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Hockey wins one game out of four played over holiday break

Hockey wins one game out of four played over holiday break

While campus was away for the well-deserved holiday break, the NMU Hockey team was hitting the ice rink. Out of the four games that were played, the team won a single game. The they lost against Michigan State, Michigan Tech, and Minnesota State. They won a game against Minnesota State as well.

In the first game against Michigan State, the team lost 0-2. Ryan Ouellette had over 41 saves within the 55 minutes that he was on the ice. Ethan Barwick entered after Ouellette, and made the five saves that he was sent. This game was the second time in history that neither team was penalized within the program’s history.

In the second game of the four that were played, the Wildcats went into overtime against Michigan Tech, losing 3-4. Matthew Argentina was the first person to score for NMU, followed by Tanner Latsch and Grayden Slipec. The Wildcats were outshot 42-25, and Barwick recorded another 9 saves.

In back to back matches against Minnesota State, the Wildcats and the Mavericks both won a game each. The Wildcats won the first match of the weekend, having the final score being 3-2. This win was the first win against a ranked opponent since the win against Michigan Tech in 2023. Head coach Dave Shyiak said in a post game interview, “We really needed it, and it’s a new start to the second half…”.

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Ryan Duguay recorded his first career hat trick, and said in the post game press conference, “I owe it all to my linemates, they did a great job of finding me and it just felt like the puck was following me today, which is always a good thing to have.”

To round out the last game since break, Northern faced off against Minnesota State again. This time, the odds were not in their favor, as the team lost 1-6. Between both teams, there were over 67 minutes of penalties given. Within those 67 minutes, there were three 10-minute misconduct penalties, making it the most given out in a single game since 1-10-24, where the Wildcats and the Tommies were given over 68 minutes of penalties. These games against Minnesota State started a stretch of CCHA conference games that extend into the end of the season.

The team travels this upcoming weekend to Bemidji, MN to face off against Bemidji State. The Wildcats current record is 2-19-1. Bemidji’s current record is 8-10-4. Game starts at 8:07pm this Friday. NMU currently has a shot percentage of .057, compared to their opponent’s percentage of .099. Their saves are 698 compared to 484. NMU has only spent a total of 188 minutes in penalties all season compared to 191.

In the following weeks, Michigan Tech travels to Marquette to have another round of rivalry games. Following the game on January 25th, there will be a 4th period party at Slabz Bar & Grill.

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