MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan hockey team held a 1-0 lead halfway through the third period on Friday night at the Berry Events Center, but a late goal and another in overtime from the No. 19/20 Colorado College Tigers gave them the 2-1 edge over the Wildcats.
Getting his second straight start in net, freshman goaltender
Oliver Auyeung-Ashton was stellar, turning aside 43 of the 45 shots he faced for a .956 save percentage. The native of Coquitlam, British Columbia, now holds a 1.70 GAA and .960 SV% in his three appearances this season.
Medrick Bolduc picked up the lone tally for Northern in the first period with 8:45 to play, his second goal of the season, assisted by
Jakub Altrichter. The Tigers evened the score with 9:25 left in the third on a goal from Klavs Veinbergs, with Seth Constance and Ryan Koering earning the assists. Koering then notched the game-winner in overtime, going end-to-end and burying his own rebound in front of the net.
The Wildcats were outshot 45-17 on the night. Northern was hit with four penalties, while the Tigers were called for three. Neither side was able to capitalize on the power play.
"It was a winnable game and we've talked about the growing pains we are going to have to go through," said head coach
Dave Shyiak after the game. "Our physical play was good and we had segments where we had them pinned down… but we need more of it."
NMU was led in shots on goal by Bolduc with five, while no other Wildcat recorded more than two. Brayden Schuurman paced the Tigers with six shots on net. NMU held a sizable 27-11 advantage in blocked shots, led by
Kyle Bettens with four.
How It Happened
Just over 90 seconds into the game, Bettens was called for slashing, and NMU faced an early penalty kill. Auyeung-Ashton came up big with five saves while a man down, setting the tone for his performance the rest of the night.
Without generating many chances early on, Altrichter won a draw in the offensive zone, playing it perfectly back to Bolduc waiting behind him, and Bolduc sent a laser to the top shelf to give the Green and Gold the lead.
Soon after the goal,
Tobias Pitka was tagged with holding, but NMU buckled down defensively once again to kill it off. Down a man for four minutes throughout the first, the Wildcats played as well as they could've and carried a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, despite being outshot 15-6.
Less than two minutes into the second period, the Wildcats had their first man-advantage, but the Tigers were able to battle through unscathed.
Mathew Ward had a great chance breaking backdoor to the net, but a pass from Bettens was deflected before it reached him.
The Wildcats tilted the ice for the first 10 minutes of the second period, only allowing one shot on goal, but Bolduc was called for holding at the halfway point, prompting another penalty kill. Auyeung-Ashton came up big yet again, registering four key saves. He added another massive rejection on a point-blank look from Colorado College with 3:30 left in the second period. Despite a late flurry from the Tigers and being outshot 14-3 in the frame, NMU maintained a 1-0 edge after two.
Michael Burchill opened the third period with a good look from the faceoff dot to the goalie's left, but his shot went straight into the chest of Kaidan Mbereko to keep it 1-0.
With less than 10 minutes to go, the Tigers finally broke through on a goal from Klavs Veinbergs. The Tigers dominated possession after that, looking to grab the win in regulation, but Auyeung-Ashton and NMU's defense held off the attack to force overtime.
Skating 3-on-3 in the extra session, each team had a couple of chances in the opening two minutes. With two minutes left, NMU faced a delayed penalty for too many men, and CC's Ryan Koering went end-to-end, collected his own rebound, and went top shelf for the game-winner at 1:51.
Up Next
The Wildcats return to the Berry tomorrow night to wrap up the series with Colorado College. Puck drop is slated for 6:07 p.m.
