The NMU hockey team hiked south to Ohio to face-off against Miami, coming out of the series with another tie and another loss.
Following a similar weekend against the Wolverines, the No. 16-ranked Wildcats lost Friday, Nov. 9 in Miami, Ohio against the No. 5 RedHawks, 5-2. The ’Cats turned it around on Saturday, Nov. 10, tying the game 2-2. The RedHawks were able to clinch an added conference point to win the shootout.
NMU head coach Walt Kyle said the consistent Friday night losses followed by Saturday victories are happening for a reason.
“We play with a lot more value to the puck on Saturday nights than we have on Friday nights,” Kyle said. “I think the biggest thing for us is that we come out with good intensity every night, but we haven’t valued the puck on Friday nights. We can’t get caught into games where we are on our heels, keep giving them the puck, and end up having to defend all the time.”
On Saturday, NMU brought the heat early in the first period with sophomore forward Ryan Kesti scoring six minutes in. Kesti’s first of the season goal was assisted by freshman forward Nate Taurence and junior defenseman Wade Epp. After Miami tied up the game later in the first, junior forward Stephan Vigier pocketed a power play goal assisted by junior defenseman CJ Ludwig and senior forward Matt Thurber.
Thurber currently leads the CCHA in assists with 11. Thurber said although he leads the nation in assists, he aims to do more to meet higher goals.
“I need to shoot the puck more,” Thurber said. “I have been looking more at passing the puck instead of shooting it as of right now. I’ve been passing the puck well, but I need to start finding the back of the net.”
Between the posts, junior goaltender Jared Coreau tallied 31 saves out of 33 RedHawk shots-on-goal for the night. Miami managed to get two pucks passed Coreau during the shootout to clinch the game.
The day before, the RedHawks led the game early on with a goal 10:37 into the first. Sophomore forward DJ Vandercook brought the ’Cats into the game with a first period goal of his own, assisted by sophomore forward Ryan Daugherty and Vigier.
NMU did not bring another goal to the table until the third period, although Miami pushed four more past Coreau to bring the game to 5-1.
Ludwig brought the game to 5-2 when he scored with less than five minutes left of play, assisted by sophomore forward Reed Seckel and sophomore defenseman Mitch Jones.
Jones said the team is working on ways to bring back the performances that sparked the Wildcats’ abilities last year.
“We have been tweaking a lot of things,” Jones said. “A lot of things that we work on are by team. Obviously, we need to just focus out there. I think cutting down on the amount of penalties would help us out a lot, too. When you are short-handed, it’s easy to hold the fort for one or two penalties, but when we get them every period then it is tougher because the other team has more time to adjust to what we are doing.”
Coreau saved 24 out of 26 shots-on-goal during the game, while freshman goaltender Michael Doan saved seven after he replaced Coreau in the crease during the last 10 minutes of the third.
Although NMU was able to return to Marquette for the week to practice, the team will be heading back on the road and back to Ohio for its next series against the Buckeyes.
The puck drops at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 16 and Saturday, Nov. 17 in Columbus, Ohio.
