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Northern Michigan University

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Michael Burchill

Hockey Braden Golisek - Assistant Director of Sports Information

PREVIEW: Wildcats Face #3 Spartans

After a split weekend with (RV) Miami, the Wildcats travel to East Lansing as the Spartans open the 2026-27 campaign

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The NMU men's hockey team continues the 2026-27 campaign with its first road trip of the season, traveling six hours south to East Lansing, Michigan, to take on the highly-ranked Michigan State Spartans.

The Wildcats (1-1-0, 0-0-0 CCHA) opened with a solid performance against (RV/RV) Miami (OH), earning a weekend split after a 3-0 win over the RedHawks on opening night, kicking off the 50th season of NMU hockey with the first jersey retirements in program history, honoring current Columbus Bluejackets GM Don Waddell (1976-1980), four-year captain Tom Laidlaw (1976-1980), and longtime NHLer Steve Bozek (1978-81).

Highlighting the on-ice performance were sophomore netminder Oliver Auyeung-Ashton and freshman center Coster Dunn, who earned CCHA Goaltender and Rookie of the Year honors after the weekend. Auyeung-Ashton stopped all 30 shots against in the 3-0 shutout, didn't allow a single 5-on-5 goal against, and posted a solid .966 SV%. Dunn scored the game-winning short-handed goal on Friday, averaged 20:31 of ice time - the most of any CCHA freshman and third among all CCHA skaters - and won 20 faceoffs for a solid 54% success rate while playing in all situations for the Wildcats. 

NMU now looks ahead to a matchup with college hockey powerhouse Michigan State, which is the third-ranked team in the country. The Wildcats and Spartans play Friday, October 9, at 7:30 p.m. ET, and Sunday, October 11, at 1:00 p.m. ET, as the Michigan State football team hosts Illinois for its 110th homecoming game on Saturday, October 10. Fans can stream both games on BigTen Plus, listen to Austin Graham on the airwaves of the Radio Results Network, follow along with live stats provided through nmuwildcats.com, and subscribe to the NMU hockey social media page for consistent coverage throughout the weekend.

While the meeting between the Wildcats and the Spartans will act as the regular season opener, the Spartans hosted Boston College for an exhibition matchup last weekend, with MSU downing BC 5-2. Anthony Romani and Eric Nilson both scored two goals apiece; Nilson tacked on a pair of assists for a four-point night, and netminders Quentin Sigurdson and Joshua Ravensbergen split time between the pipes.

"Well, you can always work on special teams, and you can always be better on faceoffs," added head coach Dave Shyiak when asked about preparing his team for the road trip. "For us, it's how are we going to generate a little bit more five-on-five?"

The Wildcats and RedHawks scored eight combined goals over the weekend, none of which were at five-on-five. NMU scored three power-play goals, a short-handed goal, and an empty-netter, while MIA tacked on two power-play goals and two empty-netters in its 4-1 win on Saturday.

While not allowing a goal at five-on-five shows signs of good defense and goaltending, primarily delivered by top pair Joe Schiller and Noah Houle and the second pairing of Ian Engel and Jason Davenport, who were on the ice for a combined 160+ minutes of ice time over the weekend, that also shows a lack of offensive production at even strength.

"We need more zone time. We got to spend more time and stack shifts in the offensive zone. Michigan State defends hard, and they break out well, so we're going to have to work hard to hang on to pucks and force them to defend a little bit. And if you do that, then it takes away from their offense because they have no juice.

Where the 'Cats didn't struggle over the weekend was on special teams. NMU was a nice 8/10 (80%) on the penalty kill over the weekend and a solid 3/9 (33.3%) on the man-advantage. The 'Cats three power-play goals were the most of any NCAA Division I program over the weekend. 

"You're continually working on all areas of the game. It's still early; we've only played two games, and you can always round out your game every single week. So, continue to be strong in special teams and faceoffs, and we don't want to give up the easy goal against Michigan State."

With the Spartans' average height of 6' 1.8" (the largest average in the nation) and average weight of 193 pounds (the 10th heaviest team across the DI landscape), MSU holds a major advantage over the Wildcats in stature, as NMU's average height of 5' 11.5" and average weight of 181.6 pounds are among the smallest in the country.

Head coach Shyiak says his team is going to have to prepare for a physically taxing weekend ahead.

"Things happen much more quicker. Michigan State is one of the biggest teams in the country. They're huge, they play physical... and they play to their identity. It's hard to get the lines [matchup] on them, and they defend the net really well... so it's going to be hard to get pucks and bodies to the net."

And on top of that? 17 NHL draft picks, with nine of those taken in the first round of their respective draft classes, and four more of those taken in rounds two and three. Six of those nine first-round draft selections are freshmen this season, highlighted by defenseman Chase Reid, who was taken seventh overall in the 2026 NHL draft by the Seattle Kraken.

"They've got excellent young talent that can get you up and going and make plays, but they're a team that doesn't beat themselves. They're very structured and detailed, and when you make mistakes, they make you pay, and they make it difficult to score goals. And usually their special teams are really good, so it makes for a great challenge. For our guys to go into that rink and that atmosphere, I think it'll be a great experience. Our guys are jacked up about it."








 
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Players Mentioned

Oliver Auyeung-Ashton

#30 Oliver Auyeung-Ashton

G
5' 10"
Sophomore
Joe Schiller

#2 Joe Schiller

D
6' 0"
Junior
Noah Houle

#3 Noah Houle

D
6' 1"
Junior
Ian Engel

#19 Ian Engel

D
5' 11"
Sophomore
Jason Davenport

#6 Jason Davenport

D
6' 2"
Freshman
Coster Dunn

#9 Coster Dunn

F
6' 1"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Oliver Auyeung-Ashton

#30 Oliver Auyeung-Ashton

5' 10"
Sophomore
G
Joe Schiller

#2 Joe Schiller

6' 0"
Junior
D
Noah Houle

#3 Noah Houle

6' 1"
Junior
D
Ian Engel

#19 Ian Engel

5' 11"
Sophomore
D
Jason Davenport

#6 Jason Davenport

6' 2"
Freshman
D
Coster Dunn

#9 Coster Dunn

6' 1"
Freshman
F