best penalty kill at 89.22 percent. The Huskies found opportunistic ways to beat that penalty kill in the second period, scoring twice on the man advantage en route to a 5-1 victory at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
The Huskies, who pulled back within two points of the Beavers for fourth in the WCHA standings, got a boost from having captain Brent Baltus back in the lineup for the first time since Jan. 5. Baltus found the back of the net on the first Huskies’ power play at 7:17 of the second period.
“It felt good,” said Baltus. “It was really exciting. Winter Carnival is a lot of fun to be a part of. It was nice to be back out there with the guys and compete with them.”
Michigan Tech lost winger Jake Jackson early in the game, so Baltus’ return was much appreciated by the Huskies’ coaching staff.
“I give Brent a tremendous amount of credit,” said Huskies coach Joe Shawhan. “Had we not had him … We did not expect to play him as much as we played him.”
While the Huskies did score twice on the power play, they struggled on zone entries, so they had to take advantage of their opportunities when they did.
“They are really aggressive on the kill,” said Baltus. “We just wanted to get pucks through. (Michael) Bitzer is an all-league goaltender. We just wanted to get in front of him and get some dirty goals.”
Baltus’ goal was the direct effect of a strong effort by him to get around the net to a rebound off a shot from assistant captain Joel L’Esperance, which made the game 2-1 in favor of the hosts.
Just over a minute later, the Huskies found themselves on the power play again after a late hit by Beavers forward Aaron Miller on defenseman Mitch Meek. During that advantage, assistant captain Jake Lucchini carried the puck into the left corner before feeding it back out to the right point, where defenseman Mark Auk was able to one-time a slap shot past Bitzer.
Bitzer was then victimized for the third time in the period and fourth on the night 2:02 later when winger Gavin Gould knocked a loose puck past him, ending his night.
Beavers coach Tom Serratore reiterated the fact that the Huskies played the second period like a desperate team that wanted the game more than his Beavers did.
“Give credit where credit is due,” said Serratore. “They made some plays. They had a couple of lanes open, and they made some plays and they converted.
“They played with a lot of desperation tonight. It was a must-win for them.”
The Huskies added a fifth goal in the third when winger Greyson Reitmeier took a lead pass from Birks and then skated in alone, making a deke to his backhand to beat Jack Burgart at 16:08.
Michigan Tech took a 1-0 lead for the second straight night when winger Raymond Brice took advantage of a Beavers’ turnover and spun before firing a wrist shot that was tipped in by center Mason Blacklock at 5:25 of the opening frame.
The Beavers responded on their first power play of the night when co-captain Jordan Heller tipped a shot from Miller past Huskies goaltender Devin Kero at 12:31.
