MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan men's ice hockey team is ready to drop the puck on its 2023-24 season, opening the calendar with a weekend clash against the no. 17 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minnesota.

While this is the Wildcats' first game of the season, the Bulldogs had a clash against Wildcat rival Michigan Tech over the past weekend, ultimately ending in a 2-2 tie. The Bulldogs claimed the US Hockey Hall of Fame trophy with a shootout win, opening its season with a 0-0-1 record.

The Wildcats are receiving votes in the USCHO and USA Today preseason polls, and finding results this weekend will surely boost them into the top 20, something the team has not accomplished since it was ranked no. 20 in the January 24, 2022 poll. 

The game on Friday will be televised on FoxUP with Dave Ellis joining the broadcast crew, followed with the Saturday game being streamed on NCHC.tv

Follow Along  
Make sure to follow @NMUHockey on X, formerly known as Twitter, to get updates throughout the week leading up to the games and for live updates while the 'Cats are on the ice. 

Friday, October 13 - at No. 17 Minnesota Duluth at 8:07 PM ET
Live Stats  |  Watch on FoxUP | Watch on NCHC.tv | Live Audio  |  Game Notes

Saturday, October 14 - at No. 17 Minnesota Duluth at 8:07 PM ET
Live Stats  |  Watch on NCHC.tv |  Live Audio  |  Game Notes

Hear From Grant Potulny
"I think we've had a good training camp, and we're probably as deep of a group as we've ever been."



Last Season 
The Wildcats found its stride at the right time, surging to win nine of the last 10 games to make a run to the Mason Cup Finals for the second time in the past three seasons, finishing the year with a 21-17-0 overall record and a 14-12-0 conference record, finishing in fourth place in the CCHA standings. 

The 'Cats truly caught fire to end the regular season, winning its final four regular season games, securing home ice for the first round of the CCHA playoffs, and out-scoring opponents 25-9 in that span. The 'Cats carried its momentum into the playoffs, sweeping the Bemidji State Beavers by scores of 7-3 and 2-1 en route to advancing to a semifinal match against Michigan Tech.

The 'Cats then went into Michigan Tech and accomplished a feat that the team has not done since 2007, which was shutting out the Huskies in enemy territory. Freshman goalie Beni Halasz made 44 saves, out-dueling Richter Award finalist Blake Pietila, to secure the Wildcats a trip to the finals.

The 'Cats entered the championship game for the second time in the past three seasons, this time riding a seven-game win streak. Since the turn of the 2023 calendar, the 'Cats had the best penalty kill in the nation, posting a 94.4% success rate from successfully killing 54 of 57 infractions along with scoring four short-handed goals leading up to the finals. 

Four Wildcats earned post-season honors for the 2022-23 campaign, three of which are returning this season. Graduate senior forward Andre Ghantous earned second-team CCHA after posting nine goals and 17 assists for 26 points in 26 CCHA contests. Defenseman Josh Zinger and goaltender Beni Halasz landed on the CCHA All-Rookie team after both contributed greatly in their freshman campaigns.

The 'Cats also succeeded in the classroom, with 15 individuals landing on the CCHA All-Academic team.

Key Returners
A 2022-23 All-CCHA Second Team member and the 2023-24 Preseason All-CCHA Team, graduate student forward Andre Ghantous returns for his fifth year as a Wildcat forward and is expected to be a big contributor for the Wildcats. Ghantous played in all 38 games for the 'Cats, leading the team in points, and assists, and was second in goals and power-play goals. A huge piece in the Wildcats' success on the seven-game win streak to end the year, as he ranked T1 in PPG, T3 in points, and T6 in goals nationally in that span. Throughout the season, Ghantous earned CCHA Forward of the Month for his efforts in February, along with being named CCHA Forward of the Week once.

No active player in the country has enjoyed a more productive career offensively than Andre, who leads all returning NCAA Division I men's players with 124 career points, 29 points ahead of Riese Gaber of North Dakota and Zach Okabe of St. Cloud State (95 points). Ghantous also leads all active players in assists (80) and ranks third in goals (44). 

A 2022-23 All-CCHA Rookie Team member and the 2023-24 Preseason All-CCHA Team, sophomore defenseman Josh Zinger played in all 38 contests for the Wildcats as a freshman. Zinger led all Wildcat defensemen in points, and assists, and finished with 20 blocked shots. A mobile skater on the back end, Zinger is able to contribute in his own end and on the fore check. Zinger will now look to take another step forward in aiding the Wildcats to success. 

A 2022-23 All-CCHA Rookie Team member, sophomore goaltender Beni Halasz returns after a dazzling freshman campaign. After taking over the reins, Halasz led all CCHA rookie goalies in GAA, SV%, and shutouts, going 13-10-0. Halasz earned CCHA Rookie of the Month honors in back-to-back months from October to November, along with earning CCHA Goaltender of the Week twice and CCHA Rookie of the Week once. Halasz now has his sights set on duplicating his freshman season success and helping the Wildcats make another deep playoff run.  

A look at Minnesota Duluth
The Bulldogs opened its season by hosting the US Hockey Hall of Fame game, a tilt that saw them square off against the No. 10 Michigan Tech Huskies. The Bulldogs played the Huskies to a 2-2 tie before winning the game in a shootout.

The Bulldogs opened the season ranked no. 17 according to the USCHO poll, along with being tabbed to finish fifth in the NCHC preseason poll. Two players from the Bulldogs were picked for the Preseason All-Conference team - sophomore Ben Steeves and junior Dominic James. The two forwards shared for the most individual points last season, and Steeves led the Bulldogs in goals.

The Wildcats have the upper hand in recent memory, when the 'Cats swept the then No. 1 Bulldogs in Marquette during the 2021-22 season, with scores of 5-4 and 5-2. You would have to look back to the 2015-16 season to find when Wildcats played the Bulldogs before that, showing a weekend split with scores of 4-3 and 1-3.