MARQUETTE, Mich. - After two long road trips to Mankato and Sioux Falls, the Wildcats now return home for its last home series before the holiday recess, welcoming the Ferris State Bulldogs.

Puck drop between the Wildcats (1-12-1, 0-7-1 CCHA) and the Bulldogs (4-10-2, 2-6-0 CCHA) is set for 7:07 p.m. Friday and 6:07 p.m. Saturday from the Berry Events Center, with streaming on MidcoSports Plus and radio coverage from 100.3 The Point. Fans can purchase tickets ahead of the weekend here.

It's an action-packed weekend at the Berry, as the Wildcats not only play host to a crucial CCHA match-up, but welcome three separate game-day promotions: Friday's game features a Teddy Bear Toss, Saturday features a Sock Toss, and immediately following Saturday's game is Skate With the 'Cats, an opportunity for fans to lace up and skate with the team. 

All of the proceeds from the Teddy Bear Toss will go to The Salvation Army and St. Vincent DePaul, and the procedeeds from the Sock Toss will be donated to St. Vincent DePaul, Janzen House, Local Elementary Schools, Room at the Inn, The Beacon House, and The Women's Center.

Fans, providing their own skates and helmets, are encouraged to join the Wildcats on the ice post-game Saturday as the team joins the community for the annual Skate with the 'Cats. The sports information staff will be providing posters for fans, making this the perfect opportunity to get autographs and pictures with the players. Fans MAY NOT bring sticks onto the ice.

The Wildcats return to Marquette following a pair of 4-1 losses to Augustana, where both Jakob Peterson and Brendan Poshak notched their first career collegiate goals, with Jesse Tucker, Zach Michaelis, and Peterson all picking up assists.

The Wildcats (2 points, 0.083 pts%) are currently ninth in the CCHA standings, trailing both Ferris State and St. Thomas (9 points, .300 pts%), making this a crucial weekend to pick up conference points ahead of the holidays. 

Dave Shyiak recaps the MSU and Au series and previews the weekend


Cat Nips

• Both Jakob Peterson and Brendan Poshak scored their first career collegiate goals over the weekend
  • Peterson enters the weekend on a two-game point streak (1-1--2)
• The Wildcats are second in the nation in blocked shots with 238, led by Rasmus Larsson (30), second among CCHA skaters and first among CCHA freshmen
• Grayden Slipec (2-3--5) and Jakub Altrichter (0-4--4) are two of the top freshman forwards for the 'Cats. Altrichter and Slipec rank two and three in shots from CCHA freshmen with 32 and 31, respectively
  • Slipec's two PPG's are second among CCHA freshmen
• Billy Renfrew and Altrichter lead CCHA freshmen in faceoff wins with 105 and 100, respectively. Altrichter's 55.2% FO% is fifth among CCHA skaters with 180 or more faceoff attempts, and Renfrew's 52.5% is eighth 
• Ryan Ouellette is third in the conference in saves (394) and his .916 SV% is third in the conference among netminders who have played in 13 or more games. Ouellette's 394 saves is seventh most in the nation
• NMU has only allowed one PPG in the last five games, and excluding the November 8 game vs LSSU, the 'Cats are 32/37 while on the kill

A Look at the Bulldogs
The Bulldogs, coming off of its bye weekend, went 2-6-0 in November, with both of the team's wins in that frame coming in the teams final three games: a 3-2 win over LSSU in the Traverse City Takeover, and 5-2 win against Augustana before losing 4-1 the following night.

The Bulldogs are led in points by Caiden Gault (6-2--8) and Cole Burtch (3-5--8), with Gault leading the CCHA in game-winning-goals (3) and Burtch being one of the top faceoff men, second on the team with 77 wins. 

Most important on the team may be first-year captain and junior defenseman Travis Shoudy, who averages just shy of 23 minutes a game of playing time, nearly four more minutes than any other Ferris skater, to go with 19 blocks on the season.

Graduate transfer Noah West has started in all but one game this season, holding a 2.82 GAA and .907 SV%, .932 at even strength.  

It's been a struggle for the Bulldogs on special teams this year, as the team holds the nation's worst penalty kill (41/63, 22 goals against, 65.1%) and third-worst power play (4/48, 8.3%). Ferris is 1-5-0 on the road this season, out-scored 23-8 in that frame, with four of those goals coming in a 5-4 loss.