Northern Michigan University Wildcats hockey team hopes home ice will perk up win-loss record
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Northern Michigan University's Denver Pierce, right, waits in front of Michigan State goalie John Lethemon for a play to develop on Oct. 12 in East Lansing. (Photo courtesy Kevin Ware)
The Wildcats struggled on offense, defense and in the net against a team that they couldn't afford to that against in St. Cloud State.
The now-No. 2 ranked Huskies took down NMU 4-1 Friday and 5-0 Saturday, holding the Wildcats to only 10 shots on goal in the latter game.
Things will get a little easier this weekend as Northern won't be playing a national title contender, but it still will face a team that has given them fits the last couple of years in Bemidji State.
The Beavers were off last week, but got a win and a tie the previous week against No. 17 North Dakota, so they know how to stifle good opponents.
"I've had the chance to coach against coach (Tom) Serratore for a long time and I respect him as much as maybe anybody in college hockey," NMU head coach Grant Potulny said of Bemidji's head coach. "You know exactly how they're going to play. They're going to play staunch defense and they're not going to give you anything. You're going to have to earn everything you get.
"They're a stop-and-start program. Their sticks are in the right spots, so it's not going to be, I don't think, a high-scoring weekend. I think you're going to have to earn everything you get from them, and watching their games against North Dakota, they (North Dakota) didn't get anything easy.
"They've had another week to prepare and I know they'll be ready to play."
What the Beavers have been known for in the past is strong goaltending and the last time they came to Marquette, they shut out the Wildcats both nights. Star netminder Michael Bitzer may have moved on to the ECHL, but Bemidji is still strong between the pipes with the tandem of Henry Johnson and Zach Driscoll.
"They kind of had a battle coming in with Bitzer being gone and each guy played a game and each guy played great," Potulny said. "So typical (for) Bemidji, they have goaltending. They're just a really solid, deep team.
"The (Owen) Sillinger boy is pretty good and they're just a lot of the same. As much as you, as a coach, want to be able at times to just close your eyes and know what your guys are going to do, I think Coach Serratore can do that sometimes because his guys are so well trained."
Coming home to the Berry Events Center might help the Wildcats after spending the first two weeks of the season on the road, especially after they played so well at home last year with a 17-5 record. However, Potulny said that doesn't necessarily mean NMU is going to get a sweep of the Beavers.
"That doesn't guarantee us anything," he said. "Just because you're home doesn't mean you're going to win. You have to play the right way and you have to play well to beat anybody. Especially this weekend, we're going to need to play well."
Northern definitely didn't do that last week, as SCSU dominated on the ice, but even though his team got pummeled by the high-powered Huskies, Potulny said it might be to his team's benefit in the long run.
"They're a very good team, there's no doubt about that," he said. "Maybe it's humble pie and maybe it's a measuring stuck, but you have to learn from it.
"I want to play teams that are going to be there at the end because if you want to be there at the end, this is who you have to beat. As much as you're disappointed with the outcome, I think you can still get a lot of out of it."
What Potulny has gotten out of it is that he still feels he has a good team to put on the ice, emphasizing to his players that there's a long way to go and that they just need to keep working hard.
"I saw a lot of really, really high-level teams when I was at my old job (Minnesota), whether it was Boston College, North Dakota, Michigan, whoever," he said. "I really can't remember a team (St. Cloud) that (was) dialed in and that deep this early in the year.
"So that was part of it for sure. Like they're playing championship-caliber hockey, but the part of it that is maybe, concerning isn't the right word, but out of the four games, we've only played one.
"It has nothing to do with structure or how you want to play or who you are playing. It has to do with we just have some guys that aren't playing as well as they can.
"The good thing is that there's a lot of hockey left. Like I said to the guys, the sky's not falling. Wildcat hockey is in a good place as long as we come to the rink and you guys just work. All I want is work. Don't worry about anything else. Just worry about working at practice, today or tomorrow or whenever the next one is.
"We'll just start getting our identity back because I like our team. That hasn't changed. I like our personnel, I like our personalities. We just haven't played very well. The job of the coaching staff and athletes is to park that and prepare for the next weekend. Those results have no influence on this weekend.
"You get to dictate how you're going to play this weekend and you can control that. We just need to worry about what we can control."
The puck drops at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the BEC.
Ryan Stieg can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 252. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.net.