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MARQUETTE - If last weekend's performance against then No. 8-ranked Notre Dame is any indication, the Northern Michigan University hockey team has the ability to play with the best in the nation.

The Wildcats picked up a Saturday night win and a Sunday shootout-loss at South Bend. Despite only taking one point on Sunday, NMU head coach Walt Kyle said the second game of the series was the team's best performance of the year.

"I think that Notre Dame's a very good team," Kyle said, "and to be able to go down there last weekend - last year we went down there and got it handed to us twice, real good -and do what we did, I was very happy with the effort."

The Wildcats (3-5-2, 2-3-1 Central Collegiate Hockey Association) will need to continue that type of play if they hope to win this weekend against the No. 12-ranked University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks (5-2-3, 2-2-2-1 CCHA).

"They're very good," Kyle said of the Mavericks. "They have a really good work ethic, they're a real good energy team, a forechecking team. And they've got off to a good start. They're certainly confident."

But, the Wildcats are confident too. They're coming off a three-point weekend with a top-10 team, in which a lot of the early-season questions were answered; the two biggest surrounded goaltending and the balance of scoring.

When Brian Stewart saved 25 shots on Sunday and 36 Saturday, and leading-scorer Mark Olver was held to one assist while his teammates tallied five goals against a stingy Irish defense, both questions were answered emphatically.

"It looked like he was back," Kyle said of Stewart. "And he proved it during the weekend. He played very very well, and probably won us the game on Saturday because of his performance, and then was very very solid again on Sunday."

And then there are the forwards.

"We had some scoring from people other than Mark," Kyle added. "(Matt) Butcher gets one, (Jared Brown) gets a couple, (Ray) Kaunisto gets a goal.

"We started to spread our scoring around a little bit," he said, "and I think that was important."

Everything that happened last weekend will now have to carry over into this weekend's home stand against the Mavericks.

UN-O head coach Dean Blais, who had only seen tape of the Wildcats playing in one game as of Wednesday morning- against Notre Dame - said he expected this weekend's series to be a battle.

"When they played Notre Dame, it looked like they (NMU) didn't really have a weakness," Blais said in a phone interview.

Blais made it clear he was serious about the Wildcats being without a weakness.

"I like everything about Northern Michigan's team," he added. "I like their goaltenders. It doesn't matter who's in there (Reid Ellingson or Stewart). I think both of them are effective goaltenders, and a fairly balanced group up front that can move the puck well, and they're physical, they finish their checks, block shots, do all the little things that are required of them.

And they've got mobile defensemen that move the puck."

Blais wasn't the only one impressed with the way the Wildcats played the Fighting Irish. NMU's senior goaltender liked what he saw as well.

"The way we played Sunday night (against Notre Dame)," Stewart said, "If we can play like that every night, we have a good chance against anybody in the country, any night."