MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan University hockey team faces a crucial weekend series in Bowling Green, Ohio to end the regular season, facing off against the Bowling Green Falcons, with a chance of home ice in the CCHA playoff's opening round on the line.  

The Wildcats are currently fifth in the CCHA with a 16-16-0 overall and a 12-12-0 record in conference play for 33 points. The Falcons are third with a 15-15-2 overall and 12-10-2 record in conference play for 41 points. 


Home Ice Clinching Scenarios
The Wildcats can clinch home ice with:

• Win in regulation and 0 points by BSU and 3 or fewer points by FSU.
• Win in regulation and OT/SO win and 2 or fewer points by BSU and 5 or fewer points by FSU.
• Win in regulation and OT/SO loss and 1 or fewer points by BSU and 4 or fewer points by FSU.

In the event of a three-way tie between Bemidji State, Northern Michigan, and Ferris State:

• Northern Michigan would finish fourth on head-to-head wins tiebreaker (5).
• Bemidji State would finish fifth on head-to-head wins tiebreaker (3).
• Ferris State would finish sixth on head-to-head wins tiebreaker (2).

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

Friday, February 24 - at Bowling Green at 7:07 PM 
Live Stats  |  Watch on FloHockey  |  Live Audio  |  Game Notes

Saturday, February 25 - at Bowling Green at 7:07 PM 
Live Stats  |  Watch on FloHockey  |  Live Audio  |  Game Notes


Last Time Out
The Wildcats hosted the Ferris State Bulldogs over the past weekend. The Wildcats and their seniors showed out for the Green and Gold faithful, sweeping the Bulldogs by scores of 9-2 and 8-3.

On Friday, 15 different 'Cats tallied at least one point, with seven 'Cats recording multi-point nights (Papp 3A, Larson 2G, Shlaine, Ghantous, Eddy, de Mey, and Kjellberg 1G, 1A, respectively). Beni Halasz stopped 23 of 25 shots against, posting a .920 SV%, and Joey Larsons' two goals eight seconds apart set an NMU record and tied a CCHA record for the fastest consecutive goals by one player (Prev. NMU, 0:11, Gary Emmons vs. New Hampshire February 1, 1986/ Prev. CCHA, Ryan McLeod, Alas. Fairbanks vs. Bowling Green March 11, 2005). 

Saturday was Senior Night, capped off with five different seniors recording points for the Wildcats, led by Andre Ghantous' explosion for 2 goals and an assist. Jett Jungels recorded a goal and an assist, and Vincent de May, David Keefer, and Michael Van Unen all registered assists. Overall, six different Wildcats scored and 13 different 'Cats registered at least one point. 

Special teams continued to be a focal point for the 'Cats, as the team went 6/10 (60%) on the powerplay and 8/9 (88.9%) on the penalty kill, along with recording two short-handed goals. 


National Ranks
AJ Vanderbeck is T1 in short-handed goals (3), 3rd in the nation in shots on goal (126), and T20 in game-winning goals along with teammate David Keefer (3). Andre Ghantous is T27 in assists (21) and T37 in points (30). Artem Shlaine is T44 in points with 29. 

As a team, the Wildcats are 2nd in shorthanded goals (8), 3rd in faceoff win percentage (.548), 6th in power-play goals (26), 10th in penalty kill percentage (.842), 11th in powerplay percentage (.244), 13th in shooting percentage (11.1), T15 in goals-for (100), and T18 in goals per game (3.1), 


