Michigan Tech News - Athletics RSS Feed

Donors Underwrite New Video Scoreboard for Michigan Tech

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:21:43 -0500

Work will begin immediately on a new $615,000 video scoreboard for Michigan Technological University's John J. MacInnes Student Ice Arena. Completion is scheduled for this summer. Michigan Tech's Board of Control today approved the purchase of the scoreboard, funded entirely by donors.

The project calls for a four-sided unit to be installed over center ice of the arena. Each side of the scoreboard will be approximately 15 feet high by 14 feet wide, greater dimensions compared to the existing scoreboard. The new board features main video screens on each of the four sides as well as areas for displaying score and . . .

Sam Hoyt Named Tech's Fourth Academic All-American in 2012-13

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:58:15 -0500

Michigan Technological University senior women's basketball player Sam Hoyt was one of five players in NCAA Division II to earn Capital One Academic All-America First Team honors as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. The Arkansaw, Wis., native is now a two-time Academic All-American. She earned second team honors as a junior.

Hoyt currently ranks fifth in the GLIAC in scoring (16.8 points per game) and second in assists with 96. She leads the league and ranks fourth in the nation in free throw percentage (91 percent). She ranks eighth in scoring in school history with . . .

Michigan Tech Ice Rink Goes Green

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 15:12:34 -0500

Question: What can make both ice and heat and reduce Michigan Technological University’s carbon footprint while doing so?

Answer: Michigan Tech’s new ice-making system at the John J. MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The ammonia brine-based system not only makes ice for the hockey rink, it heats the rink’s sub-floor, preventing frost from forming under the insulated concrete slab. Heat generated as the ammonia is compressed to be used as a refrigerant heats 100 percent of the hot water used in the arena and maintains a comfortable water temperature for the nearby swimming pool and dive tank.

Michigan Tech replaced its ice-making system . . .

Soccer Player Earns Academic All-American Honors

Mon, 3 Dec 2012 14:58:09 -0500

Michigan Tech senior defender Melanie Hoffman recently earned 2012 Capital One CoSIDA NCAA Div. II Women's Soccer Academic All-American honors.

An exercise science and biological sciences major with a perfect 4.00 G.P.A., Hoffman led the Huskies to a 14-3-2 record with 11 of the wins by shutout. While setting a school record for wins, the Huskies shared the conference regular season title. The Green Bay, Wis., native was an honorable mention All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) selection.

In 2011-12, she also earned All-GLIAC academic honors. In 2010-11, she was name co-offensive most valuable player and was one of six women to early . . .

All Season Tickets On Sale Now

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 10:40:47 -0400

Season tickets for Michigan Tech hockey, basketball, football and volleyball are now on sale.

Go to BuyHuskiesTickets.com or call (906-487-2073) or stop by the Central Ticket Office in the Student Development Complex to guarantee your seats for the 2012-13 athletic season.

Season tickets for Michigan Tech hockey cost $279 each and include all 17 regular season home dates plus three playoff games. Youth season hockey tickets are $168 each. Michigan Tech students, which can get free single-game tickets through the Experience Tech Fee, can guarantee their seats for the entire season for $175.

Basketball season tickets cost $150 each and are good for . . .

Pearson a Finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:22:21 -0400

Michigan Tech's head hockey coach Mel Pearson is one of seven coaches nationally who have been named finalists for the Spencer Penrose Award, given annually to the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Coach of the Year. The winner will be announced on Friday, April 6, in Tampa, Fla.

The nominees include coaches who won or shared Coach of the Year honors in their conference this past season, along with coaches whose teams have advanced to the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey semifinals.

Pearson, in his first year at the helm at Tech, was the WCHA . . .

Huskies Student-Athletes Recognized for Academic Achievement

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:33:29 -0400

It was a very good year on the field, court and ice for the Huskies, and they gave stellar performances in the classroom, too.

The women’s basketball team finished the season 20-7 overall and 14-5 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. As a team, the women placed six players on the GLIAC academic excellence honors (3.5 GPA or higher) and five all-academic recipients (3.0–3.49). Notable among the women was math major Sam Hoyt, who, in addition to an honorable mention all-American for her playing ability, secured academic all-district honors on the first team.

The men’s basketball team finished in first place in . . .

Mel Pearson Named WCHA Coach of the Year

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 09:32:35 -0400

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association has named Michigan Tech hockey head coach Mel Pearson Coach of the Year. Now in his first season in Houghton, he has led his squad to a major turnaround in 2011-12. The Huskies are 16-18-4 overall and 13-13-4 in the WCHA heading into the postseason.

