Northern Michigan University defenseman Anthony Cliche carries the puck over the blue line during a Wildcats' game earlier this season. (Photo courtesy NMU)

MARQUETTE — Continuing its theme of playing top-notch competition, the hockey team at Northern Michigan University travels to Minnesota to take on CCHA co-leader Bemidji State this weekend.

Faceoff times are 8:07 p.m. EST Friday and 7:07 p.m. EST Saturday at the Sanford Center in Bemidji, Minnesota.

The Wildcats are still searching for their first victory of the season, currently standing at 0-12 overall and 0-4 in the CCHA. They’ve played nothing but teams that are currently ranked, previously ranked or not quite ranked but receiving votes throughout the schedule.

It’s no different this weekend, with the Beavers, like their previous opponent Michigan Tech, getting votes, just not enough to crack the top 20 in the USCHO.com rankings.

Minnesota State-Mankato is the only CCHA team currently in that top 20 at 14th, with the Huskies again receiving votes.

Fans can watch this weekend’s games on MidcoSports Plus, or listen 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.

Northern was off last weekend, and before that was swept by Michigan Tech in one of their two annual home-and-home series, the Huskies winning 4-1 on Friday in Houghton and 4-2 at the Berry Events Center in Marquette on Saturday.

Tech just wrapped up a series in Bemidji last weekend with both games going past regulation, the Beavers winning in a shootout Friday night after a 2-2 overtime tie, then MTU prevailing 2-1 in OT on Saturday.

Bemidji joins Bowling Green with 17 points in the CCHA with 5-1-2 league and 7-5-2 overall records. The Falcons are 4-1-3 and 4-3-3.

Tech is actually the only undefeated team left in league games at 5-0-1 but only has 15 points as it has played two fewer conference contests than the co-leaders.

Despite being winless and with no points, NMU is within one win of jumping up three spots to sixth place in the CCHA. That’s because Lake Superior is right in front of the Wildcats with two points and an 0-6 conference mark, while St. Thomas and Ferris State each only have three points, St. Thomas at 1-1-1 in the league and Ferris 1-5.

Last weekend, Northern gave up the opening three goals to Tech on Friday, Jakub Altrichter getting the Wildcats’ lone goal — and his first this season — with 7:59 left in a shorthanded situation.

Freshman goalie Oliver Auyeung-Ashton came on in relief of William Gramme about halfway through, with the first-year player stopping all 18 shots he faced.

Then on Saturday, NMU scored in the first two minutes, Altrichter getting another, before the Huskies eventually answered about 8 1/2 minutes later with the tying tally and getting two go-ahead goals in the second.

Northern scored on a Joe Schiller power-play shot with a little less than five minutes left before Tech potted an empty-netter in the late going for the second straight night.

Auyeng-Ashton stopped 27 shots in the Wildcat net.

Northern second-year head coach Dave Shyiak is confident in the process of getting better and the progression his team has made through its early grueling schedule.

“We’re a team that’s still learning how to win,” he said in an NMU Sports Information news release previewing this weekend. “There’s a way to win and there’s a process to do it, and we’re still going through that.

“We’re going through growing pains, but we are getting better…. We’re not getting the results that we want, but we’ve said all along that it’s about the process.

“We just have to have a good week of getting better at the things we need to get at, and maintain our conditioning level.”

The number of shots allowed by the Wildcats’ defense is improving, going from 46.4 shots per game allowed in the first nine games to 31 or 32 shots given up in each of the past three contests.

“If you look at our last three or four games, the (opponent) shot count has come way down, and our scoring chances have gone up,” Shyiak said. “I thought we out-chanced (Michigan Tech) and Augustana on Saturday night, so that part is good, but we know it’s still not good enough.”

Highly touted Mathew Ward, who was one of the first players able to move to a U.S. college from the Canadian Hockey League, has “flipped the script” the past few weeks even if his statistics don’t show it yet.

“It’s a big transition for all of our freshmen coming in, how hard it is to impact the game at our level,” Shyiak said. “(Ward) struggled probably the first three or four games … and now the last four or five games he’s been one of our better players, and we thought he was the best player on the ice on Saturday night (vs. MTU).

“He was involved, and with guys like him, it’s all about moving your feet, being engaged and being hard on pucks. When players have the puck on their stick blade a lot, like he did, you’re doing something right.

“He’s been playing some really good hockey for us, so that’s encouraging.”

And he might be grateful, if nothing else, for his goalie tandem of Gramme and Auyeung-Ashton.

“They’re playing really well, and they give us a chance to win every night,” their coach said. “They’re doing their part in giving us a chance to win, and it’s good to have two guys who can go in there and play.

“We just need the combination of when they’re playing well, our team plays well in front of them and gives them some ‘run support’…. The game is a race to three (goals), and we need to find a way to get there. Once we do that and combine it with our good goaltending, that will give us a good chance to win.”

There are injury issues with players like Grayden Slipec and Peter Cisar.

“(Slipec) is kind of week-to-week right now, and Cisar is making some improvement but might be a little longer, so (the off week) is good,” Shyiak said. “Those are guys that create offense for us, but it also gives an opportunity for other guys to step up.”

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.