MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan University Wildcats hit the road this weekend for their season tilt against WCHA rival Ferris State October 25-26 at the R.L. Ewigleben Sports Complex. Friday's contest will be the first league action for both teams in the hunt for the MacNaughton Cup.
Last season, the Wildcats finished conference play with an 18-8-2 record for second in the regular season, while the Bulldogs ended ninth with a 7-18-3 record.
WEEKLY NOTES
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AGAINST THE BULLDOGS |
The Wildcats open their 2019-20 WCHA slate this weekend against downstate foe Ferris State in Big Rapids, Michigan. Northern Michigan leads the all-time series 60-30-6 and went 2-0 against the Bulldogs last season at home.
In last season’s sweep, four current Wildcats found the back of the net including Griffin Loughran, Grant Loven, Joseph Nardi and Luke Voltin. In Friday’s 4-1 victory over the Bulldogs, Loven recorded his first game winning goal.
Four individuals boasted multi-point nights in the series with Philip Beaulieu adding three helpers on Friday before Loughran posted a goal and two assists on Friday for three points of his own. Adam Roeder (0-2-2) and Nardi (1-1-2) each had two point nights in the weekend series.
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FOLLOW ALONG |
Social Media: https://twitter.com/NMU_Wildcats and https://twitter.com/NMUHockey
Radio: http://www.rrnsports.
com/
Live Stats: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/1920/wcha_m_scoreboard
Video: http://bit.ly/32loSGT
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LAST TIME OUT |
The Wildcats concluded their first road trip of the season with an undefeated record away from the Berry Events Center, skating to a 4-4 tie against then-No. 20/RV Boston University before defeating the Terriers, 4-3, the following night. On the weekend, five different Wildcats found the back of the net, while Vincent de Mey and Darien Criaghead rang the puck home in both games. De Mey led the team with three goals while Craighead tied him for the team lead in points with three (2-1-3).
Senior defenseman Philip Beaulieu tallied his 100th career point (20-80-100) in Saturday night’s victory at BU with an assist on Griffin Loughran’s goals in the third period.
Mason Palmer and Michael Van Unen both recorded their first career points over the weekend while fellow rookie defenseman Hank Sorensen tallied his first career assist and the first multi-point night of his career.
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NATIONAL RANKINGS |
- Sophomore forward Vincent de Mey leads the nation in power play goals, netting three with the extra man while owning the fifth best goals per game total (1.25) and sits sixth in game-winners (1).
- Rookie netminder John Hawthorne, undefeated with a 1-0-1 record in career starts, ranks fourth in shutouts this season (1) and is 10th in win percentage (.750).
- Griffin Loughran also tallied a game winner for the Wildcats in their opening weekend and is tied with de Mey for sixth in the category nationally.
- Philip Beaulieu ranks 12th among all collegiate defensemen in points per game with four assists for an average of 1.00 points/game.
- The team has the 13th best scoring offense, averaging 3.25 goals per game and their .625 win percentage is 15th in the nation. Heading into Ferris State they hold the third longest undefeated streak of three games (2-0-1).
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WEEKLY AWARDS |
Vincent de Mey was named WCHA Forward of the Week following his three-point weekend against Michigan State. He earned the honor for the second consecutive week after his three-goal weekend at Boston University. Through the first two weekends of competition, de Mey leads the team in goals (5) and points (6).
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NEW AT HOME IN 2019-20 |
New this season, a hospitality room will be available for fans to purchase tickets to ahead of time. Located in the Wildcat Room of the Berry Events Center, admission will include a pre-game dinner buffet, bar, snacks and coat check.
Single game tickets are now on sale for the NMU Hockey Hospitality Room and can only be purchased in advance of the game not on the night of the game.
- Single game tickets are $30 per ticket/person
- Season tickets are $360 per ticket/person
- Half season tickets are $200 per ticket/person (either Friday or Saturday)
Your ticket to the hospitality room includes:
- Pre-game dinner buffet (e.g., burger bar, gourmet pizza, pulled pork station, etc.) served from 5:45 - 7:07 p.m. on Fridays and 4:45 - 6:07 p.m. on Saturdays
- 2 drink tickets per game (i.e., soda, water, beer, wine, and call liquor) to be used during pre-game or intermissions
- Coat check
- Intermission snacks (e.g., pretzels, popcorn, etc.)
