MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Wildcats kicked off the 2024 calendar with an exhibition game against Michigan Tech, beating the Huskies 7-2.

12 different 'Cats recorded at least a point, led by Rylan Van Unen (1-2--3), Andre Ghantous (2-0--0), Reilly Funk (1-1--2), Artem Shlaine (0-2--2), and Josh Zinger (0-2--2).

All three goalies played for the 'Cats. Beni Halasz stopped all seven shots he faced, Charlie Glockner entered mid-way through the second period and made nine stops, and Carsen Stokes entered mid-way through the third period and made five saves in his first outing in green and gold.

In a game where the 'Cats dressed 25 skaters*, all of whom saw ice time and gained experience in both special teams and five-on-five roles, NMU outshot the Huskies 34-24, went 1/5 on the PP and 2/3 on the PK, and blocked 12 shots.

Grant Potulny Post Game Press Conference

How It Happened
1st Period
The 'Cats opened the scoring in the first four minutes, as Funk won an offensive zone draw in the left circle that went right to the stick of Van Unen whose quick release beat the goalie Max Vayrynen between the wickets.

The 'Cats doubled the lead with just under four minutes remaining in the opening frame, as Ghantous fired a one-timer from the top of the right circle off a pass that came low to high from Shlaine, and the 'Cats converted on their first power play opportunity of the evening.

The 'Cats skated to the first intermission leading 2-0, outshooting the Huskies 8-4, and went 1/1 on the only power play opportunity of the period. 

2nd Period
It only took the 'Cats thirty seconds to open the second-period scoring, as Ghantous corralled his rebound and shoveled the puck short side past the stick hand of Vayrynen, giving NMU a 3-0 lead.

The 'Cats extended the lead halfway through the frame, as Funk walked across the right-wing blue line and fired a seeing-eye shot that beat Vayrynen over the pad on the stick side, giving NMU a 4-0 lead.

The 'Cats conceded a goal but got it right back as Shlaine made a slick deke between his legs to beat the defender and get a shot on goal. Papp corraled the rebound and beat Vayrynen over the pad from in tight, maintaining the four-goal cushion. 

The 'Cats outscored the Huskies 3-1 in the middle frame, recording 14 shots on target to MTU's nine, and successfully killing their only penalty.

3rd Period
The 'Cats opened the final frame similarly to the second, as Gustafsson Nyberg circled the net and fired a puck past the new netminder Morelli, the first shot on goal he saw, just 19 seconds into the period. 

The Huskies scored on the power play, as Raiman was left unattended to and banged home a rebound that Stokes saved through a screen.

Marx Noren finished off a slick passing play from Michaelis and Slukynsky, giving the 'Cats seven goals on the evening.

Up Next
The Wildcats travel to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, to take on the Lake Superior State Lakers for the regular season finale and Cappo Cup.



*Due to NCAA Live Stats restrictions only allowing 22 skaters to be dressed at any given time, some players had to be combined as one skater; these include Jeppe Urup and Jakob Peterson, Mitch Deelstra and Brendan Poshak, and Charlie Glockner and Carsen Stokes. None of the stats earned or recorded in today's match will count toward the player's cumulative season totals.