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Nik Gudmundson vs Michigan State
Nik Gudmundson going up against Brady Peddle, a 3rd round pick of Pittsburgh in 2025

Hockey Braden Golisek - Assistant Director of Sports Information

PREVIEW: Hockey to face (RV) Skyhawks

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The NMU hockey team returns to the Berry Events Center for its final non-conference weekend in the early slate of matches, hosting the (RV/RV) Stonehill Skyhawks.

Puck drop between the Wildcats (1-3-0, 0-0-0 CCHA) and Skyhawks (2-0-0) is set for 7:07 p.m. ET on Friday, October 16, and 6:07 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 17. Tickets are available through tickets.nmu.edu; fans can live stream both contests through MidcoSports Plus, and tune into 100.3 The Point of the Radio Results Network. Fans can also follow along with live stats and post-game coverage provided through nmuwildcats.com, and subscribe to the official NMU hockey social media accounts for coverage all throughout the weekend. 

It's NMU Family Weekend at the Berry Events Center! Families can purchase four tickets for $60 for both nights. 

The Slabz 4th Period Party returns for 2026/27! Fans are welcome to head to Slabz Bar & Grill following the conclusion of Saturday night's contest, located at the Ramada Inn at 412 W Washington St. in Marquette.  

NMU is coming off an exciting weekend in East Lansing, playing the #3-ranked Michigan State Spartans during Michigan State's homecoming weekend. On top of campus and the MSU faithful riled up for homecoming weekend and the season home-opener for its hockey team, the Wildcats had to manage playing against a team whose average height is the second-biggest in the NCAA and boasts nine first-round draft picks with 17 total, numbers which were completely unheard of until this season.

It was a 3-2 game before MSU rattled off three straight power play goals on Friday night, and it was 1-1 on Sunday before three of MSU's four final tallies came during special team moments. NMU has allowed nine power play goals, seven of which came this weekend, and is a number that is worst across the NCAA Division I landscape.

One big sticking point for head coach Dave Shyiak was the Wildcat play at five-on-five. Yes, the Spartans won by four goals both nights, but the 'Cats were right with MSU at even strength, as both teams scored three times at five-on-five, with MSU holding a slight shot advantage of 53-38 over both nights. It was particularly evident on Sunday afternoon,  as the Wildcats posted seven shots in "high-danger areas" to Michigan State's nine.

Five-on-five has been a success for the 'Cats in the early going of the season, having only allowed three goals at even strength, the fewest of any NCAA Division I team that has played at least four games.

"I thought our guys [at] five-on-five did a lot of good things. And you know, how you generate a little bit more is you got to have the puck more. I think possession-wise they had a little bit more, but also on Friday night we didn't have a whole lot of energy because we killed all those penalties. That's a big difference. And on the second night, for a good period and a half there, I thought we did generate. We just didn't connect and didn't execute. And so, we're making the right plays; it's just executing and finding the back of the net."

The Wildcats were booked for 50 penalty minutes on Friday night and six on Sunday, as MSU went 5-10 (50%) on the power play Friday, and 2-3 (66.7%) on Sunday, including a short-handed goal.

After the weekend, NMU leads the nation in penalty minutes (99) and penalty minutes per game (24.8), mainly due to two 10-minute game misconducts assessed to junior captain Medrick Bolduc and freshman defenseman Jason Davenport. Reilley Kotai was also assessed a 10-minute game misconduct on opening night against Miami (OH).

Davenport's open-ice hit with a handful of seconds left at the end of regulation on Friday sparked a brawl to break out as time was expiring. Head coach Shyiak made sure his group had more opportunity to skate at five-on-five on Sunday.

"We obviously had a big communication to make a point of [not taking as many penalties] on Sunday morning, and we did. If you asked me what I liked about our team [on Sunday], we played more under control, but our habits were much, much better. We weren't taking the cheap stick infractions, and we weren't trying to run around and take guys' heads off. When you get charged up, you kind of lose your habits, and you play out of emotion rather than a controlled emotion, and we did that. So, we addressed it, and I give our guys credit. We had three power plays and [Michigan State] had three power plays. I'll take that any night of the week on the Sunday there.

