NMU’s Denver Pierce on defense with UAF’s Nick Hinz, center and goalie Anton Martinsson in action Saturday evening, February 10, 2018 at Berry Events Center. (Journal photo by Corey Kelly)

MARQUETTE — Denver Pierce has taken over the helm at Northern Michigan University.

Hailing from Sault Ste. Marie, home of the famous Soo Locks, it’s appropriate that he is now serving as captain of the Wildcats.

Pierce is also the first native of the Upper Peninsula to lead the Wildcats since Marquette native Justin Florek did so in the 2011-12 season and he takes a great sense of pride in that.

“It’s a dream come true,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to play for Northern Michigan and to be the captain my last year, it’s such an honor. It’s anything that a U.P. kid would want.”

Pierce is a typical Yooper forward in that he’s a grinder who finds holes in defenses and makes other players better. He’s not going to bust loose for highlight goals, and instead, has more of a blue collar “aw shucks” kind of way about him.

Pierce just shows up to work to do his job every day and that’s what NMU head coach Grant Potulny likes about him.

“Denver is probably the poster child for what we hope to be,” Potulny said. “He’s a farmer and he works long hours in the summer.

“We talk about having blue-collar skill on our team and he’s obviously talented because you hear a lot about (Adam) Rockwood and (Troy) Loggins, but until they got Denver, they were good players in the league, but with the addition of Denver, they were elite players in the league.

“That’s one part of the skill element, but he’s got a blue-collar part, too. He’s mature, he works and he’s probably the toughest player I’ve ever coached.

“So he’s exactly what we want for the face of our team. He’s a great student and he’s just a phenomenal leader and we’re lucky to have that type of guy.”

While his linemates, Rockwood and Loggins, tend to get all the attention from other players as well as the media, Pierce is content to just let NMU’s two big offensive stars do their thing. He also says he doesn’t mind that he is often the “forgotten” member of the Wildcats’ top line.

“We just all bring something different to the game,” Pierce said. “Rockwood is a great passer and has great vision for the ice, Loggins is a shooter and I just feel like I create ice for them. I do some of their dirty work and get some loose pucks out so they can have some open ice. It works out pretty well.

“I just hang out in the shadows. They’ve earned everything that they got. They’re (All-WCHA preseason) First Team in our league and both tied for (WCHA preseason) Player of the Year and they both earned that. So I have no hard feelings at all. Once I earn that, then I deserve it.”

Pierce also feels that his assistant captains (Rockwood and All-American defenseman Phil Beaulieu) deserve a say in how the team is run and doesn’t rule with an iron fist over his teammates.

“When we make a decision, we all have input on it and it works out really well,” Pierce said. “Even the guys who are older that don’t have letters, we all are the same in what we’re doing. It’s not a dictatorship here.”

The senior forward may let other people voice their thoughts, but he says he wants to hold his team to a high standard and that he expects them to play better.

“You’ve got to be better every year if you want to get to the top and that’s our goal,” he said. “We didn’t win anything last year. That’s the main thing that we want this year. We want to win a championship, our league championship and go make a run in the (NCAA) tournament.”

Pierce added that the key to having that level of success is for the Wildcats not to turn things over and hand their opponents easy victories this season.

“My goal for our team is to make sure that we don’t give games away,” he said. “Last year, we gave a couple away. We came out flat for a period or two and it cost us the game. We can’t have that this year. We need to be consistent. That’s what it’s all about. Being consistent.”

Consistency will definitely be key this year as the WCHA has three or four other teams that have the ability to win the conference and with all those preseason awards combined with the turnaround of last year, the spotlight is firmly fixed on the Wildcats.

When asked if he prefers it that way, Pierce said he feels that the awards were just based on last year and that all that means is that they need to continue to raise their expectations.

“We just received some credit for how well we played and that’s OK,” he said. “It doesn’t really make a difference, we just expect more out of ourselves. That’s basically how I feel about it.”

Pierce may not pay attention to all the hype, but what he has been paying attention to is the renewed interest in the program from the community as well as other Northern fans.

He said that might help give the Wildcats that little extra motivation when they hit the ice for their home opener in a couple of weeks.

“It makes you that much more excited to go out and play when you have a crowd that supports you,” Pierce said. “It makes it that much easier to have energy during the game and wanting to get pumped up for it, so it’s definitely great to have the locals and a great crowd show up at our games.”

Now NMU fans will have a Yooper leading the charge out of the tunnel and that might just be exactly what the Wildcats need to earn first place this season.

Ryan Stieg can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 252. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.net.