Cat Nips

• All-time, the Wildcats are 57-58-11 in 126 games played vs. BGSU. More recently, they are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games played, and 4-1 at Bowling Green in the last five contests.
• Joey Larson (5G, 3A), Andre Ghantous (5G, 3A), and Artem Shlaine (2G, 6A) are the hottest players in the CCHA, all recording league-high eight points in six games in the month of February. Kristof Papp is next of all CCHA players in that span with six points (2G, 4A). In that same time frame, Simon Kjellberg (2G, 3A) leads all CCHA defensemen in points and is tied for first in PPG (1) and GWG (1).
• Josh Zinger leads all CCHA freshmen defensemen with 15 points this season. He is T1 in goals (3), 1st in assists (12), 2nd in shots (40) and PPG (1), and has 21 blocks. 
• Joey Larson (3G, 2A), Connor Eddy (1G, 3A), and Colby Enns (1G, 2A) are all currently on three-game point streaks.
• Aiden Gallacher leads all NCAA D1 skaters in blocks with 90, and Michael Van Unen is third with 69.
• Amongst CCHA goalies who have played six games in February, Beni Halasz is 1st in Wins (4), 1st in GAA (2.18), 1st in goals allowed (13), 2nd in SV% (.914), and 2nd in total minutes played.
• In the Month of February, the 'Cats are first amongst CCHA teams in wins (4), goals (27), shots (176), goals per game (4.5), blocks (103), faceoff wins (194), PPG (8), PP% (33.3%), PK% (95.8%), and short-handed goals (3). 
• The 'Cats have an 8-0-0 record when leading after one period and a 9-0-0 record when leading after two, along with a record of 5-2 in one-goal games and a perfect 3-0 in overtime.
• When scoring first, the 'Cats are 12-5-0, as opposed to 4-11-0 when the opponent scores first. The Wildcats are 15-3-0 when scoring 3+ goals, and 1-13-0 when scoring 2 or fewer. 

Coach Potulny Interview



A Look at Bowling Green
The Falcons come into the weekend earning a split with the Michigan Tech Huskies in Houghton, winning 5-2 on Friday and dropping game two on Saturday 2-4, and are 1-4-2 in their last seven contests. Austen Swankler leads the falcons, posting 17 goals and 23 assists for 40 points in 31 games. Swankler's 40 points are good for T7 among D1 skaters. Projected starter Christian Stoever is 11-13-2 with a .917 SV% and 2.87 GAA. 


Last Time vs. Bowling Green
The Wildcats hosted the Falcons to open the 2022-23 season, and earned a split with a 4-6 loss on Saturday, and a 4-3 win on Sunday. 

On Saturday, it was 1-1 after the first period, BG struck twice in the 2nd, but NMU responded with a pair to make it 3-3 heading into the third period. Bowling Green claimed three of the four goals in the final period en route to a 6-4 victory. Mikey Colella scored twice, Andre Ghantous added three assists, and Joey Larson picked up two assists to start his career. 

On Sunday, AJ Vanderbeck scored twice, including the OT game-winner, Artem Shlaine recorded three assists, and Joey Larson scored the first of his career, pushing NMU to a 4-3 win over BGSU.


Hobey Baker Watch
Northern Michigan University hockey players AJ Vanderbeck and Andre Ghantous have been nominated for the Hobey Baker Award, an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. 

Fan balloting for the 2023 Hobey Baker Award is open through Sunday, Mar. 5 at midnight ET. This year's nominees include 82 skaters representing 43 NCAA Division I schools, including ten from the CCHA. 

College hockey fans can vote in the fan-voting campaign by clicking here.


CCHA Honors
October 1-2 
Aiden Gallacher - CCHA Defenseman of the Week 
Joey Larson - CCHA Rookie of the Week

October 20-22
AJ Vanderbeck - CCHA Forward of the Week 

October 28-29
Beni Halasz - CCHA Rookie of the Week 

Player of the Month: October
AJ Vanderbeck - CCHA Forward of the Month 
Beni Halasz - CCHA Rookie of the Month 

November 11-12
Joey Larson - CCHA Rookie of the Week 

Player of the Month: November
Beni Halasz - CCHA Rookie of the Month 

December 9-10
Kristof Papp - CCHA Forward of the Week 

February 3-4
Joey Larson - CCHA Rookie of the Week. 

February 10-11
Beni Halasz - CCHA Goalie of the Week 

February 17-18
Andre Ghantous - CCHA Forward of the Week 
Simon Kjellberg - CCHA Defenseman of the Week
Joey Larson - CCHA Rookie of the Week 


Etched in History  
With his start in net on October 8, 2022, at Colgate, Beni Halasz became the first Hungarian-born goaltender to play in an NCAA Division I game. Halasz shined with the opportunity, smothering 27 of 28 shots he faced for his first career win. He also helped kill 6 of 7 penalties in the contest.