MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan University hockey team is on the road this weekend, traveling to St. Thomas to square off against the Tommies. It will mark the 'Cats first visit to St. Thomas Ice Arena. Game one is slated for Friday, February 10, at 8:07 p.m. ET, with the series wrapping up on Saturday, February 11, at 7:07 p.m. ET.
The Wildcats (13-15-0, 9-11-0) sit sixth in the CCHA and have 24 points through 20 conference matchups. The Tommies (8-18-2, 7-11-2) are right behind the 'Cats in seventh with 23 points through 20 CCHA games.
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 10 - at St. Thomas at 8:07 PM ET
Live Stats | Watch on FloHockey | Live Audio | Game Notes
Saturday, February 11 - at St. Thomas at 7:07 PM ET
Live Stats | Watch on FloHockey | Live Audio | Game Notes
Last Time Out
The Wildcats brought the Cappo Cup back to Marquette after a weekend split with Lake Superior State that saw a 4-2 loss on Friday, followed by a 3-1 bounce back win on Saturday.
On Friday, the Wildcats had a 2-1 lead halfway through the third period, but three unanswered LSSU goals fueled a Laker comeback. The Wildcats held the edge in shots and the faceoff circle, outshooting LSSU 32-26 and going 36/60 in the dot.
Joey Larson had a multi-point night (1G, 1A).
Kristof Papp also scored, while
Andre Ghantous, Mikey Colella, and
Artem Shlaine each recorded an assist. Goalie
Beni Halasz stopped 22 of 26 shots sent his way.
Saturday was a day of celebration, as the 'Cats defeated LSSU in game four of the Cappo Cup series by a score of 3-1, returning the trophy to Marquette. NMU went 3-1 in the season series, outscoring the Lakers 14-9 in the four games.
Andre Ghantous,
Joey Larson, and
Artem Shlaine all recorded goals for the 'Cats, and
David Keefer,
Kristof Papp, and
Simon Kjellberg recorded assists.
Beni Halasz made 13 saves on 14 shots.
Cat Nips
- Artem Shlaine (2G, 3A) and Joey Larson (3G, 2A) both have five points in their last five games, and Kristof Papp (1G, 3A) has four in his last five. Each member of the 'Cats top line is riding a three-game point streak.
- Coming into the weekend, the 'Cats are 12/13 (.923%) on the PK in the last five games.
- The 'Cats have a 5-0-0 record when leading after one period and a 6-0-0 record when leading after two, along with a record of 5-2 in one-goal games. The 'Cats are 0-11-0 when trailing after two periods, and a perfect 3-0 in overtime.
- When scoring first, the 'Cats are 9-5-0, as opposed to a 4-10-0 record when the opponent scores first.
- The Wildcats are 12-3-0 when scoring 3+ goals, and 1-12-0 when scoring 2 or fewer.
National Ranks
AJ Vanderbeck is T1 in short-handed goals (3), T3 in the nation in shots (116), and T14 in game-winning-goals along with teammate
David Keefer (3). Vanderbeck is T35 in points (27),
Andre Ghantous is T28 in assists (19), and both Keefer and Vanderbeck are T39 in goals (12).
As a team, the Wildcats are third in faceoff win percentage (.548), T6 in shorthanded goals (5), 12th in power-play goals (26), T18 in penalty kill percentage (.824), 19th in powerplay percentage (.226), T27 in shooting percentage (10.0), and T29 in goals scored (78).
A Look at St. Thomas
The Tommies are coming into the weekend 2-3-1 in their last six, most recently coming off a weekend split in a home-and-home series against Minnesota State.
Mack Byers leads the Tommies in goals (14), points (19), and is firing at a 24.1% shooting percentage. Projected starting goalie Aaron Trotter holds a 3.05 GAA and a .905 SV%. Luc Laylin was just named CCHA Forward of the Week after he led all CCHA skaters with three goals, helping the Tommies to a split with then-No. 13 Minnesota State, including the program's first-ever victory over the Mavericks.
Last Time vs. St. Thomas
The Wildcats hosted St. Thomas for the first time in program history in the 2021-22 season, where the 'Cats swept St. Thomas by scores of 4-1 and 8-3.
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 received Defenseman of the Week after blocking eight shots in two games.
Joey Larson received Rookie of the Week, posting a rookie-best three points (1g, 2a) in two games.
October 20-22
AJ Vanderbeck received Forward of the Week after recording four points (2g, 2a) in two games.
October 28-29
Beni Halasz received Rookie of the Week after going 1-1-0 with a 2.02 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage.
Player of the Month: October
Vanderbeck received Forward of the month after leading all CCHA skaters in goals (6), points (13), points per game (1.44), multi-point games (4), game-winning goals (2), shorthanded goals (1), shots (52) and shots per game (5.78) in 10 games in October.
Halasz received Rookie of the Month after posting a 3-4-0 record with a 1.97 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage in seven October games (6 starts) for the Wildcats. He was second among all NCAA Division I rookies in goals-against average, save percentage, and total saves (173).
November 11-12
Larson received Rookie of the Week after he paced all CCHA rookies with two points on a goal and an assist in the Wildcats' weekend split with Bemidji State.
Player of the Month: November
Halasz earned his second straight Rookie of the Month honor after going 4-2-0 with a 2.18 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage as the starter in all six games for Northern Michigan in November. He led all CCHA rookie netminders in wins, goals-against average, and save percentage while ranking second in total saves (135) and saves per game (22.5). His month was highlighted by recording his first collegiate shutout on November 11 against Bemidji State, where he made 25 stops. He also made a career-high 32 saves against Lake Superior State on November 5.
December 9-10
Kristof Papp led all CCHA skaters in goals (3) and points (4) while collecting one assist, nine shots, one block, and four face-off wins in a series split at Ferris State last week.
February 3-4
Joey Larson earned CCHA Rookie of the Week after he helped Northern Michigan to a home split with Lake Superior State, scoring two goals with one assist for three points. He was even for the weekend with a team-high eight shots on goal. On Friday, he had a goal and an assist in a 4-2 defeat, before scoring the eventual game-winner in a 3-1 victory over the Lakers on Saturday.
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.
