MARQUETTE, Mich. - Coming off the back of a weekend split that saw two athletes earn weekly league honors and one athlete receive a monthly honor, the Wildcats are set to hit the road for the third time in four weeks, traveling to Mendota Heights, Minnesota, to square off against the St. Thomas Tommies.
Both defenseman
Josh Zinger (1g-1a--2pts) and goaltender
Beni Halasz (1-1, 1.44, .955) earned CCHA weekly honors after their performances against Ferris State, and will look to continue their success in enemy territory this weekend.
Tanner Latsch received the CCHA Rookie of the Month award after leading the CCHA in scoring with seven goals in five games played. Latsch was also the runner-up for National Rookie of the Month, falling short to Macklin Celebrini of Boston University.
The Wildcats come into the weekend sitting second in the CCHA standings with four points in conference play (1-1-0), along with a 1-4-1 overall record. The Tommies were winless in their conference opener, getting swept by the Bemidji State Beavers, and are 2-5-1 overall.
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 27 - at 7:07 p.m.
Live Stats | Watch on Flo | Live Audio | Game Notes
Saturday, October 28 - at 6:07 p.m.
Live Stats | Watch on Flo | Live Audio | Game Notes
Hear From Grant Potulny
"Another tough road trip against a team I think is a home-ice team in the playoffs… It's a team that plays really hard… and we have to win the special teams battle."
A Look at the St. Thomas Tommies
The Tommies come into the weekend after getting swept by the Bemidji State Beavers on the road, with scores of 3-2 and 2-0. Though dropping these two contests, the Tommies have proven to be a stingy team to play against, as they opened the season with a 5-4 overtime win against the then-ranked no. 8 St. Cloud State, and followed it up the following weekend by taking the then-ranked no. 2 University of Minnesota to overtime as well, both games coming on the road.
Lucas Wahlin (3-4--7), Cooper Gay (3-2--5), and Luke Manning (3-2--5) lead the Tommies in goals, and Liam Malmquist (1-6--7) is tied with Wahlin for the team lead in points. Both Aaron Trotter (5gp, 1-3-1, 3.55, .878) and Jake Sibell (3gp, 1-2-0, 1.36, .941) have shared time in goal this season so far. Both netminders saw action last weekend, and Sibell just received CCHA Goalie of the Month honors, so it'll be interesting to see who gets the start come game one.
Albeit early, there are a couple of glaring statistics that go against the Tommies; they are 1-5-0 when the opposition scores first, 3/34 (8.8%) on the power play, and 21/30 on the penalty kill (70%).
Grant Potulny talked about coming out with pace and winning the special teams battle this weekend, and the 'Cats are primed to do so after a weekend that saw the PK go 6/7 and a power play that is humming along at a 30.3% success rate, sixth best in the nation.
Though only having played each other four times in history, the Wildcats are 3-1 in those games, and are out-scoring the Tommies 17-8.
National Ranks
- Tanner Latsch is T2 across the nation in goals (7) and first in PPGs (6) through five games played, and is firing at a ridiculous 50.0% shooting percentage, first among skaters with 10+ shots
- Andre Ghantous has nine points (3-6--9) through six games, T16 nationally
- Among defensemen, Josh Zinger is T2 in assists and T3 in points with eight (1-7--8)
- Aiden Gallacher is T10 in the nation with blocks (17)
- Artem Shlaine leads the Wildcats with 75 faceoff wins, T15 overall, and is humming at a 62.0% success rate, good for third among skaters who have taken over 100 faceoffs
- Goalie Beni Halasz has made 179 saves, good for 12th nationally and fourth among goalies who have only played six games
- The Wildcats are T2 in blocks (92) among teams who have only played six games
- The Wildcats have been effective in the faceoff circle, owning a 55.0% faceoff percentage, good for eighth nationally and third among teams who have played six or more games
- The 'Cats have scored 10 PPGs and own a PP% of 30.3%. The 10 goals rank third, and the PP% ranks sixth
Cat Nips
- Both Michael Colella (3-0--3) and Andre Ghantous (1-2--3) lead the Wildcats in active points against the Tommies. Rylan Van Unen (2-0--2) and Aiden Gallacher (0-2--2) have also found success against the Tommies
- Both Ghantous (1-1--2) and Aiden Gallacher (0-2--2) come into the weekend riding two-game point streaks
- Beni Halasz has seen the Tommies twice in his career, both last season, and holds a 1.51 GAA and .952 SV% from 59 saves on 62 shots. He also has one shutout against the Tommies
- Of goalies who played in two games over the weekend, nationally, Halasz was fourth in SV%, GAA, and saves
- Veteran Defenseman Tyrell Boucher came back from injury and made an impact right away, recording seven blocks, fifth in the nation over the weekend
- The 'Cats only allowed two goals over the weekend, good for T8 nationally
- 17 of the Wildcats' 18 goals have come in the second or third period
- Three of the top four points scores in the CCHA are Wildcats; Ghantous (2-6--9), Latsch (7-1--8), and Zinger (1-7--8)
2023-24 CCHA Honors
Pre-Season:
Week Two (10/13-10/14):
Week Three (10/20-10/21):
Week Four (10/27-10/28):