"I'm extremely proud of Mel and what he's been able to accomplish in such a short time," said Tech athletic director Suzanne Sanregret. "He and his coaching staff have found a way to motivate and inspire the team, and it has made for a positive experience for our student-athletes. This has been . . .

Researcher Studies Hockey and Football Concussions: Is it Time for Major Changes?

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:55:55 -0500

Imagine ice hockey without body checking and football with less hitting. What might sound blasphemous to hockey and football fans and players has more support than you may imagine. And a Michigan Tech researcher is a large part of that conversation.

Syd Johnson, assistant professor of philosophy and adjunct professor of kinesiology and integrative physiology, has studied the impact of concussions and is joining those who urge revolutionary changes in hockey and football. Her timing is right.

“When Sidney Crosby [of the Pittsburgh Penguins] got his concussion and was lost for the season, it attracted a lot of attention,” she says.

Arguably the world’s . . .

Tech Trails Now One of Nation's Top Six Cross-Country Ski Courses

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:23:55 -0400

Thanks to recent improvements, the Tech Trails now qualify for national and international cross country ski races, one of only six such systems in the nation, according to the team that did all the hard work.

“The competition portion has been brought up to Olympic and international standards, a process called homologation,” says Jim Schmierer, forester and instructor in Michigan Technological University’s School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (SFRES).

“Now, we’ve improved it to the point where we are one of only six trails in the nation of this caliber,” he says. The others are located in Utah, Maine, New Hampshire, Alaska . . .

Michigan Tech Track & Field Team Wins Academic Honors

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:46:51 -0400

The Michigan Technological University men’s and women’s track and field teams recently earned All-Academic Team honors from the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The women’s team was one of seven GLIAC schools to earn the award. They posted a 3.44 cumulative grade point average. The men’s team finished with a 3.25 cumulative grade point average, one of three teams in the GLIAC to earn the honor.

To earn the award, a team must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher.

. . .

Mel Pearson Named Michigan Tech Hockey Coach

Fri, 6 May 2011 14:32:51 -0400

Michigan Technological University has appointed former Huskies’ player and assistant coach and long-time University of Michigan associate head coach Mel Pearson to the position of head hockey coach. Pearson, who spent the last 23 years at Michigan helping the Wolverines to a 667-243-71 record, 11 Frozen Fours and two national championships, will be introduced at a press conference on Tuesday, May 10, 2011.

“I’m very excited and grateful for this opportunity,” said Pearson. “Michigan Tech was the school that gave me my first chance, not only as a player but as a coach, and I’m looking forward to . . .

Huskies to Play for National Title after 89-78 Win over Northwest Missouri

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 10:01:09 -0400

Michigan Tech will play for the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship on Friday, March 25, in St. Joseph, Mo.

The No. 3 Huskies defeated a very tough Northwest Missouri State team 89-78 in the national semifinals Wednesday night behind a brilliant performance from sophomore point guard Sam Hoyt, who tallied team highs of 23 points and seven assists. The Huskies (31-2) were outscored 42-18 in the paint, but cashed in on 28-of-31 free throws and 9-of-19 3-pointers in the game for their 18th consecutive victory.

"We made big shots tonight," said head coach Kim Cameron, who became . . .

Three Huskies Named Don Hansen's All-Americans

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 10:15:40 -0500

Michigan Tech football players Phil Milbrath, Matt Desotell and Tim Schmalz have been named 2010 Don Hansen’s All-Americans. Milbrath gained first-team status; Desotell and Schmalz earned spots on the second team.

Milbrath, a senior running back from Norway, Mich., was a national finalist for the Harlon Hill Award as the Division II player of the year. He finished second in the nation in rushing (141.2 yards per game), fifth in all-purpose offense (178.7 yards per game) and ninth in scoring (9.6 points per game). He had eight 100-yard games and two 200-yard games with his career-best performance of 293 yards . . .

Blizzard is Happy to be Home

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 16:51:21 -0500

Blizzard T. Husky is back on campus. Due to bad weather, electrical problems and other space-age gremlins, the space shuttle launch that he traveled to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to see did not occur. But Blizzard calls the trip a great success anyway.

“I had a wonderful time bringing Michigan Tech down to Florida and seeing NASA,” he says. “I don’t regret going. I look at all I did with my time in Florida and chuckle (even if it sounds a little like a growl), knowing that I put smiles on the faces of NASA staff and met Michigan Tech . . .