MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan University hockey program fell in a close battle to No. 19 Bemidji State University, 4-3, Saturday to move to 2-3-0 on the season and 2-2-0 in conference play.

The Wildcats lit the lamp twice early in the first period but a pair of Beaver goals 50 seconds apart late in the opening frame left the two teams knotted at 2-2 after 20 minutes.

The two teams skated evenly throughout the middle period of play, with the Beavers eventually breaking the stalemate at 16:40 of the second. 

The Wildcats were determined to fight on and, less than two minutes later, AJ Vanderbeck tied things back up with his second power play goal of the weekend.

A Beaver shot took an odd bounce partway through the third period to give them the lead and eventual go-ahead tally. 

NMU held the edge on the offensive side in shots, firing 38 pucks on net while allowing only 27. The Wildcats also hit two pipes in the third period en route to the 4-3 final.

GOALS

• Andre Ghantous swiped the puck off a BSU defenseman in the neutral zone and fed a pass back to Mikey Colella in the slot who fired a shot high over the blocker of the Beaver goaltender for the first goal of the night.
• Ghantous then net his first goal of the season after carrying the puck along the boards and into the offensive zone. With two defenders sticks on him, the Glendale, Calif. native beat the glove of the Beaver goalie to make it 2-0 at 15:28 of the first. Ben Newhouse picked up the lone assist on the goal.
• On the power play, the Wildcat unit went to work with a tic-tac-toe set up from Hank Crone and Hampus Eriksson for the AJ Vanderbeck goal. Crone stood outside the near circle and fired a pass across ice to the far face-off dot where Eriksson quickly passed it back to Vanderbeck at the top of the circle for the one-timer to tie things at 3-3.

• The Wildcats outshot the Beavers 38-27 in the contest, including a 12-8 edge in the final frame along with two pipes in the final minutes of play as they looked to find an equalizer. 
• AJ Vanderbeck led the team in shots on net, firing six on the BSU netminder while Mikey Colella had five. 
• Andre Ghantous added to his season point total with a goal and an assist as the junior wrapped up the weekend with a team-high four points (1-3-4).
• With six individuals highlighting the box score Saturday night, five individuals extended their point streaks. The team leader in goals and points, AJ Vanderbeck now holds a four-game streak of five goals and four assists for nine points. Hank Crone also owns a four-game stretch at 3-5-8. Colella (2-1-3), Ghantous (1-3-4) and Hampus Eriksson (0-3-3) all hold two-game streaks heading into next weekend.
• Along with his four-game point streak, Vanderbeck has scored at least one goal in each of his last four outings for a team best five goals on the season.
• While going one-for-three on the power play, the Wildcats successfully killed off both of the Beavers' attempts.

The Wildcats travel to Mankato, Minnesota, to face off against preseason CCHA favorite Minnesota State University - Mankato. 

The last time NMU traveled to face the Mavericks, they skated away with a 5-1 victory and berth in the WCHA Championship game.

Puck drop for Friday night is set for 8:07 p.m. ET.