Michigan Tech to play in inaugural Desert Hockey Classic

By @MichaelCaples –

Michigan Tech announced today that they will have a chance to soak in some sun during the middle of the college hockey season grind.

The Huskies will be taking part in the Desert Hockey Classic on Jan. 8-9, a two-day event hosted by the new Arizona State Division I hockey program.

“Michigan Tech has a long tradition of helping young programs with the goal in mind of growing the sport of college hockey,” said Tech coach Mel Pearson in a release. “I’m happy that we can continue this mission by participating in Arizona State’s first-ever Division I hockey games.”

To accommodate for the tournament, the Huskies’ two-game home set with Ferris State has been moved up to Oct. 30-31 at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

Michigan Tech will be joined by Yale and Connecticut at the new event in Arizona.

“It will be a quality tournament with a diverse group of teams including the 2013 NCAA Champion Yale, a Hockey East team in UConn and a PAC-12 school in Arizona State,” Pearson said.

“I’m looking forward to traveling out to Arizona. This tournament gives our alumni base in the Southwest a chance to see us play. It will be a unique experience for our players, and they’re excited to play in this event.”

MTU opens the 2015-16 season with two games in Houghton vs. Laurentian Oct. 9-10, and their regular season opens Oct. 16-17 at Ferris State.