Things supposedly were looking easier for the Wildcats this weekend with the start of CCHA play and a trip to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to face the league’s newest member, Augustana.

However, the now-unranked Vikings were No. 21 in the nation just a week ago, not a whole lot different from three of NMU’s previous four opponents that had rankings between No. 15 and No. 19 when the Wildcats played them.

But just getting out of that nonconference treadmill and into the CCHA could spark this Northern team.

“Now we’re in league play, it’s a fresh start,” Wildcats second-year head coach Dave Shyiak said in an NMU Sports Information news release previewing the series. “Let’s learn from the games we played, and be excited about playing a league opponent.”

Northern Michigan University’s Caiden Gault, left, and Michigan State’s Sean Barnhill vie for the puck during their game played at the Berry Events Center in Marquette on Friday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

In at least six of the eight games, Northern was within a goal or led in the third period before losing the lead, then giving up a number of empty-net goals that made final scores not look so close.

This weekend’s games will be played at 8:07 p.m. EDT Friday and 7:07 p.m. EDT Saturday.

Fans can watch broadcast coverage on MidcoSportsPlus, or hear it on Marquette radio station WUPT 100.3 FM The Point. Or visit the NMU athletics website at nmuwildcats.com and look under the hockey schedule for links to live audio, live statistics and a preview.

This weekend’s combatants have only met four times since Augustana began its hockey program two short seasons ago, and the Vikings have won each, including a pair of 4-1 wins in Sioux Falls last November during the time the Wildcats got off to a rough start in Shyiak’s regime.

But this opponent might look like a cakewalk after NMU took on Massachusetts and Ohio State on the road and Colorado College and Michigan State at home the first four weeks of this fall.

Last week was the national No. 1 Spartans coming to town with MSU posting a 4-0 shutout in the opener before NMU lost 6-2 in a Saturday game that was 2-2 after two periods.

“We went through some growing pains, and we discussed that as a team,” Shyiak said to NMU SI. “(The nonconference schedule) did make us better, and some of our growing pains were shown in that course of eight games, but there were a lot of positives.

“I thought we took growth in every weekend, and I thought our first period on Friday night was the best period of hockey we’ve played (all season)…. If we were to blueprint a game plan for how we have to play and what our identity is, that would be it.” 

Augustana received votes in the NCAA Division I preseason poll and stayed in the rankings for four weeks, climbing as high as No. 21 last week after sweeping No. 15 Arizona State 4-2 and 5-2.

But the Vikings were tagged with 1-0 overtime and 3-2 losses at Bemidji State last weekend to fall out of those rankings to start the CCHA season at 0-2 as they are 3-3 overall.

Shyiak knows Augustana could be like a wounded animal, getting off to that rough conference start.

“I think (Augustana) is one of the best teams in our league,” he said. “Every game is hard, and we have to be at our best to give us a chance to win.

“They just got swept, and now they’re coming back home, so we’re walking into a hornet’s nest, and we better be on top of our game from the hop.

“Our focus has to be on Friday night, not what we’ve done in the past. (We will) build on some of the positives to prepare us to get better, and now we get into league play against another very good opponent.

“It isn’t going to be easier. We have to prepare ourselves mentally, get on the road and play our best game on Friday.”

Statistically for Northern, Ferris transfer Caiden Gault is fulfilling Shyiak’s hopes of providing offense with a team-leading four goals in eight games, while second-year Wildcat Jakub Altrichter is even with Gault in points as he has four assists.

The only other NMU player with multiple goals is another second-year Northern player, Medrick Bolduc, who has two goals. Freshman senior Tobias Pitka has a goal for three points, while senior transfer Kyle Bettens from Minnesota-Duluth has three assists to account for his three points.

In goal, freshman Oliver Auyeung-Ashton has emerged as the No. 1 netminder with a 2.78 goals-against average and .934 saves percentage in five games.

After a record-breaking start to the season, William Gramme, a junior transfer from Wisconsin, has cooled a bit to a 4.42 goals against and a still solid .912 saves percentage.

Augustana is averaging 2.7 goals per game while giving up 2.0 despite allowing 30.2 shots per game as goalie Josh Kotai has a 2.00 goals against and an identical saves percentage to Auyeung-Ashton of .934.

After this weekend, the Wildcats play one of their two home-and-home series against Upper Peninsula rival Michigan Tech, the Friday, Nov. 7, game in Houghton and Saturday, Nov. 8, game back at the Berry Events Center.

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