MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The 19th-ranked Northern Michigan University hockey program returns to the Berry Events Center this weekend to take on the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves, January 10-11. Coming off a weekend road sweep of then-No. 11 Bowling Green State University, the Wildcats are looking to improve their win-streak of three games with two tilts this weekend.
The series with the Seawolves will serve as Faculty and Staff appreciation weekend. All Northern Michigan University faculty and staff members are eligible for one free ticket to either Friday or Saturday's contest and can claim those through any NMU ticketing outlet. Those wishing to purchase tickets online must be signed into their NMU account and can use code "WELCOME" at checkout.
On display Saturday night will be the NCAA Frozen Four trophy. Located on the west concourse, fans are encouraged to pose with the championship trophy and enter for their chance to win various prize packages, including tickets to the NCAA Tournament games to be held at Little Caesar's Arena in Detroit this coming April.
Following the weekend series, the Wildcats will host their final post-game autograph session of the season on the north end of the Berry Events Center in the upper concourse.
WEEKLY NOTES
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AGAINST THE SEAWOLVES |
The Northern Michigan University hockey program kicks off the 2020 home schedule this weekend with a series against the University of Alaska Anchorage, January 10-11. Last season the Wildcats swept the Seawolves, 4-0-0, with 10 current Wildcats highlighting the box score. Dating back to 2017, the Wildcats are undefeated against the Seawolves, owning eight wins over the UAA squad over that stretch.
A standout goal scorer for the Green and Gold in 2019-20, sophomore Vincent de Mey tallied his first career goal in a shutout win at home against the Seawolves while Garrett Klee registered the first goal of his career on January 11, 2019 in Anchorage.
All time, the Wildcats own a 26-12-1 record, including 18-3-1 on home ice.
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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://nmuwildcats.com/sports/mice/2019-20/boxscores/20200110_re2j.xml
Video: http://bit.ly/32loSGT
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LAST TIME OUT |
The Wildcats are coming off a weekend sweep at then-No. 11 Bowling Green and are currently riding a three-game win streak, all over ranked opponents (other was then-No. 1 Minnesota State, 4-1, December 14). After a convincing 5-2 victory in Ohio on Friday night, the Wildcats came from behind late Saturday to post a 4-3 overtime victory to complete the sweep.
NMU jumped out in front early on Friday night when Darien Craighead tallied his fourth of the season just over five minutes in. Defensemen Hank Sorensen and Philip Beaulieu both netted goals in the second period to give the Wildcats the 3-2 lead heading into the final frame. Griffin Loughran closed out the scoring with two goals in the final period, including a cross-ice empty-netter to seal the deal. The team-leader in points, Loughran also tallied an assist on Beaulieu's game-winner for a three-point night.
The Wildcats returned to the ice on Saturday night looking for their third consecutive victory over a ranked opponent. After a scoreless first period, the Falcons got on the scoreboard in the second to lead 1-0 after two. A goal from the nation's top goal scorer, Loughran, his 16th of the season tied the game at one before BGSU responded to take a 3-1 lead. The Wildcats would then score twice in the final 1:04 of regulation, with goals from Joseph Nardi and Grant Loven, to force the overtime period.
Bookending the series, the Wildcats' first goal scorer of the weekend, Craighead, earned the game-winner Saturday with a quick slider through the five-hole of Falcons' netminder Dop in the final minute of overtime.
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FIRST HALF IN REVIEW |
The Wildcats held a 9-7-2 record heading into the holiday break. After a hot start to the season which saw the team hold a 6-1-2 record, including an eight-game undefeated stretch, the Wildcats faltered slightly towards the end of November. Getting back in the win column with a 3-1 victory over Alabama Huntsville, the team went on to post a weekend split with then top-ranked Minnesota State to round out the first half of the season.
Once a question of the offensive power this year's team would bring, all doubts seem to be washed aside as the team's top two scorers hail from the sophomore class in Griffin Loughran (21 pts.; 13-8-21) and Vincent de Mey (16 pts.; 9-7-16). The Wildcats' third-highest goal scorer is Andre Ghantous, a rookie forward out of Glendale, California, who boasts eight goals and ranks tied for sixth on the team in total points (11). Over half of the team's goal total comes off the tape of Loughran, de Mey and Ghantous who have combined for 30 goals this season or 51.7 percent of the team's total. At the holiday break, Loughran's 13 goals ranks atop the nation while he is currently second in the country in goals per game, averaging 0.72.
