Though the Wildcats lost by a lopsided-looking 4-1 score at No. 15 UMass on Sunday evening, the game was just 2-1 when NMU’s new scoring force, Ferris State transfer Caiden Gault, scored with only 2:41 left.

Then the Massachusetts Minutemen pumped in two empty-net goals in the last minute to make the final score look less competitive.

And maybe even more encouraging, Northern goalie William Gramme wasn’t left hanging in front of the team’s net having to swat away a program-record number of shots on goal like he did the previous evening.

On Saturday night to open the Wildcats’ season, the Wisconsin transfer stopped 65 shots — and a whopping 34 in the first period alone — as UMass prevailed 5-3.

Northern Michigan University’s Jakob Peterson, right, protects the puck from St. Thomas’ Quinton Pepper during their CCHA game played at the Berry Events Center in Marquette on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

This time around, the Minutemen led in shots by a still comfortable 46-32 margin, forcing Gramme to make 42 stops as counterpart Michael Hrabal had 31 saves.

For the weekend, some more NMU goaltending records fell, according to a game account from NMU Sports Information — Gramme made 107 saves over the two games, far more than the previous record holder, Jeff Poeschl, had with 92 in a series vs. Wisconsin on Jan. 3-4, 1984.

On offense, Gault scored his second goal in two games and has to look as good as promised when he transferred from the Bulldogs after leading them in scoring last season with 25 points. He was also a Hobey Baker Award nominee.

Meanwhile, Grayden Slipec and freshman Tobias Pitka assisted on Gault’s goal to give them helpers in each game.

The Northern defense kept Gramme from approaching all-time program records in shots faced despite the Wildcats taking six minor penalties, thus giving up six shorthanded situations.

The NMU goalie faced 16 shots in the first period and one shorthanded situation, when he gave up a power play goal just 14 seconds in. That’s when UMass’s Daniel Jencko got the puck at the top of the right circle and let go a left-handed shot to beat a screened Gramme on his glove side.

But there would be no scoring until the final minute of the second period. By the end of the second, Gramme had made 32 saves.

The only other goal that got in during the first two periods came off the left sidewall when Landon Nycz walked to the top of the left circle and fired a seeing-eye shot that got past an again screened-out Gramme.

A majority of the game’s goals came in the final three minutes, with NMU cutting its deficit to 2-1 with Gramme pulled and a 6-on-5 man-advantage. Gault corralled the puck at the left side of the net, according to NMU SI, and shoveled the puck from a sharp angle that got past Hrabal.

The Wildcats remain on the road this week to face another top-25 team, No. 16 Ohio State, in a more typical Friday-Saturday schedule. The opener begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday with Game 2 at 5 p.m. Saturday.

The following weekend, Friday and Saturday, Oct. 17-18, Northern plays its home-opening series against No. 21 Colorado College, with Friday’s game at 7:07 p.m. and Saturday’s at 6:07 p.m.

There is also a Blue Line Luncheon scheduled earlier in the day of the home-opening game.

Story contents based on Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release reviewing the game. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is