Before the NMU hockey team traveled to No. 14 Alaska, the Nanooks were 5-1 at home, taking their only loss from the No. 11 Michigan Wolverines. The ’Cats held the Nanooks to a tie but defeated them the next day. The Wildcats look to take on another top 20 opponent at home this weekend.
Head coach Walt Kyle said he was glad to see the team earn some points in the standings while dealing with the time change.
“After 23 hours of travel, to be able to get four out of six points there, that’s something a lot of team’s won’t be able to do,” Kyle said.
On Friday, Nov. 19, the Wildcats trailed 1-0 for most of the game after a Nanook power play goal at 13:55 in the first period. However, Tyler Gron (Kyle Follmer) evened the score with a late goal at 16:11 in the third. No one got the winning overtime goal, thus the game ended in a tie. However, the shootout commenced to determine which team would get the extra point in the CCHA standings. The Nanooks ended the shootout for a final of 2-1. The Wildcats have an emerging pattern of ties against the Nanooks after tying three of their four games last season.
The first two periods of the Nov. 20 game were scoreless until midway through the third when Andrew Cherniwchan (Stephan Vigier, Erik Higby) scored at 12:18. Justin Florek earned an empty net goal at 19:34 before the Nanooks scored a goal with one second left in the game, although they still ended up one short, giving the Wildcats a 2-1 victory of their own.
Senior forward Greger Hanson said he was overall impressed with the team’s efforts against Alaska.
“I think we executed our systems well and came out strong both games. That was really to our advantage to have a good first period and build on that,” Hanson said.
Junior goaltender Reid Ellingson was named CCHA Goaltender of the Week for his series against the Nanooks, where he went 75-77 with a 0.86 goals-against average (GAA).
The Wildcats had little time back home before traveling to Minnesota to take on the Bemidji State Beavers. Kyle said it’s unconventional for a team to travel the week after Alaska, but it’s the luck of the draw. Hanson said the traveling wasn’t easy, especially during the holiday, but team did their best. He also said the team eventually got their Thanksgiving meal.
“Most places were closed on the way there, so we actually had to eat at McDonald’s for lunch, but we did get some turkey and stuffing at the hotel on Thursday, so we got our turkey dinner,” he said.
This was the first time the Wildcats traveled to Bemidji, as it was only the second time these two teams met for a series. The first series was at home in 2009 where the teams tied 3-3 before the ’Cats were defeated 5-0.
The ’Cats earned a 4-0 victory over the Beavers on Nov. 26, with no duplicate goals or assists; each time a player scored, there was a different set of players who had just touched the puck. Ellingson earned the second shutout of his career, with 37 saves on the night.
The Nov. 27 game did not turn out as well as the night before, with the Wildcats taking a 3-0 (two even-strength, one empty-net) loss to the Beavers. Kyle said that the team was too fatigued to keep up in the second game.
“We had to get right back on a bus and go to Bemidji, which was a quirk in our schedule after Alaska, certainly we were glad to get the win on Friday but there wasn’t much gas left on Saturday,” Kyle said.
Ellingson earned Goaltender of the Week for a second consecutive week, stopping 71 of 73 shots. He was also named the RBC Financial Group CCHA Player of the Month for November. Ellingson led the CCHA and the nation with his .966 save percentage and 1.14 GAA during November. Kyle had all positive remarks about Ellingson’s performances.
“He’s been our best player over the last several weeks, and he’s done a great job for us,” Kyle said.
Ellingson needs to continue his hot streak if the Wildcats are to challenge their upcoming non-conference series against the Western Michigan Broncos, who are coming off a weekend split against No. 5 Miami. The ’Cats will host the Broncos Friday, Dec. 3 and Saturday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. respectively.
