MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan University men's hockey team completed its weekend sweep of the Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks with a gutsy 3-1 win. NMU blocked 41 shots on the evening, second most in an NCAA D1 hockey game since 2021, and T6 all-time since blocks became a recorded stat.

Charlie Glockner was arguably the best Wildcat tonight, making 30 saves and carrying a shutout for 79 minutes before the Nanooks scored with the goalie pulled. Kevin Marx Noren opened the scoring on the powerplay, followed by a Connor Eddy breakaway and another Aiden Gallacher empty net goal.

The Nanooks edged the 'Cats in shots on target 32-31, and in the faceoff dot by a 29-19 margin. The 'Cats penalty kill was remarkable and was once again perfect, killing all four attempts. The 'Cats were 1/3 on the PP, and blocked a total of 41 shots.

The 'Cats now improve to 5-6-1 with their four-game win streak, and the Nanooks fall to 6-5-1.

Hear from Grant Potulny, Aiden Gallacher, and Kevin Marx Noren


Cat Nips

• The 'Cats blocked 41 shots, the second-most shots blocked in an NCAA game since 2021 (Minn. Duluth, 45), and T6 all-time since blocks became a recorded stat
• Kevin Marx Noren scored on the power play, giving him two goals and seven points in eight games. Marx Noren is currently on a four-game point streak (1-4--5)
• Connor Eddy scored on a breakaway, giving him two goals on the year and three points in his past four (2-1--3)
• Aiden Gallacher matched his season-high in goals from last season, as he scored his second empty-net goal in as many games. Gallacher is now riding a three-game point streak (2-1--3)
• Both Colby Enns and Tyrell Boucher led the game in blocks with seven, followed by Gallacher with six
• With an assist tonight, Andre Ghantous extends his point streak to four games (1-4--5)
• The 'Cats now improve to 5-1-0 at home, 4-0-0 when leading after two periods, and riding a four-game win streak

How It Happened
1st Period
Despite being scoreless, it was an eventful first period. Charlie Glockner made a huge glove save to keep the game tied, Tanner Latsch hit an Alaska player into the 'Cats bench, and the 'Cats blocked a combined total of 17 shots.

The 'Cats were outshot 14-10, outpaced with 37 shot attempts to 14. The 'Cats were once again perfect on the PK, killing the only opportunity. Aiden Gallacher was relentless on the back end, blocking four shots in the first frame.

2nd Period
The 'Cats came out of the gates hot in the middle frame, scoring in the opening minute on a power play that carried over from the first. Andre Ghantous made a slick pass to Josh Zinger who slid the puck across the blueline to Kevin Marx Noren. Marx Noren let go a seeing-eye shot from the blue line that beat Charleson past the stick side. 

Glockner proved why the goalie has to be the best penalty killer, as he was exceptional on all three short-handed situations, making a handful of sprawling saves to keep the Nanooks off the scoreboard.

The 'Cats were outshot 13-12 in the middle frame and outpaced 41-16 in shot attempts. The 'Cats PK remained exceptional, killing all three opportunities in the period, and the 'Cats went into the final frame with 34 team blocks to the Nanooks' five. 

3rd Period
Connor Eddy made an excellent play at his own blue line, stripping the puck off a defender's stick to streak down the ice on a breakaway. He made a nice pump fake to freeze the goaltender before making a move to the forehand and tucking it past Charleson, giving the 'Cats a 2-0 lead with just over four minutes to go.

Aiden Gallacher intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and fired a shot toward the empty net, scoring his second empty-net goal in as many games for the 'Cats, extending the lead to 3-0.

The Nanooks scored with 51 seconds left with the net empty to break Glockners' shutout, making it a 3-1 game. 

The 'Cats outshot the Nanooks 9-5 in the final frame, killing their only infraction, and blocking seven more shots to go on and win for the fourth consecutive weekend.

Up Next
The 'Cats are on the road next weekend, squaring off against conference opponent Bowling Green on Friday, November 24 and 25.