HOUGHTON, Mich. -- Sophomore Justin St. Louis (Calgary, Alberta) broke a 1-1 tie with :03 remaining in regulation to give the Michigan Tech hockey team a hard-fought 2-1 victory in front of a rousing crowd of 4,014 at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena Friday night. The Huskies out-shot the Wildcats by a 41-20 count, including a 28-14 mark in the final two periods.

"This a great start to the season, especially against our arch rival," said fourth-year head coach Jamie Russell. "I thought we carried the tempo for most of the game, and to be rewarded with a late goal was outstanding. Our players worked so hard, and we as a coaching staff were very proud of the effort and determination we saw tonight. Now we have to get ready for another battle in Marquette tomorrow night."

Michigan Tech held a 13-6 shot advantage in the first period, but neither team was able to put a mark on the scoreboard.

The visitors put together the first goal of the game at the 7:08 mark of the second frame. Pat Bateman converted a pass from Mike Santorelli in the slot and gave Northern Michigan its only lead of the evening.

Senior Tyler Skworchinski (Marathon, Ontario) evened the score at 1-1 at 4:35 of the third stanza. The play started at the left point, where junior Jimmy Kerr (Leduc, Alberta) sent a pass across to the other side of the point to junior Mark Malekoff (Grande Prairie, Alberta). Malekoff rifled a shot towards the front of the net and Skworchinski used near-perfect body positioning to tip the puck through the legs of NMU goaltender Bill Zaniboni. The points were the first of the year for each Husky involved in the goal.

From there, MTU carried play and put the game away with a goal for the ages in the waning seconds of the game.

Much like the Huskies' first goal, positioning in front proved vital in the game-winning marker. A patient Geoff Kinrade (Nelson, British Columbia) cycled the puck from the corner boards across to fellow blueliner John Schwarz (Calgary, Alberta) near the left point. Schwarz then skated the puck to the left circle and quickly released a shot on goal that forced Zaniboni down to play the puck. The puck squirted off Zaniboni's left blocker onto St. Louis' stick, where the winger slipped the puck into the back of the net.

The goal was St. Louis' first career game-winning tally and his fourth career lamplighter.

Kinrade and Schwarz each picked up their first helpers of the season.

Sophomore Michael-Lee Teslak (Fernie, British Columbia) finished with 19 saves to record his first victory of the year, while Zaniboni made 39 saves in a losing effort for the Wildcats.

Tech went 0-for-9 on the power play, compared to NMU's 0-for-6 clip.

The Huskies (1-0-0, 0-0-0 WCHA) will look to earn a season sweep of the Wildcats (0-2-1, 0-0-0 CCHA) in tomorrow night's rematch at the Berry Events Center in Marquette, Mich. Opening faceoff is slated for 7:35 p.m.

Notes: Tonight's win was Tech's first over Northern Michigan since Oct. 18, 2003, when the Huskies defeated the Wildcats 7-6 ... MTU is now 44-57-10 all-time against NMU and 31-17-4 at home in the series ... Michigan Tech's 41 shots marked its highest total since it registered 53 shots in a 2-2 stalemate against Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 21, 2006, at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena ... Head coach Jamie Russell is now 2-2-0 in season-opening games.