Box Score HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — John Siemer netted his team-leading sixth goal for the Northern Michigan hockey team in a 1-1 tie with Alabama-Huntsville Saturday night at the Von Braun Canter.
With the tie, the Wildcats took three of four points from the Chargers and moved to 5-5-6 (4-4-4 WCHA) on the season.
Siemer broke the stalemate on a 2-on-1 rush at 4:08 in the second period. Sprung ahead by Connor Frantti, who picked up his first collegiate point with an assist last night, Siemer looked off Darren Nowick on the opposite wing and then beat Guerriero with a low shot glove side.
Tolvanen kept Alabama-Huntsville from notching the equalizer with eight minutes to play in the middle stanza, denying one Charger at the side of the net and then sliding across the crease to turn away a second on the doorstep. Siemer nearly posted his second goal off of a clean draw win by Nowick with 26 seconds left on the clock, but Guerriero swatted his shot to the boards.
Northern Michigan generated plenty of scoring chances in the third, outshooting Alabama-Huntsville by a 15-3 margin, but the Chargers netted the period's lone goal when Chad Brears found Frank Misuraca unchecked in front of the net for the score at 2:00, just as a 4-on-4 expired.
Siemer generated one of the Wildcats' best opportunities at around the 10:35 mark, rifling a shot on net that Guerriero failed to come up with at first; with two Wildcats on the doorstep, he managed to pounce on the puck before one could send it past him.
Just over a minute later, a Northern Michigan steal sent Zach Diamantoni on a 2-on-1 rush with Filip Starzynski. Diamantoni fed Starzynski, but Guerriero managed to get across the crease fast enough to get his pad on Starzynski's shot and send it skittering out of harms way.
In the final seconds of bonus time, Siemer was sprung on a partial breakaway. With two Chargers closing in on him, he fired a shot that sailed just wide of the net as the buzzer sounded.
The Wildcats return to the ice Dec. 11 and 12 when they host Ferris State.
NOTES: Northern Michigan leads the all-time series, 9-2-3 ... The Wildcats lead the nation with six ties; Northern Michigan has only posted six ties in a single campaign five other times in program history: 2000-01 (7), 2004-05 (7), 2009-10 (8), 2011-12 (6) and 2014-15 (6) ... The Wildcats outshot the Chargers, 37-29; Northern Michigan last outshot its opponent Nov. 6 at Alaska-Fairbanks (23-22) ... The Wildcats last posted at least 30 shots Oct. 23 against Michigan Tech (46); their 37 shots tonight was their second-most of the season ... Starzynski (6), Anthony Paskaruk (3) and Ryan Black (2) established new career highs in shots; Ryan Trenz (4) matched his career high, set at Lake Superior State Oct. 24, 2014.
