This week on RinkRap, a “Scorpion” sighting in Houghton, a Bemidji transfer comes back to the WCHA to put a scare into Bowling Green, and Tim Theocharidis returns to the site of his maiden voyage, duplicating past glory.

USA Hockey personnel chief Ben Smith has a phrase he wheels out after witnessing insane goaltending performances, individual efforts such as the ones that amazed WCHA fans this past weekend.

“They shouldn’t call it hockey,” says Smith. “They should call it ‘Goalie.’” 

It is a line borrowed from his lifelong hockey pal Jack Parker, who got it from a Somerville (Mass.) schoolboy basketball teammate who couldn’t believe how one player could so dominate a sport. 

Take Michigan Tech’s home opener Sunday night against No. 6-ranked Minnesota State. Superficial scoreboard watchers may have suspected this was an off night for the Mavericks when they read the 3-1 score in favor of Tech, but those opinions could not be further from the truth. Trailing 2-0 midway through the second period, Hastings unleashed his horses, four lines of unbridled offensive fury focused entirely on Huskies’ goaltender Blake Pietila. The 165-pound sophomore calmly turned away all but one Maverick shot, a 43-save masterpiece, one of which woke up the echoes of an NHL Hall-of Famer. 

.@mtuhky Blake Pietila with the SCORPION save vs Mankato. Conjures up memories of Brodeur @WCHA_MHockey pic.twitter.com/fPnIu9T3pS

— Tim Rappleye (@teeraps) December 7, 2020

Pietila’s desperate yet brilliant stoning of the Mavs Brendan Furry is a technique made famous by former NJ Devil Marty Brodeur in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals. It will forever be known as the “Scorpion.”

Oh right... the Scorpion! 💥👀👇 https://t.co/X5HXbo1yBP

— FloHockey (@FloHockey) December 7, 2020

Pietila is no HOF candidate, but it is difficult to imagine a better performance than what he turned in Sunday night. The desperate Mavericks put on a 30-minute/30-shot second-half push that frequently left Tech’s intrepid broadcaster Dirk Hembroff breathless, just like his Huskies 50 feet below. 

Hasting’s supremely fit Mavericks won the lion’s share of loose pucks, often maintaining possession for minutes at a time in their attacking zone. For fans of offense, this was a purple smorgasbord: a pair of fierce Reggie Lutz cross-ice one-timers within seconds of each other; hulking winger Walker Duehr swooping down the off wing before using his 6-foot-2 reach for wraparound attempts; Nathan Smith with a bomb from the right side; Jared Spooner with three good looks. Minnesota State did not relent, changing individual players on the fly during lengthy offensive zone cycles, exhausting the Husky defenders. The cardiovascular punishment generated chance after sparkling chance, all but one snuffed by Pietila, who demonstrating both reflexes and composure. His seventh career NCAA start was a masterpiece, a performance in which his Maverick counterpart — first-team All-American Dryden McKay — was the second-best goalie on the ice.

WCHA Homecoming for the Former Beaver

Meanwhile, on the banks of Lake Erie, one hour before Pietila faced his first puck in Houghton, former Bemidji state netminder Henry Johnson was completing a two-game performance for the ages. Although he was wearing the identical green and white colors of the Beaver program he had served the previous three seasons, he was now playing for Mercyhurst of the Atlantic Hockey Conference. It was pure coincidence that his first action for the Lakers came against former WCHA rival Bowling Green in a home-and-home series.

Ironically, in Johnson’s 19 prior appearances for the Beavers, he had never once faced Bowling Green. BGSU coach Ty Eigner should appreciate that fact after seeing the Minnesota native kick out 86 shots in 24 hours this past weekend. 

“We can’t remember a series where a kid made close to 90 saves,” said Eigner, whose Falcons outplayed, outshot, and out-chanced Mercyhurst badly in a 2-1 loss Saturday at BGSU’s Slater Family Ice Arena. Because of the nature of hockey — or as Ben Smith occasionally says, “Goalie” — Eigner did not feel ripped off. 

“They don’t have to apologize for going 2-4 on the power play and have their goalie be outstanding,” said Eigner. “They didn’t do anything wrong, you know?”

The next morning Eigner’s Falcons got on a bus and came out shooting, attempting an astounding 90 shots toward Johnson. He made even more saves, a whopping 48 on the night. But this time BGSU got on the board first, a 50-foot screened drive by Tim Theocharidis, and the odds finally tilted toward the Falcons; BGSU prevailed 3-1. 

“He was better today [Sunday] than he was yesterday,” said a noticeably relieved Eigner after salvaging the split. He admitted that trying to coach a team whose enemy goalie has seeped into their collective heads is tricky business.

“It’s a challenge for sure. For us, it’s stay with it. You want to score first, and you want to score early,” which is exactly what the Falcons did Sunday. “Then it becomes ‘relax and play.’”

Eigner has been around hockey for multiple lifetimes, not only his decade at Bowling Green, but a prior stint doing the hustle within Minnesota high school hockey. He’s earned wisdom from dealing with the frustrating scenario when “Hockey” becomes “Goalie.”

“We believe we’re going to be in other games like this this year,” said Eigner. “We’re going to have more Grade-As and more opportunities and more PPs, and there’s going to be a goalie that’s going to be really good. The challenge for the players and for the staff is to stay with the process, and not deviate from the plan.”

For those who prefer “Hockey” to “Goalie,” there was a reassuring post script Monday night. Despite another sparkling performance by Pietila, No. 6 Minnesota State finally took a lead up in Houghton when transfer senior Todd Burgess slammed home a Jake Jaremko feed from atop the crease. The second-period goal proved to be the game-winner, as the Maverick’s 200-foot domination resulted in a 2-0 victory this time around. Dryden McKay did not need to stand on his head to collect his 16th career shutout. 

Long Ago, But Not Forgotten

October 6, 2018, was a hockey lifetime ago for BGSU junior defenseman Tim Theocharidis. He was stepping onto NCAA ice for the first time in the brown and orange, a gangly defensive defenseman fresh from Canadian Juniors. Although a strong shooter, he was never considered an offensive threat in college, scratching out seven goals in over two seasons. But on that maiden voyage against out-of-conference foe Mercyhurst, the freshman banged in the game-winning goal in a lopsided victory. It made for a giddy three-and-a-half hour bus ride home with his new mates.

Theocharidis did not step foot inside Mercyhurst Ice Center (M.I.C.) again until last Sunday, a gap of two years and two months. Facing a goalie that was heretofore impenetrable, the man known as Theo fired in a pair of goals, a long-range rocket in the first frame, and a silky threading of the needle from the top of the crease in the second. Goal number two proved to be the game-winner, and the man known as Theo had another sweet bus ride home along the underside of Lake Erie. 

One can only stand in wonder at the Theocharidis scoring line at Mercyhurst: in his pair of games he has scored the game-winner in both. Of his 10 career NCAA goals, three have come in two contests at the M.I.C.

Tim Rappleye is the author of two books: Jack Parker's Wiseguys and Hobey Baker, Upon Further Review. You can find him on Twitter.