Northern Michigan University’s Wildcats duked it out with long-time Upper Peninsula rival Michigan Tech as the Huskies came out on top 4-1 to sweep the home-and-home weekend series.

In Friday night’s opener played at MTU’s MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton, the Huskies prevailed 3-0.

Rankings in NCAA hockey show Tech now sitting at No. 11 with the Wildcats tumbling to No. 42.

Wildcats head coach Grant Potulny was none too pleased with his team.

With the referee at left signaling a good goal, Northern Michigan University's Joey Larson celebrates after he scored the Wildcats' only goal of the game after a beautiful assist from Kristof Papp in a CCHA hockey game played against Michign Tech at the Berry Events Center in Marquette on Saturday. (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)

“It’s hard when you have a couple to more than a couple guys who are just playing poorly,” he said. “And it’s real tough when they’re all playing poorly at the same time.

“It’s been a tough year with this group. It can’t be me anymore, because the approach has changed a hundred times.

“You change the pregame meal time, change the pregame skate time, change the approach on the ice, change the practice time, what you’re doing in practice…. It’s gotta come from within.”

With adrenaline pumping, both teams started the game strong. Northern fans were pleased when their team kept the puck on MTU’s end of the rink after the Huskies won the opening faceoff.

The tide turned in second half of the first period when Tech kept the puck for extended periods in hits offensive zone. And it paid off when the Huskies’ Logan Pietila broke the scoreless deadlock with just under six minutes to go with assists going to Ryland Mosley and Chris Lipe.

Home supporters were delighted to see the Wildcats’ Colby Enns drop to the ice to block a shot, but by the end of the period the visitors still led 1-0 as each team registered nine shots on goal.

NMU needed less than three minutes to even the score in the second period on a tic-tac-toe type of of passes that resulted in the goal credited to Joey Larson with assists going to Kristof Papp and Artem Shlaine.

Then barely more than five minutes later, Tech retook the lead on a Wildcats’ turnover. The score was made by Arvid Caderoth and assisted by Logan Ganie and David Jankowski.

A bit later, players got involved in a skirmish around Tech’s goal that resulted in an NMU power play with them taking one roughing penalty and the Huskies two.

Tech’s Parker Saretsky made it a two-goal game with 1:25 left in the second on a goal assisted by Tristan Ashbrook and Jack Works.

Despite the two-goal lead, Northern continued to play with energy in the third, but Tech had the upper hand with expertly timed plays and no more goals were scored until the game’s waning seconds.

Potulny used his timeout with about a minute left, but again, it didn’t result in the goal that would’ve pulled his team within one.

Instead, Mosley was able to get the puck from Saretsky and potted the empty-netter that sealed the result with 6.2 seconds to go.

Each team had a pair of power plays, but like Friday night, no goals were scored on them.

NMU freshman Beni Halasz finished with 30 saves while Tech counterpart Blake Pietila had 26 stops.

The Wildcats have a chance to go for their first series sweep

since early November when they host Lake Superior State at 7 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday.

That last winning sweep also came against the Lakers, 4-1 and 5-3 in Sault Ste. Marie.

Alexandria Bournonville can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 206. Her email address is abournonville@miningjournal.net.

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