Tickets can be purchased through NMU ticketing (online at tickets.nmu.edu or through the various ticket outlets). The NMU Ticket Office at the Berry Events Center is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. or by calling 906-227-1032. Tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be available the night of the game.
-Tickets are limited and will be sold on a first come, first served basis.
-Entrance to the room will be limited to ticket-bearers, alcohol sales will be limited to those over 21 with valid ID.
-Tickets are issued on a game-by-game basis (similarly to hockey tickets). The ticket bearer will then be exchange their ticket at the entrance to the Wildcat Room for drink tickets and room access for the night. This will also then allow you to have the flexibility to have different users use the tickets on different nights if you use the season ticket option (similarly to season hockey tickets).
-Tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be available the night of the game.
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ON THE RETURNERS |
Seventeen members of the 2018-19 squad will lace their skates up again for the Wildcats this season. Nolan Kent looks strong in net as the last line of defense, taking over for all-time Wildcat program leader Atte Tolvanen who was named WCHA Goaltender of the Year in 2018-19. On the blueline, the Wildcats return three members of last season's team, including reigning WCHA Defenseman of the Year in senior captain Philip Beaulieu. He is joined by fellow senior Rylan Yaremko and junior Adam Roeder. Eleven Wildcats are back at the front, in two seniors, three juniors and six sophomores. The offense talent amassed 114 of the Wildcats' total 282 points last season.
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FRESH FACES |
The Wildcats add nine newcomers to the team in 2019-20 as well as junior defenseman, Ben Newhouse, who sat out the 2018-19 season due to transfer requirements. The team also added three goaltenders in the offseason, two of which look to split time between the pipes with sophomore netminder, Nolan Kent.
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MAKING UP POINTS |
In the off-season, Northern Michigan lost 46% of their point-scoring to graduation but the 2019-20 squad seems poised to fill those shoes. Two rising seniors made up part of the team's top-five scorers last year in Philip Beaulieu (6-29-35) and Darien Craighead (10-10-20). The veteran duo now looks to lead the young team to even more time in the offensive zone
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PRESEASON RANKINGS |
The Wildcats were pegged to finish fourth in the WCHA this season as voted on by the league's coaches in the 2019-20 Mankato Free Press WCHA Preseason Coaches' Poll. The media picked Northern Michigan to finish third through the regular season, behind only unanimous favorite Minnesota State and Bowling Green.
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2019-20 CAPTAINS |
Having served as an alternate captain in 2018-19, senior defenseman Philip Beaulieu (Duluth, Minn.) was named captain of the 2019-20 squad prior to the season.
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YEAR THREE UNDER COACH POTULNY |
The third head coach in NMU Hockey history enters his third season behind the bench in 2019-20. In two seasons with the team, Potulny has led the Wildcats to two 20+ win seasons and boasts a career head coaching record of 46-31-5. Last season the team went 21-16-2, which included a berth in the WCHA semifinals where they faced Bowling Green. In his first season at the helm of the Wildcats, Potulny's team recorded a 25-15-3 season, it's first 25-win season since 2001-02 and advanced to the WCHA Championship game.
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50 YEARS OF WOMEN IN SPORT |
Throughout the 2019-20 season, the Wildcats will celebrate the history of Women's Sports at Northern Michigan. Fans are encouraged to contribute with their favorite and most memorable moments and athletes of NMU women's sports. Please go to THIS LINK to contribute your favorite or most memorable moment and athletes. More information on this year's celebration can be found HERE.
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UP NEXT |
The Wildcats return home to host a three-weekend homestand following the series down in Big Rapids. Their 2019-20 home conference schedule kicks off November 1-2 when they host Alabama Huntsville. St. Cloud State comes to town the following weekend (November 8-9) before Alaska heads to Marquette for a weekend series, November 15-16 to conclude the homestand.
