NMU hockey moves up in national rankings

MARQUETTE – The Northern Michigan University hockey team had a successful series against Ferris State. The Wildcats took three out of a possible four points against the Bulldogs. NMU shutout Ferris State Saturday night, 2-0. The Wildcats special teams scored a power play goal and killed all five penalties they took.

“We talked about it and make a little adjustment on our powerplay,” said NMU head coach Walt Kyle. “We moved one of our units to a two–point look– that was the unit that scored. (Mitch) Jones scored on that long shot. They did a good job killing (penalties) too– one just found its way sneaking through a screen.”

“We’re working hard out there,” said Wildcats defenseman Mitch Jones. “Walt is demanding that the guys that are out there work hard out there– I think we’re doing a real good job. Our goaltending obviously helps. Mathias (Dahlstrom) has been great back there. It’s pretty tough to score on the powerplay when you can’t beat the goalie.”

“We crashed the net a little bit more and got a few more shots,” said NMU forward Robbie Payne. “We kept their shots down. We’re a good defensive team, one of the best defenses in the country. We work really hard doing that, which will create some offense, just keeping the puck out of our zone and keeping it in theirs.”

NMU moved up from No. 20 to No. 18 in this week’s USCHO.com rankings.