NMU, Tech set to resume hockey rivalry
Courtesy of NMU Athletics
MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan University hockey team plays three games this week, beginning on Tuesday (Feb. 12) at Michigan Tech. The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. from the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena in the final non-conference game of the season.
NMU is 12-13-4 overall and 6-12-4-1 in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. The Wildcats currently sit in 10th place in the CCHA with 23 points. The ‘Cats are coming off a series split with Ferris State and travel to East Lansing for the only meeting with Michigan State over the weekend.
Senior forward Matt Thurber (3-22) leads NMU with 25 points. His 22 assists lead the CCHA and is seventh in the nation. Sophomore forward Reed Seckel (10-8=18) and junior forward Stephen Vigier (5-12=17) also have over 16 points. Seckel leads the team with 10 goals while sophomore forward Ryan Daugherty has nine. Junior goaltender Jared Coreau is 12-13-4 on the season with a 2.51 goals against average and a 92.1 save percentage.
MTU is 9-14-4 overall and 10th in the WCHA at 6-12-4. The Huskies hosted their annual Winter Carnival series last weekend, earning a split with Alaska Anchorage. MTU won the John MacInnes Cup, outscoring the Seawolves 10-6 on the weekend. Alex Petan (10-15=25) and David Johnstone (8-15=23) lead the offense while Phoenix Copley is 6-10-1 between the pipes with a 2.86 goals against average and a 90.8 save percentage.
NMU won 2-1 from the Berry Events Center in the first meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 4. The ‘Cats scored goals in the first and second periods to defeat the Huskies for the fourth game in a row. Coreau had 25 saves, including 11 in each of the last two periods. Junior defenseman CJ Ludwig and junior forward Erik Higby each scored their second goals of the season. Freshman forward Darren Nowick picked up his first collegiate assist on Higby’s goal.
Northern is 6-1 vs. opponents from the WCHA so far this season. The ‘Cats opened the season with a sweep of Wisconsin. The following week, NMU split at Nebraska Omaha. NMU defeated MTU on Dec. 4 in the first of two meetings between the two teams. The ‘Cats swept St. Cloud (Jan. 4-5) and wrap up the non-conference schedule at Michigan Tech.
NMU is on a four-game win streak in the series against MTU. NMU leads the series 66-48-13 and 28-25-8 in Houghton, dating back to 1979.
NMU split a CCHA series vs. Ferris State from Marquette. The Bulldogs won 3-1 on Friday and NMU snapped its three-game losing streak with a 3-0 shutout win on Saturday. It was the first shutout of the season for Coreau and his second career shutout. He had 19 saves in the win. Coreau’s other shutout was Feb. 11, 2012 at Bowling Green when he had 31 saves.
Sophomore Mitch Jones scored his first goal of the season on Saturday. He also added an assist. Jones has transitioned from defense to forward in the last 11 games. He has seven career goals.