Huskies come up short against Broncos in GLI title game
By Nick Barnowski –
DETROIT – Last year, Michigan Tech got the best of Western Michigan in the Great Lakes Invitational championship game.
This year, it was the other way around, as WMU’s Justin Kovacs scored 2:01 into overtime to give the Broncos (9-8-3) a 1-0 victory and a GLI championship to take back to Kalamazoo. The game took place outdoors at Comerica Park.
Kovacs shot a puck that was loose in front of the crease that found its way past Michigan Tech’s Pheonix Copley to end the game.
“I thought it was a good hockey game, a well-played game,” Michigan Tech head coach Mel Pearson said. “Both teams created excellent scoring opportunities. It’s a fine line between winning and losing, we just didn’t get the bounces we needed tonight.”
The game was extremely close throughout as both goalies had shutouts heading into the overtime period. Western Michigan’s Lukas Hafner, who was named the MVP of the tournament, made 33 saves in the win. Copley made 30 saves in another stellar GLI effort after holding Michigan State to two goals on Friday night and pitching back-to-back shutouts in the 2012 tournament.
“Copley was rock solid for us,” forward Alex Petan said. “He gave us a very good chance to win as he does all season.”
Pearson, who scored the game winning OT goal for the Huskies (6-10-6) in the 1979 GLI final, also had high praise for his sophomore goalie that hails from North Pole, Alaska.
“He made it look easy,” he said. “He played solid and you can’t put it on him. He gave us every chance to win and he made it look easy. I feel bad for him because the last goal… it’s just a bad break, a bad bounce. He’s got a bright future ahead of him.”
Copley’s performance kicked off when he stopped WMU’s Shane Berschbach on a point blank opportunity from the slot less than five minutes into the game. After denying nine Bronco shots in the first, he stopped Josh Pitt on a breakaway just over a minute into the second period. Copley stopped another breakaway towards the end of the second, this time denying Colton Hargrove’s snap shot with his blocker.
While Copley was turning away stops at his end of the ice, the Tech offense couldn’t solve Hafner. The Western goalie made a number of fine saves, including one on a Blake Pietila breakaway in the third period that came in the middle of a flurry of chances for both teams.
“As a coach, we felt that both teams were really equal,” Pearson said. “When you look at the stats, there’s not much to choose between the two teams.”
Michigan Tech’s power play woes continued as they went 0-3 on the night to fall to 11-110 (10%) the season. The inability for the offense to capitalize on the power play hindered the Huskies offense, especially during the critical man advantage MTU had with 2:38 remaining in the third.
“Tonight, both teams had great chances,” Pearson said. “We’ve got to get our power play going. That’s where you create some opportunities and goals.”
Despite the disappointing loss, the Huskies remain upbeat about the second half of the season.
“I’m really proud of our players, I’m proud of how they battled tonight,” Pearson said. “They did a lot of great things. Moving forward, I’m excited about this team as we move on to the second half.”
Copley agreed.
“We’ve made steps this year and we’ve continued to do that and I think that’s a step in the right direction for the program.”