Northern Michigan University’s Michael Colella, right, takes a great pass from teammate Matvei Kabanov, left, to easily score the Wildcats’ first goal on Dec. 1 against Augustana at the Berry Events Center in Marquette. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MARQUETTE — Technically it doesn’t even count in the standings, but it seems doubtful that the competitiveness won’t come out when the Northern Michigan University and Michigan Tech hockey teams face off against each other at the Berry Events Center at 6:07 p.m. Saturday.

This is an extra, fifth game between the Upper Peninsula rivals this season and gives the Wildcats a chance to get their legs back under themselves after taking nearly a month off from game action.

Tech has no problems in that department as the Huskies just finished off winning the Great Lakes Invitational championship in Grand Rapids last Friday, playing and winning overtime games on back-to-back days, culminating with a 4-3 shootout victory over then-No. 7 Michigan State.

It’s certain that NMU head coach Grant Potulny had at least a bit of heartburn seeing that one of his big nemesis had a great title game — Tech senior goalie Blake Pietila, coming off his CCHA Player of the Year season a year ago, made a career-high 54 saves during “regular” skating time plus stopping all three MSU shots during the shootout.

Pietila finished off the tournament by stoning former Northern and current Spartans player Joey Larson on the final shot of the shootout after Larson had scored two goals earlier in the game.

“We are going to play everybody … so (it’s) a good chance to get guys back in to get the rust off, and it will be another chance for guys to audition what they can do,” Potulny said in an NMU Sports Information news release previewing the game.

The Wildcats haven’t played since Dec. 9, when they defeated Tech 3-1 at the Berry Events Center in Marquette to salvage a split of their home-and-home series after the Huskies prevailed 4-2 a night earlier in Houghton.

In the win, NMU’s Rylan Van Unen, Aiden Gallacher and Josh Zinger all scored, while Reilly Funk had two assists. Northern held a 29-19 shots advantage and didn’t allow a power play goal.

Northern fans can listen to the game on radio station WUPT 100.3 FM The Point or follow @NMUHockey on X (formerly Twitter) to get updates throughout the week leading up to the game and for live updates while the ‘Cats are on the ice. Or visit the NMU athletics website at nmuwildcats.com and look under the hockey schedule for a game preview, ticket information, live statistics, live video and live audio.

The Huskies have a slight edge on Northern record-wise and in the standings, of which this game doesn’t count. MTU is third in the CCHA with 19 points and 6-4 in league games, 9-8-4 overall; while the Wildcats are tied for sixth with 15 points and 5-5 in conference contests, 7-9-2 overall.

Bemidji State recently took over the top spot in the CCHA with 22 points in 12 games played, a 7-5 league mark but only 8-12 overall. The Beavers are one point ahead of St. Thomas, which has 21 points in 12 games and also 7-5 in league games and a subpar 9-10-1 overall record.

Both NMU and Tech have two games in hand on the leaders and also three games in hand on fourth-place Lake Superior State, which has 18 points, a 6-6-1 league record and 9-11-1 overall.

In fact, Tech has the only winning record in overall games among the CCHA’s eight full members, though fifth-place Minnesota State-Mankato is close at 8-8-2 overall.

Without a lot of teams playing over the holidays, Tech was able to sweep the CCHA weekly honors as Pietila, Jack Works and Chase Pietila all received honors, Chase Pietila earning both defenseman and rookie of the week. For registering all three of MTU’s regulation goals in the title tilt, Works was also named GLI MVP.

Ryland Mosley and Isaac Gordon each have 18 points to lead Tech in scoring as Mosley also leads the Huskies with 11 goals. And new team member Austen Swankler picked up two assists during the GLI.

NMU continues to have several players nationally ranked. Andre Ghantous leads all active NCAA Division I players with his 95 career assists and 145 points as his 50 goals are fourth; Michael Van Unen also leads all active NCAA players in career blocks with 299; and Jack Perbix is fifth among active NCAA players in career games with 159 as Ghantous is eighth with 152.

Also, Aiden Gallacher leads the nation this season with 48 blocks, while the Wildcats as a team as second in blocked shots with 303, fifth in power play goals with 17 and 16th in power play percentage at 23.9%.

Looking at more recent trends, Ghantous has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in his past 10 games, while Artem Shlaine rides a three-game point streak on four assists and Funk has three points in his past two games (a goal, two assists).

Shlaine leads NMU in points and goals against CCHA opponents as he has six goals and five assists for 11 points.

Goalie Beni Halasz has a .922 saves percentage at even strength and is at .913 vs. conference opponents. Career-wise vs. MTU, he has a .934 saves percentage and 2.30 goals-against average with a shutout in seven games.

Ghantous is 19th on the Northern career scoring list, one point behind Darin Olver, who played for the Wildcats from 2003-07, and his 95 assists are 14th on that list, tied with Olver, Dean Antos, Mark Beaufait and Phil Beaulieu.

Northern is 6-2-1 at home this season and 7-1 when leading after two periods, since they’ve scored 42 of their 51 goals in the final two periods, plus another one in overtime.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.