MARQUETTE, Mich. - The NMU hockey team travels three hours east this weekend, meeting UP rival Lake Superior State for the final two games of the 2024-25 Cappo Cup Series. 

Puck drop between the Wildcats and Lakers is set for 7:07 PM Friday and 6:07 PM Saturday from Taffy Abel Arena, with streaming coverage on Midco Sports Plus and radio coverage from 100.3 The Point.

After a 3-1 start to 2025, the Wildcats (4-23-1, 3-16-1 CCHA) are amid a four-game skid over the past two weekends. The team now travels to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, to meet a Laker team (9-15-2, 7-10-2 CCHA) that is winless in its past five outings. Both teams will be eager to right the ship in the final stretch of regular season games.

"The most important thing is we, as a team, are getting better," said head coach Dave Shyiak in his mid-week media availability. "Every night is hard for us, but there is no quit in our team. They believe in each other, it just comes down to execution and consistency in how we play."

A historic rivalry between these two teams, the Cappo Cup is awarded each year to the season series winner between NMU and LSSU, given annually since the 1994-95 season. The Lakers currently hold a two-game advantage over the Wildcats on the season after the Lakers defeated the 'Cats in both games on home ice back in November. 

"We've gotten better [since our last meeting against LSSU]. I know they scored a pile of power-play goals. Obviously, you can't allow that. You have to have good special teams and good goaltending this time of the year to win hockey games… It's about continuing the process, and if we take care of our compete and execution, that gives us our best chance of success."

The 'Cats are coming off of a pair of losses to Bowling Green, starting with a 3-2 heartbreaking overtime loss on Friday night.

"We didn't like our first period, but after that, I really liked our second and third periods, and after that, the game was in our hands. We had a four-on-three power play in overtime, and that's when you need to execute. That would've been a good win for our crew, but they got a blocked shot to go down on a two-on-one and score on their first chance. That's deflating mentally and really hard to come back from that."

Shyiak then saw his team drop a 5-2 decision on Saturday night after the Falcons jumped to a 3-0 lead including two in the first period.

"I think there was a carryover [from Friday night's result] into the first period on Saturday. We couldn't make plays, we were slow, we only had a handful of shots, and we addressed that with the team. But then, in the second and third period, I thought we played with way more urgency and desperation, and that's how we need to play for 60 minutes. If we do that, that gives us the best chance of winning."

Captain Tanner Latsch scored a pair of goals over the weekend after being out of the lineup the last two weekends, giving him three goals in his past five games played.

"He's got a lot on his shoulders, and he's done a real good job with that. He has a real presence in the locker room, he's highly respected, and everyone knows he can shoot. I think for him to get a couple of goals and come away healthy from the weekend is a positive. We needed him to score, and he did."

The 'Cats now look ahead to the Lake State Lakers, who boast the conferences' second-leading goal scorer in Sasha Teleguine (13-4--17) and one of the league's top special teams units. The Lakers have scored the second-most PPGs (21) and hold a 21.2% conversion rate while also holding the third-best PK% (81.8%) among other conference schools.

Ahead of Teleguine in points are Timo Bakos (7-11--18) and Connor Milburn (7-11--18). Bakos comes into this weekend after a three-point outing in a pair of games against Augustana last weekend, while Milburn only has one assist in his past six games. 

Projected starter Rorke Applebee holds a 2.86 GAA, .910 SV%, and two shutouts in 24 games played this season, carrying a 9-13-1 record. 

"I think [LSSU] is fast and I think their power plays are good. We've been pretty good on smaller ice surfaces this year, and hopefully, we will continue to do so. We're going to give it our best shot in terms of special teams, goaltending, consistency, and competing. If we do that, we've got a real good chance of coming away with some points."


Dave Shyiak Media Availability