By Andy Bourdeau / MTU Beat WriterMichigan Tech played its last games of the year in Denver, getting swept by the No. 1 team in the nation, 2-1 and 4-2. It was the last two games of a long season for the Huskies, who now can look forward to next year and bettering the last two seasons.
Both games were close, even with MTU without a few key members. Jordan Baker, Bennett Royer and Mike VanWagner were three of the normals that were unable to go, and scoring leader Brett Olson was playing hurt.
It was Denver that jumped out to a lead both nights. Friday it was Karl Neilson notching the only marker for the visiting Huskies in the second, and it was all they could muster, even with a few good chances in the third.
Saturday, it was Ryan Bunger and Peter Rohn who scored for the Huskies, but Denver was too much and they showed why they are No. 1, able to weather everything thrown their way.
Josh Robinson started both nights and ended the weekend with 72 (38 and 34) saves on the weekend.
Denver head coach George Gwozdecky had nothing but praise for MTU in stating, “I think that Jamie Russell and his staff have done a wonderful job. I so much admire that team considering all the challenges they’ve had. They come in here having had a very difficult year, without some of their top players in the lineup. That team last night and that team tonight, they competed so hard, they competed fair, I have the utmost respect for what that team did this weekend and has done over the last third of the season.”
Denver advances to the WCHA Final Five and MTU goes home, done for the year - a year that saw only five wins, all coming on Friday nights, a year that saw a team plagued with injury, losing its scoring potential at the most inoppurtune times, and a year that most fans would like to remember little about.
Thank you seniors! It has been a good run.
MTU says goodbye to: Malcolm Gwilliam, John Kivisto, Ryan Bunger, Mike VanWagner, Eli Vlaisavljevich and Drew Dobson.
Here's to next year!
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