The NMU hockey team was left thirsty for victory after the team suffered a sweep last weekend, breaking their tie in the standings with the Western Michigan University Broncos (8-5-7-4 CCHA, 14-6-8 overall). The Wildcats (9-9-2 CCHA, 11-13-4 overall) are now seventh in the CCHA as the team prepares for its second-to-last home series of the regular season.
Head coach Walt Kyle said the team is disappointed with the loss because the battle for fourth place looks bleaker than before.
“It was a great opportunity for us to put ourselves in control of our own destiny for that fourth spot and now we no longer control it,” Kyle said. “We have to win and we have to rely on other teams to beat the teams ahead of us as well.”
The game on Friday, Jan. 28 began with scores from both the Broncos and the Wildcats in the first period. The second period followed suit with another pair of goals from both teams, but the third period favored the Broncos, who scored three times for a Wildcat loss, 5-2. Both offenses were close, with the Wildcats earning 26 shots on goal and the Broncos earning 23.
Kyle said in his view, the game was really 3-2 because the final two goals weren’t hard-earned.
“One was an empty-netter, and one was kind of a freak bounce. After they dumped the puck from the red line it took a real bad hop,” Kyle said.
The Saturday, Jan. 29 game started with a power play goal from senior forward Greger Hanson, who scored at 17:44, but the game went downhill from there. Western scored three goals in the second period and three in the third, defeating the Wildcats 6-1. The Broncos registered 50 shots on goal to the Wildcats’ 18 shots.
Both goaltenders, junior Reid Ellingson and freshman Jared Coreau, played one game on the weekend, however Kyle said neither netminder had a spectacular performance, but also that the group effort is what really hurt the team.
Sophomore defenseman Kyle Follmer said the last series was important and it was tough to come away without points.
“Our goal for the weekend was to get two (wins) but when you’re on the road it’s good to get one and we just didn’t get the job done so coming home with no points is a big disappointment,” Follmer said.
This weekend, the Wildcats host their second-to-last home series against the Lake Superior State University Lakers (5-9-6-4 CCHA, 7-12-7 overall). The Lakers are currently ninth of 11 in the CCHA, with 25 points, compared to NMU’s 29 points.
Kyle said coupled with the Wildcats missing multiple players this week, the Lakers have some key players for this series who were injured last time.
Follmer added that if last week’s games were important to the team, then this upcoming series is crucial.
“These are must-wins. We need to sweep: anything other than a sweep would be disappointing, so I think the stress on this weekend is huge,” Follmer said.
