COLORADO COLLEGE, Colo. - David Johnstone, Dennis Rix and Alex MacLeod all scored goals to give Michigan Tech a 3-1 WCHA First Round Playoff victory at No. 18 Colorado College tonight. The Huskies (15-18-4) scored twice in the third period to break a 1-all deadlock with the Tigers (18-15-2) and take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.

The teams went scoreless through 37 minutes of play. CC held a 8-7 lead in shots after the first, but Tech controlled play in the second. David Johnstone's individual effort gave the Huskies a 1-0 lead late in that frame. Johnstone took the puck from his own end, skated around a defenseman and stuffed the puck short side past Josh Thorimbert at the 17:22 mark.

Tech was whistled for back-to-back penalties late in the second period. The Tigers didn't take long to knot the game at 1-all as the third period began. Rylan Schwartz put a wrist shot upstairs on Josh Robinson just 39 seconds into the final frame.

The Huskies grabbed the momentum right back as Bryce Reddick won a battle behind the CC net and fed a pass to Dennis Rix, who was all alone in the slot. Rix tallied the game winner with 16:19 to play. Chad Pietila also drew an assist on the play.

Alex MacLeod added to the Tech lead midway through the third on a shot from the slot. David Johnstone and Jacob Johnstone both assisted on the tally-MacLeod's seventh of the season.

The visiting Huskies carried play down the stretch, playing inside CC's zone for a majority of the third period.

The Tigers pulled Thorimbert for the extra attacker with two minutes left, and David Johnstone just missed an empty netter off the post.

A brawl with 43 seconds remaining resulted in a CC power play. The Tigers were held off the board as Robinson made multiple saves in the waning moments to close out the win.

Robinson faced just 17 shots and saved 16 of them. Tech outshot the hosts 29-17 including a 22-10 margin in the final two periods.

"Robinson was key," said recently named WCHA Coach of the Year Mel Pearson. "He made some big saves in the first six or seven minutes that allowed us to settle down. We were able to play in their zone a lot tonight, and I think we were able to wear down their defensemen.

"This is step one. The next step will be tougher as we face a CC team facing elimination."

Thorimbert totaled 26 saves for CC.

Michigan Tech will try to earn their first trip to the WCHA Final Five since 2007 with one more win against CC. The teams will square off tomorrow at 9:07 p.m. MT.

Notes: David Johnstone's goal was his 10th of the season ... Tech improved to 11-3-2 when it scores the first goal of the game ... The Huskies have won three of their last four WCHA Playoff games at Colorado College ... Tech claimed its first Friday win since Jan. 13 vs. Alaska Anchorage.