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Grayden Slipec vs UMass
Grayden Slipec dons the new green jersey's for the 25/26 season at UMass

Hockey Braden Golisek - Assistant Director of Sports Information

PREVIEW: WIldcats at No. 16/16 Ohio State

MARQUETTE, Mich. - The NMU hockey team continues its non-conference slate against the No. 16 Ohio State Buckeyes this weekend.

The last time the Wildcats (0-2-0, 0-0-0 CCHA) and Buckeyes (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Big Ten) met was during the 2012/13 season, when both teams were members of the CCHA. The teams split the season series, and most recently, it was the Wildcats who earned a weekend sweep at the Berry Events Center.

Puck drop is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday in Value City Arena. Both games will be streamed on B1G+, while fans can catch the action on the radio at 100.3 The Point, and follow along with live stats through nmuwildcats.com.

Follow Along  
Make sure to follow @NMUHockey on X, formerly known as Twitter, to get updates throughout the week leading up to the games and for live updates while the 'Cats are on the ice. 

Friday, October 10 - at #16 Ohio State, 6:30 PM
Watch on B1G+ | Live Stats | Live Audio 

Saturday, October 11 - at #16 Ohio State, 5:00 PM
Watch on B1G+  | Live Stats | Live Audio



The standout storyline from opening weekend was the performance of Wisconsin transfer William Gramme, who started in goal for the Wildcats. It marked his first collegiate start since November 9, 2024, a 3-2 loss to Michigan. In that game, Gramme recorded 39 saves, which stood as his career high until this weekend.

"Coming into the season, [goaltending] was an unproven position for us. [Gramme] had the most [NCAA] experience out of our group, and he did a heck of a job. He gave us a chance to win, and he was probably the best player on the ice in both games... He's big, he's athletic, he's a competitor, he has a great work ethic… and he came up with key saves at the right time to keep games tight… Obviously, it's still early in the season, but he gives us confidence."

Similar to the season opener a year ago, in the first weekend series of the Shyiak era, Ryan Ouellette made 45 saves in his first game as a Wildcat, at Colorado College. Shyiak turned to freshman Ethan Barwick for game two in Colorado, but he stuck with Gramme for game two in Massachusetts, a decision that he says "all depends on how [the goalie] feels."

"We talked to [Gramme] after the game and then again on Sunday morning to make sure he felt good and his level would be the same, and he said he was good. When a goalie is playing well, you don't want to mess with that, and he was able to give us our best chance to win both nights."
Despite the sweep on the road against one of the top teams in the country, Shyiak says that it's all about the process of getting better for his young team, and he had high praise for some of his young players. 

"Some guys played real up for us. [Tobias] Pitka was really good for us, [Medrick] Bolduc took another step, and Mikey Burchill was up and down the lineup, and did his thing."

Pitka notched the first two assists of his collegiate career, Bolduc was elevated to the first line on Sunday after being moved to the first line and scoring to give the 'Cats the lead on Saturday, and Burchill averaged the second-most time on ice over the weekend among Wildcat freshmen. 

Along with Pitka, the 'Cats got multi-point weekends from three more skaters, including new face Caiden Gault (2g) and returning leading scorers in Jakub Altrichter (2a) and Grayden Slipec (2a). After an injury at the end of November last season, sophomore defenseman Joe Schiller returned to the lineup,  scoring in his first game back.

Along with individual performances, Shyiak said he was pleased with how the team executed the goals they set for themselves in the season opener.

"Going into the weekend, we put a major emphasis on four things: our special teams (power play and penalty kill), our conditioning, and our goaltending, and I thought we were excellent in all those. We didn't look fatigued, our special teams were outstanding (8/9 on the PK and 1/4 on the PP with two of the man-advantage opportunities being abbreviated), and like you guys mentioned earlier, our goaltending was great… You wanna build on the positives, which we'll do, and we'll have a game plan for [another really good opponent] Ohio State."

Similar to the Minutemen, the Buckeyes also open its 2025/26 campaign against the Wildcats. Ranked as high as No. 9 in the nation to end last season, Ohio State fell to No. 1 Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship and then to No. 8 Boston University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes enter the weekend as the 16th-ranked team in the nation for the second consecutive week.

"Another team that was in the national tournament [last year]. They're loaded with talent, and I think [head coach] Steve Rohlik, who's a good friend of mine, does a heck of a job with that program. They'll be well prepared, they come at you hard, they're really good off the rush, and we'll have to protect the puck and manage it the right way."

Along with the stiff competition, the Wildcats will be playing on a regulation-sized ice sheet for the first time this season. The 'Cats skate on a hybrid sheet (after the renovation from Olympic sizing to closer to NHL regulation at the Berry Events Center), the Minutemen skate on an Olympic ice surface, and the Buckeyes have a regulation sheet.

"This will be a bit of an adjustment for us playing on the regulation ice sheet. You practice on the bigger ice here [at the BEC], then you go to UMass on even bigger ice, and now going to smaller ice. Things are going to happen a little quicker, and we'll have to adapt to that."

With another tough series on tap, coach Shyiak ended the media availability session by stressing "the process of getting better" with these opening series of games. 

"It's another great opponent that gets us more battle-tested, and that's part of the process. Our guys battled hard this weekend. It was a hard-fought, physical series [this past weekend], and this series is going to be the same. That is going to make us better in the end… From one night to the next, and throughout the weeks, you want to get better, and our guys have done a nice job of that." 



 
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Players Mentioned

Ryan Ouellette

#30 Ryan Ouellette

G
6' 0"
Senior
Ethan Barwick

#33 Ethan Barwick

G
6' 3"
Redshirt Freshman
Jakub Altrichter

#14 Jakub Altrichter

F
5' 11"
Sophomore
Joe Schiller

#2 Joe Schiller

D
6' 0"
Sophomore
Grayden Slipec

#15 Grayden Slipec

F
5' 10"
Sophomore
William Gramme

#1 William Gramme

G
6' 3"
Junior
Caiden Gault

#16 Caiden Gault

F
6' 0"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Ryan Ouellette

#30 Ryan Ouellette

6' 0"
Senior
G
Ethan Barwick

#33 Ethan Barwick

6' 3"
Redshirt Freshman
G
Jakub Altrichter

#14 Jakub Altrichter

5' 11"
Sophomore
F
Joe Schiller

#2 Joe Schiller

6' 0"
Sophomore
D
Grayden Slipec

#15 Grayden Slipec

5' 10"
Sophomore
F
William Gramme

#1 William Gramme

6' 3"
Junior
G
Caiden Gault

#16 Caiden Gault

6' 0"
Senior
F