page_title: 2011–12 Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey season
section_title: Recruiting
hierarchical_section_title: 2011–12 Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey season / Recruiting
caption_attribution_description: Jimmy Davis of East Kentwood fends off a FHNE defender. East Kentwood vs Forest Hills Northern/Eastern - 2010/2011 LC Walker Arena, Muskegon, Michigan Images by&#160;: t1gtv.com
context_page_description: The 2011–12 Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey team represents Michigan Technological University in the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The team is coached by Mel Pearson, a 1981 Michigan Tech alumnus in his first season as a head coach after spending the past 23 seasons as an assistant/associate coach for the Michigan Wolverines. The Huskies play their home games at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena on the campus of Michigan Tech in Houghton, Michigan, and compete in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
  Michigan Tech enters the 2011–12 season after winning 4 of their 38 games the previous season. The team's 4–30–4 record led to the resignation of head coach Jamie Russell shortly after the season's completion. Mel Pearson was hired as Russell's replacement in May.
context_section_description: Most of Michigan Tech's incoming freshmen for the 2011–12 season had been recruited and verbally committed during Jamie Russell's tenure. The first was forward Tanner Kero, whose hometown of Hancock, Michigan, is across Portage Lake from Michigan Tech. Kero committed in late 2009 while a member of the Marquette Rangers of the North American Hockey League (NAHL). He spent the 2010–11 season with the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League (USHL) and was named to the USHL Western Conference All-Star Team while scoring 37 points in 55 games. Defenseman Nick Cecere committed to play at Nebraska–Omaha while a member of Northwood School's "Junior Team", but switched to Michigan Tech after a coaching change at Nebraska–Omaha. Explaining why he chose Michigan Tech, Cecere said, "Since I've been in prep school, I'm used to a smaller, close-knit community, and that's what I like. ... I fell in love with [Michigan Tech], and my parents did as well". Indiana Ice (USHL) forward David Johnstone, brother of Michigan Tech sophomore forward Jacob Johnstone, committed two months later. Justin Fillion, who was in his third season with the Prince George Spruce Kings of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), also committed in December. He credited his coach, former Michigan Tech player Ed Dempsey, with helping him earn the scholarship that Tech offered. Blake Pietila, a forward with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, originally committed to Northern Michigan, but switched when his older brother Chad decided to transfer from Northern Michigan to Michigan Tech. Blake was drafted by the New Jersey Devils with the 129th pick of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, becoming Michigan Tech's first drafted player since Jordan Foote was selected in 2004.
  Two recruits decommitted after Russell's resignation. Sam Labrecque, a defenseman with the Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL), had committed to Michigan Tech in October 2010, but switched to Clarkson. Andrew Kolb, a forward with the Michigan Warriors (NAHL), instead joined Division III Wisconsin–Stevens Point.
  The new coaching staff spent much of the summer recruiting for 2011–12 and beyond. Pearson spotted defenseman Jimmy Davis at a June tryout camp for the Muskegon Lumberjacks, a USHL team for which Davis was trying to earn a roster spot after two all-state seasons with East Kentwood High School, and Davis accepted his scholarship offer. Michigan Tech's recruiting of defenseman Riley Sweeney, who played for the Surrey Eagles (BCHL), began during the Jamie Russell era, and he ultimately committed after speaking with Bill Muckalt at a hockey camp in July. The final addition of Sweeney meant eight players joined the team for the 2011–12 season. Six of those players were available at the start of the season; until the end of the fall semester, however, Chad Pietila was not eligible to play in any games and Fillion was not eligible to join the team.
caption: Jimmy Davis (shown wearing black jersey) became Mel Pearson's first recruit a few months after Pearson became head coach.
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