Northern Michigan University hockey headed to the Great White North
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Northern Michigan University's Denver Pierce, left, keeps his eyes open for a play after passing the puck past a Minnesota State defender during their game on Nov. 3 at the Berry Events Center in Marquette. (Journal photo by Rachel Oakley)
However, this weekend's series might be their toughest so far. Not because of the quality of the opponent, but the long travel to get there.
The Wildcats (6-4, 4-2 WCHA) will face off against Alaska-Fairbanks (3-7-2, 1-4-1), which means some grueling travel combined with a lack of sunlight and having to change their internal clocks by four hours.
NMU head coach Grant Potulny played some games against Alaska-Anchorage when Minnesota was in the WCHA, but this is the first time he's had to take a team up to the Last Frontier.
He said that the Wildcats had to make some adjustments to their practice schedule, with the main difficulty of this series will be his team getting used to its surroundings.
"We practiced harder yesterday than we normally do," Potulny said Tuesday. "I like that fact that we're getting in a little later there to keep guys tired and get the guys' clocks acclimated as quickly as they can."
The other difficulty that comes with playing Fairbanks is that they're set up differently than the other teams Northern has faced so far. Most teams like to race to the puck, but the Nanooks focus more on their defense.
"The challenge for us is to push the pace of the game to a level that is uncomfortable for them," Potulny said. "If we do that, we'll have some opportunities to have some success. But if it turns into a game where we're turning the puck over or not getting our offense going or not being able to play fast, that's an advantage for them."
Northern may have a challenge, but the Wildcats have a distinct advantage over the Nanooks on special teams.
NMU's penalty kill was outstanding against a potent Michigan Tech offense and only gave up one power play goal to Minnesota State the week before.
This week, the Wildcats just have to avoid being sloppy as Fairbanks has the worst power play in the nation, 60th out of 60. The Nanooks' penalty kill is decent, but Northern has been clicking with the man advantage lately and has the potential to stay that way.
"We were 11 for 11 on the penalty kill last weekend and at a huge moment in the game, we had a 5-on-3 and we got the kill," Potulny said. "Not only did we kill those penalties, but we made momentum.
"That's the challenge. On the power play, you don't always have to score, but you have to generate momentum.
"Defensively on the kill, if you can choke them out a bit, that really gives your team a boost and conversely, the best players on the other team are on the power play and now they're frustrated."
The biggest star for the Wildcats in the season's early going has to be forward Robbie Payne. The senior winger has nine goals in 10 games and has blossomed in Potulny's fast-paced style.
Potulny obviously likes what he's seen so far from Payne, but would like to see more guys help him out on the scoring sheet.
"He's shown that he's an elite goal scorer in college hockey," the coach said. "We need to keep Robbie going. He's kind of been driving our offensive engine, but we've got to get some more depth scoring.
"We talked about that on Saturday in a meeting and it was nice to see (Filip) Starzynski score a goal. Now we need some other guys to chip in and you have to create offense by committee."
Each game in Alaska starts at 11:07 p.m. EST.
Ryan Stieg can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 252. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.net.