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Mathew Ward

Hockey Braden Golisek - Assistant Director of Sports Information

PREVIEW: Hockey Faces #19/19 Huskies for Rivalry Weekend

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The Wildcat hockey team will face Upper Peninsula rival, the Michigan Tech Huskies, for a home-and-home this weekend.

The Wildcats (1-23-0, 1-15-0 CCHA) will open the series against the #19/19 Huskies (16-8-2, 11-2-4 CCHA) at home, with puck drop from the Berry Events Center at 7:07 p.m. ET on Friday, January 23, before making the drive west to Houghton for a clash at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena on Saturday, January 24, with puck-drop set for 6:07 p.m. ET.
 
The Wildcats are auctioning off the set of game-worn home 'Cat Head' jerseys at Friday night's game. 
 
Both games will be available on national broadcast, as TV6 will broadcast both games. The matches are available for streaming on Midco Sports Plus, and fans can also tune into the Radio Results Network (100.3 The Point) to listen on the airwaves.

Hear from Dave Shyiak


The Wildcats enter the weekend after a bye weekend, while the Huskies head to Marquette as winners of four-straight with two skaters earning CCHA Player of the Week honors. When talking about the timing of playing the UP rival, with NMU coming off a bye and MTU on a win streak, head coach Shyiak says "it's always a good time to play [Michigan] Tech."

"Obviously, this is a heated rivalry and a great college matchup, no matter what time of the year it is… We're getting some bodies back, and we'll address how to tackle an opponent like Michigan Tech, which is a very good team fighting for both the league title and home ice. No matter what the records are, these are always tightly-contested and emotional games… It's one of the best rivalries in college hockey."

Coach Shyiak mentioned a struggle to find continuity across his lineup, due to injuries ravaging the room throughout the season, and in some cases this year, not being able field a full lineup on gamedays. One line that has stuck together and found success recently is the 'transfer' line of Caiden Gault, Girts Silkalns, and Kyle Bettens. Since December 5, that trio has accounted for eight of the Wildcats 11 goals and 16 of the Wildcats' 28 points.

"Obviously, Gault is an elite goal scorer. Girts is a big guy who seems to complement Gault, and Bettens is a big winger who plays both ways and creates chances off the forecheck. They may not be together this weekend, we're still trying to figure out some things, but they've been a solid line for us."

This weekend has an opportunity to be a low-scoring affair, as both Oliver Auyeung-Ashton and MTU netminder Owen Bartoszkiewicz were named to the Mike Richter Award 'Watch List' as two of 29 goalies to be considered for the annual award given to the best goalie in college hockey. Auyeung-Ashton was also nominated for consideration for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the best player in college hockey.

"Bill [Muckault] has done a really good job bringing in some good players from Lindenwood, with his goalie being one of them. He's been an anchor for him this season, and the key to finding an edge is just getting more traffic in front of him and getting second and third chances."

After dealing with injuries for a lot of the first half, the Wildcats brought in two skaters at the holiday break, defenseman Olivier Beaulieu and goaltender Max Weilandt. Weilandt has been a solid addition to the goaltending room, and Beaulieu has quickly garnered trust and confidence from the coaching staff, earning the third-most minutes in just his second series, along with time on the power play. 

"We were fortunate enough to get both guys during the Christmas break. [Olivier] was the leading scoring defenseman in the BCHL; he's really poised with the puck, he's a smart player, and he sees the ice well. For him, it's adjusting to the speed and the strength of the game, and I think he's done a really nice job getting comfortable in every game."

"[Max] was having a really strong year in the USHL. He was facing a lot of rubber and getting a lot of experience; he has connections with some of our student-athletes on the team and was looking for an opportunity. He's competitive, pushes our other goalies, and he's done extremely well in practice."

As the season begins to wind down, the Wildcats still control its own destiny for playoff hopes. As it stands, the 'Cats are four points behind the Bulldogs with two games in hand. Head coach Shyiak says that while playoffs are on his team's radar, "you don't want to look too far ahead". 

"We still have to take it one game at a time. Let's focus on where our feet are right now, and right now our guys are thinking about this Friday night against [Michigan] Tech."




 
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Players Mentioned

Caiden Gault

#16 Caiden Gault

F
6' 0"
Senior
Girts Silkalns

#17 Girts Silkalns

F
6' 3"
Junior
Kyle Bettens

#24 Kyle Bettens

F
6' 3"
Senior
Oliver Auyeung-Ashton

#30 Oliver Auyeung-Ashton

G
5' 10"
Freshman
Max Weilandt

#32 Max Weilandt

G
6' 0"
Freshman
Olivier Beaulieu

#8 Olivier Beaulieu

D
5' 11"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Caiden Gault

#16 Caiden Gault

6' 0"
Senior
F
Girts Silkalns

#17 Girts Silkalns

6' 3"
Junior
F
Kyle Bettens

#24 Kyle Bettens

6' 3"
Senior
F
Oliver Auyeung-Ashton

#30 Oliver Auyeung-Ashton

5' 10"
Freshman
G
Max Weilandt

#32 Max Weilandt

6' 0"
Freshman
G
Olivier Beaulieu

#8 Olivier Beaulieu

5' 11"
Freshman
D