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Warren Clark
Warren Clark

Hockey Braden Golisek - Assistant Director of Sports Information

PREVIEW: Wildcat Hockey in Ohio to face (RV) Bowling Green

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The NMU hockey team is back on the road for the sixth and seventh time in the past ten games, this time heading to Bowling Green, Ohio, to take on the Falcons for the two teams only meeting of the regular season. 

The Wildcats (0-16-0, 0-8-0 CCHA) hit the midway point of the season with a clash against the Falcons (7-4-3, 5-2-3 CCHA), who currently sit third in the CCHA with 23 points. The Falcons are on a good stretch of form, going 5-1-2 its last eight matchups, with the two ties coming in the form of a shootout win and loss against the, then, #16 Minnesota State Mavericks. 

"[The Falcons] are a good team. They will probably be the most physical team we've played against," said head coach Dave Shyiak in his weekly media availability. "They make it difficult and they're tough to play against. We have to match their physicality and intensity."

Puck drop from the Slater Family Ice Arena is set for 7:07 p.m. on Friday, December 5, and 6:07 p.m. on Saturday, December 6. Fans can watch the action on Midco Sports Plus, and tune into the Radio Results Network (100.3, The Point) for radio coverage. 

Dave Shyiak Weekly Media Availability


The Wildcats are coming off a weekend matchup against a tough #14 Minnesota State team, who moved up one spot to #13 in both the USA Hockey/The Rink Live and USCHO.com hockey national polls after 4-0 and 3-2 wins in Marquette.

Spengler cup goaltender selection, Alex Tracy, earned his tenth career shutout over the weekend with 35 saves on Friday, the most in a shutout-performance of his.

"Obviously they have a good team and a good goaltender in Tracy. We had a tough time getting pucks by him... We did have some good looks, and we've been working on getting more traffic in front of goaltenders eyes to create second and third chances, but we were unable to do that on Friday."

The Wildcats were one of the best teams in the nation on the penalty kill through its first 12 games. NMU held an 83.7% success rate and only allowed seven power play goals against, as those marks were 10th and T12 in the nation among teams that played 10 or more games.

Since then, the 'Cats have allowed nine power play goals and are 47.1% on the penalty kill, the most goals allowed and second-worst success percentage in the country. Head coach Shyiak says this stretch has been "uncharacteristic" for his group.

"We've given up too many power play goals. I thought pucks were going too easy to the net... We need to have both our power play and our penalty kill working at the same time to give us the best chance of success, and we didn't do that this weekend."

Saturday's contest was a different story, as the 'Cats jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to Michael Burchill and got another power play goal from Grayden Slipec. Despite both goals coming on the man advantage, head coach Shyiak had praise for his team at five-on-five. 

"We had a great start [on Saturday]. In the first 12 minutes, [Mankato] only had one or two shots, we were playing the game downhill and on our toes, but then we weren't able to convert [on some chances] and then Mankato scored... but we bounced back and I thought we outplayed them five-on-five. I think we had 16 chances to [Mankato's] seven to score at five-on-five, and we were unable to do so.

"We addressed it, but I liked out quality of play. We're getting there, but at the end of the day, we need to score more goals at five on five."
 
Coach made an emphasis that along with finding a way to get the special teams clicking at the same time, his team needs to become a more 'volume shooting' oriented. The 'Cats did a good job of that this weekend, firing 35 on Friday and 33 on Saturday, the second and third-most shots in a game this year and the first time all season NMU put up 30+ shots on target in a weekend series. 

"At the end of the day, we need to become more of a volume-shooting team, both at five on five and on the power play. Our two goals on Saturday were a direct result of that. We got pucks and bodies towards the net... and we've got to keep doing that [this weekend]. They have a bigger goaltender, so we have to get in front of him, but at the end of the day we have to get more greasy goals around the net."

The Falcons are 5-1-2 its last eight, and are led by senior forward Quinn Emerson (4-12--16) and freshmen Noah Morneau (7-5--12) and Dominik Rymon (5-7--12). In the last eight games, Emerson has 11 points, and both Morneau and Rymon have nine, with Morneau scoring six goals in that stretch. Freshman Jacob Steinman has taken the reigns in the crease as of late, with the netminder holding a .907 SV% and a 2.71 GAA. Breck McKinley (0-11--11), Dalton Norris (1-9--10), and Brayden Crampton (2-7--9) are the main pieces of the Falcon defensive core, as all three of them averaging 22+ minutes a night.



 
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Players Mentioned

Grayden Slipec

#15 Grayden Slipec

F
5' 10"
Sophomore
Michael Burchill

#18 Michael Burchill

F
5' 10"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Grayden Slipec

#15 Grayden Slipec

5' 10"
Sophomore
F
Michael Burchill

#18 Michael Burchill

5' 10"
Freshman
F