Michigan Tech beat by No. 1 seed Denver in NCAA Tournament

Michigan Tech Huskies


By @MichaelCaples –

It was going to be a tall task no matter what, but the Huskies didn’t help themselves.

Falling behind 4-0 in the first period to the top-seeded team in the tournament makes for a rough – and short – NCAA Tournament experience.

Michigan Tech lost 5-2 to Denver Saturday afternoon at the 2017 NCAA 2017 Division I Men’s Hockey Championship in Cincinnati, bringing the Huskies’ season to a close a week after they earned a trip to the national tournament with a double-overtime victory in the WCHA finals.

The No. 1-ranked Denver took advantage of early power plays to claim a two-goal lead just 12 minutes into the contest, and scored two more to close out the first period. Tyson McLellan, son of former Red Wings assistant coach and current Edmonton Oilers head coach Todd McLellan, scored early in the second to add to the sizeable hole for the Huskies.

Gavin Gould broke the scoreless streak for the Huskies at the 14:04 mark of the second period, and then Jake Lucchini scored with five seconds remaining in the middle frame to give MTU a momentum boost heading into the third.

That would be the only offense the Huskies were able to muster, however, as the game came to a close with a 5-2 final score.

Freshman Angus Redmond made 29 saves in the loss, making key saves in the final 40 minutes to keep the score as close as possible.