"For a lot of our guys, if not all, they haven't been in an environment like that and playing a team like that. It was sold out, great environment, great crowd, and a lot of those guys are going to play in the NHL. So, I think at times we were a little overwhelmed, too charged up, and that's why I think we took a lot of penalties in the first game. But in the second game, obviously we addressed it; you just can't take that many penalties against an excellent hockey team. The next night, they only had three. But at the same time, the power play goals that we did give up, you just can't give them that many looks. And unfortunately, it was a special teams weekend, and they were better than us in that category."

While NMU was unable to come away with a win to show for its efforts, head coach Shyiak noted that this trip was another step in the right direction, and another building block for his young team to continue to grow, both five-on-five and special teams. 

"We [have] to be repeatable in our habits and how we play five-on-five. We had segments last weekend when we were really good five-on-five, had good puck possession time, had good energy, and had good legs. It's more about us continuing to grow and get better.

"And then our special teams, obviously, we've been working on it a lot. We were good the first weekend against Miami, and not so good against a very good opponent at Michigan State. This weekend, it'll be critical again. Special teams and goaltending are always critical, especially early in the season [as] you're trying to get continuity to your game and rhythm to your game."

Due to injuries to forwards Peter Cisar and Merril Steenari, and Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick defenseman Warren Clark, the Wildcats saw debuts from Owen Pitters and Adam Csabi, both playing with each other on the 'Cats fourth line on Sunday evening. Olivier Beaulieu filled in for a suspended Jason Davenport on Sunday, slotting in with Grayden Daul on the third pair.

"[Injuries] gave opportunity for some guys to go in the lineup; I thought Pitters and Csabi did a real solid job, so it's a chance for them to get some live action and for us to evaluate to see where they might fit in."

Stonehill comes to town this weekend, and is receiving votes in the USCHO and USA Today national hockey polls after sweeping Cornell on its opening weekend. 

"I think Stonehill works extremely hard. They're competitive, they're well coached and organized, and they're really tight in their own end. They don't give up easy offense, and on top of that, they're really good at applying puck pressure. So obviously we'll address that, but it's an important series for our guys just to take another step forward and get better in our overall game.

"This weekend, we got to worry about us getting better with our habits and being consistent with our habits, our workload, our compete, and being connected not just for segments of the game, for the whole 60 minutes... Every coach will tell you they want consistency; they want repeatability... We've got a real hungry team that's out to prove something, and we've got a lot of room to continue to grow. We've got a lot of work to do, so that's our focus this week and getting ready for a very good hockey team on Friday night."






 
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Players Mentioned

Olivier Beaulieu

#8 Olivier Beaulieu

D
5' 11"
Sophomore
Medrick Bolduc

#13 Medrick Bolduc

F
5' 9"
Junior
Peter Cisar

#12 Peter Cisar

F
6' 0"
Sophomore
Warren Clark

#4 Warren Clark

D
6' 3"
Senior
Grayden Daul

#5 Grayden Daul

D
6' 0"
Junior
Reilley Kotai

#14 Reilley Kotai

F
6' 3"
Sophomore
Merril Steenari

#26 Merril Steenari

F
5' 10"
Sophomore
Jason Davenport

#6 Jason Davenport

D
6' 2"
Freshman
Owen Pitters

#28 Owen Pitters

F
6' 1"
Freshman
Adam Csabi

#29 Adam Csabi

F
5' 11"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Olivier Beaulieu

#8 Olivier Beaulieu

5' 11"
Sophomore
D
Medrick Bolduc

#13 Medrick Bolduc

5' 9"
Junior
F
Peter Cisar

#12 Peter Cisar

6' 0"
Sophomore
F
Warren Clark

#4 Warren Clark

6' 3"
Senior
D
Grayden Daul

#5 Grayden Daul

6' 0"
Junior
D
Reilley Kotai

#14 Reilley Kotai

6' 3"
Sophomore
F
Merril Steenari

#26 Merril Steenari

5' 10"
Sophomore
F
Jason Davenport

#6 Jason Davenport

6' 2"
Freshman
D
Owen Pitters

#28 Owen Pitters

6' 1"
Freshman
F
Adam Csabi

#29 Adam Csabi

5' 11"
Freshman
F