HOUGHTON, Mich. --  The Northern Michigan University men's hockey team competed in a physical battle against Western Collegiate Hockey Association rival Michigan Technological University, ultimately dropping the game by a 2-0 decision.

The Huskies found twine first with an early power play goal at 3:00 of the first period but the Wildcats skated the remainder of the period fairly even with their opponent. After allowing seven shots on net to their one, the Wildcat defensive effort stepped up big time to kill off nearly seven consecutive minutes of a minor/major combination, allowing just five shots on goal through the final 8:35 of the first period. NMU nearly tied things up in the final second of the opening frame when a shot bounced off the pads of the MTU netminder but were unable to capitalize before the horn and skated to the locker room down 1-0 after one period of play. 

The two teams saw no change to the score during the middle period of play, although both sides had a handful of quality chances on net through the second set of 20 minutes. The Wildcats got called for a hook part way through the period but were able to kill it off as Andre Ghantous and Noah Ganske stormed up ice for a two-on-goaltender chance. Ganske's shot was just wide and the Wildcats remained scoreless. 

Nolan Kent made a handful of huge saves during one shift as the Huskies fired six shots on net without leaving their offensive zone. Standing tall in net, the junior netminder turned all 11 shots aside in the middle frame to keep it a one-goal game heading into the final period of regulation.

Shortly after their strong defensive stand, the Wildcats sent four pucks on net in the final two minutes of the second period but were unable to break the Husky goaltender to remain down 1-0 through 40 minutes of play.

The Wildcats took the edge in shots on goal, leading 28-25 with six minutes to play but the Huskies were the ones to capitalize next, scoring their second goal of the game on their 26th shot for the 2-0 lead.

The two teams continued to battle to the very end as the Wildcats pulled Kent in favor of the extra attacker. Despite maintaining possession in the Husky zone for the final two and a half minutes, and firing five total shots during the six-on-four advantage, the Wildcats were unable to break through the Husky goaltending for the 2-0 final.

KEY STATS

• The Wildcats concluded the night narrowly trailing the shots on goal margin, 32-31, with Nolan Kent coming up with 30 saves on the night for NMU. 

• The Van Unen brothers combined for nine shots on net with Mike posting five shots on MTU's Sinclair, a team-best, while Rylan sent four of his own on the net.

• The two teams had an even split in the faceoff circle, each winning 34 of 68 chances. The Wildcats were led at the dot by Joseph Nardi who won 17 of his 29 challenges followed by Alex Frye who secured nine of 16 opportunities.

• Aside from allowing a power play goal to open the scoring at MTU, the Wildcats went 3/4 on the kill Saturday night, including killing off nearly seven consecutive minutes as a Wildcat looked on from the box.

UP NEXT

The Wildcats return home to host the Huskies for game two of the home-and-home non-conference series Monday night, January 25. Puck drop is scheduled for 5:07 p.m.