Northern Michigan University players, from left, defenseman Tynan Ewart, goalie Oliver Auyeung-Ashton and blueliner Zane Demsey watch the puck as Colorado College’s Bret Link, partially hidden by Ewart, tries to get in tight during their hockey game played at the Berry Events Center in Marquette on Friday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MARQUETTE — For one night, nationally ranked Colorado College just proved to have too much firepower for the hockey team at Northern Michigan University to overcome.

Then on the second night, the Tigers just found the back of the net early and often and forced the Wildcats into catchup all evening.

Whichever way it occurred, it meant a third straight sweep for Northern as it fell to 0-6 in this early, nonconference part of the season where the Wildcats have seen nothing but nationally ranked teams.

Friday had to be especially excruciating as NMU led for almost two entire periods, then lost the game with less than two minutes left in overtime.

Things don’t get any easier for Northern this weekend as the highest-ranked team it has faced so far, No. 3 and 4 Michigan State (depending on the poll) comes to Marquette to play the Wildcats at 7:07 p.m. Friday and 6:07 p.m. Saturday.

Here are details from the CC series:

CC 2, NMU 1 (OT)

On Friday night, for the second straight game, Northern freshman goalie Oliver Auyeung-Ashton literally almost stood on his head, giving his team a lead for a long time and still giving it a chance in overtime despite the Wildcats being heavily outshot 45-17.

Auyeung-Ashton won the CCHA Rookie of the Week honor last week for pulling off a similar feat, stopping 45 of 46 shots in a 3-1 loss in the second game at Ohio State on Oct. 11.

Including not quite a full period the game before, Auyeung-Ashton now has a 1.70 goals-against average and .960 saves percentage.

He had at least a dozen saves each regulation period plus two in OT before the Tigers’ Ryan Koering ended the game with a goal with 1:51 left in the extra period.

Sophomore forward Medrick Bolduc scored his second goal this season to give NMU its early lead with 8:45 to go in the opening period.

The Wildcats had already killed off an early penalty with their goalie stopping five shots during the two minutes.

Then Northern’s Jakub Altrichter won a draw in the CC zone, playing it to Bolduc waiting behind him as the latter sent a laser shot to the top shelf to score, according to a game account from NMU Sports Information.

“It was a winnable game and we’ve talked about the growing pains we are going to have to go through,” Wildcats head coach Dave Shyiak said to NMU SI. “Our physical play was good and we had segments where we had them pinned down … but we need more of it.”

Bolduc finished with a team-high five shots on goal with no teammate having more than two. But CC’s Brayden Schuurman had six shots on net, even as Northern had a 27-11 advantage in blocked shots, led by Kyle Bettens’ four.

Mathew Ward had NMU’s next really good chance on a power play early in the second period, but while breaking backdoor to the net his pass from Bettens was deflected before reaching him.

Auyeung-Ashton made four saves during another penalty kill in the period, along with a big stop on a point-blank look by the Tigers with 3 1/2 minutes left in the period.

The Wildcats’ Michael Burchill had a good look from the faceoff dot early in the third, but the shot went straight into CC goalie Kaidan Mbereko’s chest.

That was fortuitous as CC finally broke through with 9:25 left in regulation when Klavs Veinbergs scored the tying goal.

The Tigers apparently smelled blood in the water, putting intense pressure on NMU after that, but the Wildcats got the game to overtime instead.

In that 3-on-3 session, each team had a couple of chances early, then with two minutes left, Northern was being whistled for too many men when CC’s Ryan Koering, who had assisted on Veinbergs’ goal, went end to end, took a shot and knocked in his own rebound top shelf to end it.

CC 5, NMU 2

On Saturday night, Shyiak reinstalled William Gramme in the Northern net.

Gramme is the junior transfer from the University of Wisconsin who set NMU records for saves in a period, game and two-game series to open the season at UMass two weeks earlier.

Things didn’t go as well on this night, as the Wildcats couldn’t pull even despite only being outshot 34-30. Northern also blocked 17 shots, with Burchill getting five.

Gramme had 29 saves, including 12 in the second period and 10 in the third, but a pair of CC goals in the first 10 minutes put the home team behind the 8-ball.

Nevertheless, Ward and fellow NMU freshman Tobias Pitka each scored their first collegiate goals, Ward also getting an assist along with Altrichter, who has 20 in 36 collegiate games, and Bettens, his first Wildcat point.

Less than a minute in, the Tigers nearly struck on a scramble in front of the Gramme, but a review upheld no goal as the puck hovered near the line, according to NMU SI.

Moments later, however, CC’s Seth Constance found the net from the blue line to break the scoreless deadlock.

The Tigers converted their first power play about 2 1/2 minutes later on a Bret Link shot to make it 2-0.

Then barely two minutes after that, with 8:41 left in the first, Ward fired a wrist shot inside the faceoff circle, with Altrichter getting his fourth assist already this season. 

After a competitive opening period in which the Tigers held a slight 9-8 shots edge, CC took the first six shots of period No. 2, though after that, Ward broke loose on a one-on-one only to be denied by Mbereko.

CC then got it to 3-1 with exactly nine minutes left in the second when Veinbergs scored, setting up a busy middle of the third period.

Nothing happened for 11 minutes in the final period, though during that time, Northern might’ve got a goal before a possible scoring play wasn’t reviewed in time.

Then the Tigers struck with 8:56 left on a Riley Stuart goal, though Northern answered within a minute with a Pitka goal when he took a drop pass from Bettens.

CC got one final goal with 3:20 left as Owen Beckner scored.

CC 2, NMU 1 (OT)

Friday at Berry Events Center

Summary:

First period — 1. NMU, Medrick Bolduc (Altrichter) 11:15

Second period — No scoring

Third period — 2. CC, Klavs Veinbergs (Constance, Koering) 10:35

Overtime — 3. Ryan Koering (Mbereko, Veinbergs) 3:09

Penalties-minutes: Colorado College 3-6, NMU 4-8

Power-play opportunities: Colorado College 0 of 3, NMU 0 of 2

Goalie saves: Colorado College, Kaidan Mbereko 16 (5-3-7-1); NMU, Oliver Auyeung-Ashton 43 (15-14-12-2)

CC 5, NMU 2

Saturday at Berry Events Center

Summary:

First period — 1. CC, Seth Constance (Mrsic, Koering) 6:37; 2. CC, Bret Link (Beckner, Roberts) ppg 9:14; 3. NMU, Mathew Ward (Altrichter) ppg 11:19

Second period — 4. CC, Klavs Veinbergs (Mrsic, Lindberg) 11:00

Third period — 5. CC, Riley Stuart (Hvidston) 11:04; 6. NMU, Tobias Pitka (Bettens, Ward) 11:56; 7. CC, Owen Beckner (Constance, Lisowsky) ppg 16:40

Penalties-minutes: Colorado College 4-8, NMU 4-8

Power-play opportunities: Colorado College 2 of 4, NMU 1 of 4

Goalie saves: Colorado College, Kaidan Mbereko 28 (7-12-9); NMU, William Gramme 29 (7-12-10)

Story contents based on Northern Michigan University Sports Information press releases reviewing the games. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.