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Caiden Gault
Caiden Gault earned CCHA Forward of the Week after scoring three goals over the weekend

Hockey Braden Golisek - Assistant Director of Sports Information

PREVIEW: Wildcats Host Tommies to Close 2025

The Teddy Bear Toss is Friday, and the Sock Toss is Saturday

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- After earning its first win of the season and claiming four of a possible six points over the weekend at Bowling Green, the Wildcat hockey team brings momentum back home, welcoming the St. Thomas Tommies for the final series of 2025. 

The Berry Events Center will host a pair of terrific causes this weekend, with the Friday, December 12 game being the annual Teddy Bear Toss, and the Saturday, December 13 game being the annual Sock Toss. 
The bears on Friday are donated to St. Vincent de Paul and The Salvation Army, and the socks on Saturday are donated to St. Vincent de Paul, Janzen House, local elementary schools, Room at the Inn, The Beacon House, and the Women's Center. 

The NMU Ticketing Office is running a special for the Teddy Bear Toss game on Friday, offering $5 tickets. Fans can purchase tickets for Friday night's contest here, along with tickets for Saturday night here.

The games will be available for streaming, with fans able to catch all the action on Midco Sports Plus. You can also tune into the Radio Results Network (100.3 The Point) to listen on the airwaves. 
 
The Wildcats (1-17-0, 1-9-0 CCHA) are coming off a weekend split that saw the 'Cats defeat the Falcons on Friday before falling in overtime on Saturday. Caiden Gault earned CCHA Forward of the Week after scoring a league-high three goals over the weekend.

The Tommies (7-7-3, 4-3-2 CCHA) played Lake Superior State to a split last weekend at the newly constructed Lee & Penny Anderson Arena. Goalie Carsen Musser (1.00 GAA and .964 SV% last weekend) and freshman Nathan Pilling (led the nation's rookies in points with a goal and four assists) earned CCHA weekly honors for the Tommies. 

Dave Shyiak Weekly Media Availability


Despite being short on bodies and unable to fill a lineup entering last weekend, the Wildcats found a way to secure their first win of the season in a 3-2 decision over Bowling Green on Friday. The 'Cats scored a goal in each period, taking a 3-0 lead thanks to Caiden Gault, Landon MacDonald, and Girts Silkalns.

"The guys were ecstatic. They were super happy, they played for each other, and it was one of those things where we did everything right to earn the win, and we did it the hard way… We [went into Bowling Green], and I don't think anyone expected us to win a game against a very good opponent. But we had a game plan, and everyone chipped in on what they needed to do to earn that victory. Just really happy for our guys."

The already depleted 'Cats then lost two more to injury after Friday night, but came out Saturday with the same energy and spirit on Friday. Thanks to a pair of goals from  Gault and a late tally from Warren Clark, the Wildcats were 75 seconds away from earning a sweep, but Quinn Emmerson capitalized on a fortunate BGSU bounce.

NMU then earned a power play in overtime, but was unable to convert, and the Falcons scored a minute later.

"To come back the second night and almost do it all over again, I think all of us thought we should have won, but it became a one-shot game. [Bowling Green] scored on their opportunity, and we didn't, and that's just the game of hockey. But you can't take away how hard our guys played and did everything they did to win that game and potentially get the sweep on the weekend."

A big reason for the Wildcat success was thanks to the goal production of Gault, who earned CCHA Forward of the Week after leading the CCHA in goals scored on the weekend with three, including one on the power play. When asked about his importance on the team, head coach Shyiak says, "he scores goals."

"He's a very, very quiet player on the ice, and if you're up in the stands, you probably won't notice him until he scores a goal, and that's what we recruited him for. He's got that knack around the net, has a quick and deceptive release, is really good on the power play when we can set him up for the one-timer, and he's doing what we ask him to do. The expectation is for him to score goals, and he was a big part of why we had a good weekend."
 
Special teams had been a point of emphasis for this team after allowing nine power-play goals against in the four games leading up to the Bowling Green series. Before the weekend, the Falcons had the second-best power play in the CCHA and a top-10 unit in the nation, clicking at 25% with 12 PPGs. 

The Wildcats emphatically won the special teams battle, holding one of the nation's top teams - which had scored nine power play goals in seven games leading up to the series - to 0/8 on the weekend.  

"Bowling Green has one of the leading power play units, not only in our league but in the nation, and to hold [their special teams] scoreless on the weekend was a big part of our success, and we'll need that to be consistent to take away some points this weekend."

"Going into any weekend, you need to be solid on your special teams and goaltending, and we were able to do that on both nights. I thought [William Gramme] did a really good job, and then our power play got the five-on-three goal [on Saturday], which was an important goal. 

After starting from ground zero a season ago, Shyiak made sure to emphasize that while the ultimate goal is to make the playoffs, the most important goal for him and his staff is to instill good habits and to trust the rebuilding process.

"A lot of people have to realize that it is a process to get [to the playoffs]... we started from scratch last year, and with the landscape of college hockey, it takes longer to rebuild. So, for us, the process is important, our habits on a daily basis are important, and obviously getting healthy is a big thing for us, and then wins will come. Our habits have been good; we've been in a lot of games, we've just been a goal short or a save short to win some of these games to close them out."

"The blueprint is how we finished the game on Friday night, and then how can we do one more thing on Saturday night, whether that is getting the goal that we needed or getting the save that we needed. It's a process to get better. Obviously, our goal is to make the playoffs, but we can't look too far ahead, and we need to focus on one game at a time." 

That next game for head coach Shyiak and the Wildcats to focus on comes this weekend, when the team welcomes the St. Thomas Tommies to the Berry Events Center to round out 2025 and springboard them into 2026. 

One of the more offensively-skilled teams in the conference, the Tommies lead the CCHA in goals per game (3.5), and are second in total goals (59) and shots (551). 

"[St. Thomas] is probably one of the fastest teams in the CCHA. They're really good off the rush and in transition, so we have to do what we need to do to take away that part of their game. Our focus is here for Friday night, but it's also exam week, so our guys have to focus on the academic piece, but when they're here to practice for two hours a day, it prepares them for Friday."

While the Tommies can find the back of the net, they struggle to keep the puck out of the net, as they hold the second-worst team save percentage (.888) and the worst penalty kill percentage (71.9%) in the conference. Should the Wildcats continue to win the special teams and goaltending battle, head coach Shyiak says there is a path to getting potential points in the CCHA standings.

"You have to go through the process to get results, but when you're going through the process, you have to find a way to get points every weekend, and that's our goal. If we play to our capabilities, that gives us a chance to get some points off of St. Thomas, but it's going to be tough. We have to do everything that we did last weekend, and more, to get points this weekend."



 
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Players Mentioned

William Gramme

#1 William Gramme

G
6' 3"
Junior
Warren Clark

#4 Warren Clark

D
6' 3"
Junior
Caiden Gault

#16 Caiden Gault

F
6' 0"
Senior
Girts Silkalns

#17 Girts Silkalns

F
6' 3"
Junior
Landon MacDonald

#22 Landon MacDonald

F
6' 1"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

William Gramme

#1 William Gramme

6' 3"
Junior
G
Warren Clark

#4 Warren Clark

6' 3"
Junior
D
Caiden Gault

#16 Caiden Gault

6' 0"
Senior
F
Girts Silkalns

#17 Girts Silkalns

6' 3"
Junior
F
Landon MacDonald

#22 Landon MacDonald

6' 1"
Freshman
F