Northern Michigan University’s Jakob Peterson, left, gets in a scuffle with Michigan Tech’s Rylan Brown in the second period after the whistle during their CCHA game played at the Berry Events Center in Marquette on Friday. (Journal photo by Caden Sierra)

MARQUETTE — Round 1 goes to the Huskies.

In the first matchup this season that counted — Michigan Tech won a 4-3 exhibition game four weeks earlier — the Northern Michigan University hockey team was unable to find the twine against MTU and lost 3-0 at the Berry Events Center in Marquette on Friday night.

It was the second straight shutout for the NMU skaters to drop their record to 1-6, while Tech improved to 3-2 entering their Saturday night half of the series being played in Houghton.

“We were tired up there, we lost a lot of stick battles and lost a lot of wall battles,” Wildcats head coach Dave Shyiak said. “You got to give them credit. I thought they won that war.

“There were some opportunities to score. We just didn’t converge, and we got to continue to generate those type of scoring chances.”

Tech set the pace from the opening faceoff, outshooting NMU and forcing Wildcats goaltender Ryan Ouellette to make several critical saves. Northern struggled early to generate sustained offensive pressure, a familiar pattern this season.

As NMU attempted to turn the tide midway through the opening period, a hard shot from the point by NMU’s and Marquette native Jakob Peterson created some chaos in front of the net but was ultimately shut down by the Huskies’ defense.

However, the Wildcats’ efforts couldn’t keep the Huskies from striking first. With a little less than eight minutes left in the first, the Huskies’ Tom Leppa found the puck on a rebound and pushed it past Ouellette to open the scoring. Despite a few promising opportunities, the Wildcats were outshot 11-8 in that frame.

In the second, NMU found itself often on the defensive, with Tech consistently pressuring in the Wildcats’ zone. Northern’s trio of penalties proved costly in that period, beginning with a slashing penalty to Jakub Lewandowski early. Tech capitalized on the ensuing power play less than a minute in, with Stiven Sardarian scoring off a crisp pass from Matthew Campbell to make it 2-0.

Minutes later, a tripping penalty against the Wildcats Rasmus Larsson put Tech back on the man-advantage, and they again quickly took advantage less than 30 seconds in, as Max Koskipirtti buried a shot to extend the lead to 3-0.

NMU’s penalty kill, which had shown resilience in previous games, couldn’t withstand Tech’s efficient special teams.

By the end of the period, NMU was now being outshot 28-14. Even when the Wildcats found brief bursts of offense, including an encouraging power play after Tech’s Rylan Brown was sent to the box for roughing, they failed to capitalize, with Tech’s defense quickly snuffing out Northern’s best looks.

In the third, NMU fought to match Tech’s energy, and for the first few minutes, the Wildcats managed to hold even. But the clock was now against them, and another penalty against Northern — a hooking call on Danny Ciccarello — derailed their momentum, forcing them to kill off yet another two minutes.

The Wildcats successfully killed that penalty, but by then, Tech’s defense had firmly taken control. Ciccarello then nearly got his team on the scoreboard on a breakaway, but Huskies goaltender Derek Mullahy held strong, keeping the Wildcats scoreless as he would earn the shutout.

As the clock ticked down, NMU pulled Ouellette in a last-ditch attempt to narrow the gap, but MTU held firm. By the final buzzer, the Huskies had a 41-24 shots on goal aadvantage

After the game, Shyiak acknowledged the Wildcats’ struggles to find offensive consistency.

“This was the most Grade-A chances we’ve had in any of the games we’ve had before,” Shyiak said. “We’ve got to convert on those, and if we can convert on those, they can start playing catch up.”

Shyiak also noted the impact of missing one of their primary scorers, captain Tanner Latsch, whose finishing ability might have made a difference.

“Tanner’s the kind of player who doesn’t need many looks at the net,” Shyiak said. “He is a goal scorer, and you need a guy like that that can swing them out on your way.”

Caden Sierra can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 551. His email address is csierra@nmu.edu.