MARQUETTE, Mich. - For the first time in the new calendar year, the NMU hockey team will play a home series at the Berry Events Center, welcoming the No. 12 Minnesota State Mavericks for a weekend series.
Puck drop between the Wildcats (1-18-1, 0-11-1 CCHA) and the Mavericks (14-4-2, 9-1-2 CCHA) from the
Berry Events Center is set for 7:07 p.m. Friday and 6:07 p.m. Saturday, with streaming on
MidcoSports Plus and radio coverage from
100.3 The Point.
Fans can purchase tickets for Friday's game
here, and Saturday's game
here.
Blue Line Luncheon
The NMU Athletic Department is hosting the second Blue Line Luncheon at Slabz Bar & Grill on Friday, January 10.
The luncheon will be held at the Ramada of Marquette, 412 West Washington Street. Tickets are $25 per person, and the event is open to the public. Fans can enjoy lunch catered by the newly opened Slabz Bar and Grill.
Featured speakers include NMU Athletic Director Rick Comely, NMU Men's Hockey Head Coach
Dave Shyiak, and select players.
Fans can enjoy lunch catered by the newly opened Slabz Bar and Grill. Doors open at 11:45 a.m., and lunch will be served promptly at noon. The program begins at 12:15 p.m. Advance ticket sales are highly encouraged, as space is limited.
To purchase tickets, visit
tickets.nmu.edu, visit the NMU Ticket Office in the Superior Dome, or call 906-227-1032. We look forward to seeing you there!
Cat Nips
- The 'Cats are coming off a weekend at the Great Lakes Invitational (GLI) holiday tournament from the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, holding the No. 1 Michigan State Spartans to two goals before making a comeback to force overtime against the Michigan Tech Huskies in the third-place game.
- Defenseman Tynan Ewart and goaltender Ryan Ouellette were recognized as CCHA Players of the Week following their respective performances at this year's Great Lakes Invitational.
- Ewart led conference blueliners in points (2), assists (2), and blocked shots (8) last week. He had four blocks in the GLI opener against the Spartans, before recording two helpers and four more blocks in the comeback effort to force overtime against the Huskies in the Third Place game.
- Ouellette posted a CCHA-best .953 save percentage that week, stopping 41-of-43 shots against No. 1 Michigan State on Sunday in the Great Lake Invitational semifinals. After allowing two goals in the first period, he closed out the game with 32 consecutive saves, keeping the Wildcats within striking distance.
- Freshman Grayden Slipec (3-5--8) leads the team in goals, points, PPGs, and shots. Captain Tanner Latsch (3-1--4), alternate captain Matthew Romer (3-3--6), freshman forward Aidyn Hutchinson (3-1--4), and defenseman Anthony Cliche (3-0--3) all share the team lead in goals. Both freshman forward Jakub Altrichter (0-6--6) and alternate captain Tynan Ewart (1-6--7) share the team lead in assists.
Category Leaders
- Slipec is T5 in PPGs (3) among CCHA skaters and T7 in points (8) among CCHA freshmen. Jakub Altrichter is T3 in assists and T11 in points among conference freshmen. Slipec (47) and Altrichter (45) are two and three in shots from a first year in the CCHA
- Ewart (41) and Rasmus Larsson (38) are third and fifth in blocks in the conference. Larsson is first, Cliche (29) is second, Billy Renfrew (21) is fourth, Altrichter (16) is sixth, and Slipec (14) is eighth among CCHA freshmen.
- Jesse Tucker has won the third most faceoffs (189) among CCHA centermen. Altrichter leads CCHA freshmen and is T12 with 147 wins, and is second among freshmen and seventh overall in FO% among CCHA centermen with 175 or more faceoffs.
- Netminder Ryan Ouellette is third in the nation and leads the conference in saves (561) and is fourth in the CCHA with a .921 SV%.
- The 'Cats are second in the nation and first in the conference with 343 blocked shots.
- NMU is fourth in the conference in faceoff wins (592) and third in faceoff win percentage (50.3%).
Scouting MSU
- The last meeting of these two teams resulted in a shootout win thanks to Jakub Altrichter scoring the lone goal and Ryan Ouellette making all three saves.
- The Wildcats last hosted the Mavericks on January 6 and 7, 2023; ironically, also the Wildcats first home series of the new year. Those two home games in 2023 are the only home contests for the 'Cats in the last 12 meetings between the two sides
- Since dropping the shootout to the 'Cats on November 16, the Mavericks have won six straight regular season games, outscoring the opposition 20-9 in that frame. MSU is 12-1-2 in its past 15 this season.
- The 'Mavs have played two exhibition contests between its last regular season game on December 14 and now, including a 6-1 win against Manitoba on December 30, and a 5-5 tie to St. Norbert College on Tuesday, January 7.
- Junior netminder Alex Tracy leads the nation in games played (20) and wins (14), and leads Division I netminders in goals against average (1.39) and save percentage (.945) among goalies with seven or more games played. The Mavericks allow the fewest goals per game (1.48) in Division I.
- Senior forward Rhett Pitlick (8-11--19) leads the team in goals, assists, points, power-play goals (3), and game-winning goals (4), and is joined by upperclassmen Josh Groll (7-8--15), Brian Carrabes (6-8--14), and Adam Eisele (6-7--13).
- The Mavericks have the second-fewest powerplay goals (8) among CCHA teams and are 8/47 (17.0%) on the man advantage this season, including 3/19 (15.7%) its last nine games.
- On the flip side, the Mavericks have allowed the fourth-fewest powerplays and the second-fewest opponent powerplay goals with 10, an 82.8% conversion rate that includes going 26/28 (92.9%) its past nine
- MSU is the fifth-oldest team in Division I (22.7 years of age), have the second-largest senior class with nine, and the second-fewest freshman class with four