In total, the Wildcats won eight WCHA weekly awards in the first half of the season, while de Mey was named Forward of the Month by the league for his stellar play through the first month of competition. De Mey has been named WCHA Forward of the Week on three occasions and Loughran has earned the honor once this season. Andre Ghantous (rookie) and Nolan Kent (goaltender) also earned a weekly conference recognition during the first half of the season. To close out 2019, Ben Newhouse (defenseman) and Michael Van Unen (rookie) earned their first conference honors following the team's weekend split with Minnesota State.
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NATIONAL RANKINGS |
After three consecutive wins over ranked opponents, the Wildcats broke back into the national polls with a No. 19 ranking in the first USCHO poll of 2020.
- Griffin Loughran's team-leading 16 goals leads the nation and is second in goals per game (0.80), just one-tenth shy of the nation's best. With 1.25 points per game, Loughran is 13th nationally in the category.
- Loughran's two power play tallies at Bowling Green boost him to five on the season, tied for ninth in the nation with teammate Vincent de Mey.
- Posting two game-winners at Ferris State, Loughran ranks eighth in the nation in game-winning goals with three.
- Philip Beaulieu's 17 points in 20 games (2-16-18) ranks ninth in the nation among all defensemen in points per game (0.83). His 16 assists through 20 games, or .80 average, ranks 15th in the country.
- With a season record of 7-2-0, sophomore netminder Nolan Kent owns a 0.778 win percentage for fifth overall.
- Averaging 3.35 goals per game, the Wildcat offense ranks 11th in the nation in scoring and are 11th overall with the man-advantage, finding the back of the net on 20 of 87 chances for a 23.0 percent success rate.
- Riding a three-game undefeated stretch, the Wildcats own the fifth-longest unbeaten stretch with a 3-0-0 record.
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AWARD WINNERS |
Nolan Kent is the most recent Wildcat to earn WCHA honors, being named Goaltender of the Week following his performance in net as NMU swept then-No. 11 Bowling Green. Making 77 saves over the two game period, Kent stopped a career-high-tying 39 shots on Saturday to lead the team to a 4-3 overtime victory. With a 5-2 victory on Friday night before the overtime thriller Saturday, he now owns a 7-2-0 record and a .778 win percentage which ranks fifth in the nation.
After a weekend split with Minnesota State, junior defenseman Ben Newhouse and freshman Michael Van Unen earned WCHA Player of the Week honors. Newhouse, named Defenseman of the Week, scored his first-ever game-winning goal as the Wildcats defeated the top-ranked Mavericks, 4-1, at home. He also led the league in blocks over the weekend, jumping in front of eight shots to keep Friday's game close before helping clinch the victory on Saturday by stepping in the way of the puck three times. Van Unen opened the scoring in Saturday's contest, breaking the 0-0 tie in the second period when he tallied his first goal in a Wildcat sweater. He went on to post an assist on Newhouse's goal for the first multi-point night of his career. Stepping in at forward, the offensive-minded defenseman jumped in front of four shots to preserve the lead and help the team to a weekend split with the Mavericks.
De Mey was named WCHA Forward of the Month for October. As the month came to a close, de Mey had found the back of the net in five different games while his three goals on the power play ranked second in the nation and his six goals and eight total points ranked tied for first among all Wildcats. Through the first four games of the season, de Mey had matched his rookie total of five goals, which includes recording his first career multi-goal game (two) in a 4-3 victory at then-No. 20/RV Boston University.
Averaging 1.00 goals per game through the first month of competition, de Mey ranked third nationally and sat second in the league in overall point-scoring with 1.50 points per game. He led the WCHA in total goals (six) and recorded the most points on the power play of any WCHA member with three goals and an assist for four total points. His streak helped carry the Northern Michigan Wildcats to their first four-win opening month since 2017-18 (4-2-0) and strongest start by win percentage since the 2014-15 season (4-0-1).
Previous Wildcat honors include Vincent de Mey who 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. Griffin Loughran and Kent also earned WCHA recognition following the Wildcats' first weekend sweep of the season at Ferris State.
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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 |
Next weekend NMU will travel east to Ithaca, New York for their final non-conference series of the year when they play No. 2 Cornell. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. puck drop at Lynah Rink. Both teams will be looking to break the all-time series tie, with a 3-3-0 current record.
