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Medrick Bolduc

Hockey Braden Golisek - Assistant Director of Sports Information

PREVIEW: Playoffs On the Line in Season Finale

The Wildcats need a sweep in Mankato and LSSU to sweep Ferris to make the CCHA postseason

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The final weekend of the CCHA regular season is here, and the NMU hockey team's playoff hopes are still in the balance as they are set to face the #18 Minnesota State Mavericks.

To make the post season, the Wildcats (3-28-1, 3-20-1 CCHA) need to take all six possible CCHA points from Minnesota State (17-9-6, 13-7-4). This will be no easy feat, as the Mavericks are just four points outside of winning the MacNaughton Cup for the fourth time in the five years that the CCHA has been re-formed. MSU has won the MacNaughton Cup nine of the past 11 years (Bemidji State, 23/24; Bemidji State, 16/17). 

Along with NMU needing the full six points, the Wildcats need the Lake Superior State Lakers to sweep the Ferris State Bulldogs this weekend. If NMU gets a full six CCHA points and the Bulldogs are held to none, NMU will hold the regulation wins tiebreaker and advance to the playoffs. Head coach Dave Shyiak made sure that was the message to his team ahead of the weekend.

"That's the message with the guys; we're not out of this yet. We need to do our job and try and win on Friday, and see what happens in the [Ferris] series... We've got good kids, they give us everything they have, but it's just not enough. We need to find a way to get a win." Puck drop from the  Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center is set for 8:07 p.m. ET on Friday, February 27, and 7:07 p.m. ET Saturday, February 28. The games are available for streaming on Midco Sports Plus, fans can tune into the Radio Results Network (100.3 The Point) to listen on the airwaves, and fans can follow along with live stats on the NMU athletics website.

Hear from Dave Shyiak

Shyiak knows how important this weekend is, for both teams, as the Wildcats are fighting to sneak into the playoffs while the Mavericks are looking to retain the MacNaughton Cup on home ice. Minnesota State is 33-9-5 all-time against Northern Michigan in games dating back to 2013-14, MSU is 7-1-2 in its last ten against NMU, and in November, the Mavericks swept the Wildcats in Marquette scores of 3-2 and 4-0 at Berry Events Center. The Mavericks are also 19-4-2 at home vs. NMU and average 3.64 goals per game.

"They're a good team and they're playing for a championship. There's five teams that could win the [MacNaughton Cup] this weekend, that's how tight our league is right now. They're going to play their best game to try and win a championship and potentially earn a spot into the NCAA Tournament, so they're going to give us their best game... We need to play for pride, play for each other, do our best to win the game, and hope that Ferris doesn't win the first game."

"Our mindset has to be right. The season's not over, we'll prepare the same way as a coaching staff, and the guys know how they have to play, it's just being consistent."

With an injury to Oliver Auyeung-Ashton, head coach Shyiak went with William Gramme on Friday before going to freshman Max Weilandt on Saturday. Weilandt appeared in his first collegiate start, and the head coach had praise for the freshman netminder.

"I thought he played good. He had [previously] played in three games in tough situations coming in after we've changed the goalie, and he's done really well [in those instances]. He's a great kid, he prepares accordingly, a good teammate and culture driver... and I thought he did pretty good going in for his first game. He deserved the opportunity, and we gave him a start to see what he could do."

After missing 18 games to injury after the first two series of the season, freshman forward Peter Cisar has found a spark as the season is winding down. Cisar has seven points in his last eight games after posting two points in his first ten, including goals in back-to-back games and three points over the weekend against LSSU.

"He's a really intense kid, highly competitive... and he's done a really good job of putting it in [as of late]. He is a freshman, he's going to have his moments where he makes mistakes, but as we're building this program and have only had one year to recruit, he's one of those kids for us who we think will continue to grow and get better."
 

 



 
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Players Mentioned

William Gramme

#1 William Gramme

G
6' 3"
Junior
Peter Cisar

#12 Peter Cisar

F
6' 0"
Freshman
Oliver Auyeung-Ashton

#30 Oliver Auyeung-Ashton

G
5' 10"
Freshman
Max Weilandt

#32 Max Weilandt

G
6' 1"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

William Gramme

#1 William Gramme

6' 3"
Junior
G
Peter Cisar

#12 Peter Cisar

6' 0"
Freshman
F
Oliver Auyeung-Ashton

#30 Oliver Auyeung-Ashton

5' 10"
Freshman
G
Max Weilandt

#32 Max Weilandt

6' 1"
Freshman
G