Northern Michigan University’s Tobias Pitka, left, winds up to take a shot while defended by Augustana's Carter Theissen during their CCHA game played at the Berry Events Center in Marquette on Jan. 9. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

BIG RAPIDS — The hockey team at Northern Michigan University came within two minutes of pulling even for the last playoff spot in the conference on Friday night, but in the end put their tournament chances just about on life support in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

The Wildcats won just one of a possible six points during a weekend series at Ferris State, falling back of eighth-place Bulldogs by six points with two weekends to go in the regular season.

Ferris occupies the final spot in the eight-team CCHA Tournament that begins in early March, and with as hard as wins have been to come by for NMU, a deficit of six points — the equivalent of two regulation wins — looms large.

The Bulldogs improved to 18 points with records of 6-25-1 overall and 5-18-1 in the league after posting a shootout win on Friday night, then a similarly spelled — but not even close to the same result — a shutout victory on Saturday.

Northern fell to 3-26-1 and 3-18-1 with 12 points, having four games left — two at home this weekend against seventh-place Lake Superior State and two more at nationally ranked Minnesota State-Mankato in two weeks.

Ferris, meanwhile, doesn’t play this weekend — meaning no points will be gained by the Bulldogs then — and also plays LSSU, but in two weeks and in Sault Ste. Marie.

Here are details from the Ferris series:

Ferris St. 4, NMU 4

On Friday night after playing overtime and a shootout, Ferris got the league’s extra point after each team insured getting one point due to reaching OT. The result goes down officially as a tie despite the Wildcats’ highest goal production of the season after they’ve had a half-dozen games of three goals apiece.

Northern was looking to gain three points — and at least for one night tie the Bulldogs in the standings — until the final two minutes of regulation.

With 1:35 remaining, FSU’s Josh Zary scored the game-tying goal after NMU assumed a two-goal lead early in the third that was still a 4-3 advantage down the stretch.

About a minute after Ferris pulled goaltender Martin Lundberg for an extra attacker, a shot from the point weaved through traffic and bounced around in front of Wildcats goalie William Gramme, according to a game account from NMU Sports Information. Zary was near the doorstep to clean up the rebound for the tying score.

Gramme’s work wasn’t done, however, after teammate Peter Cisar picked up a two-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty 27 seconds after the goal that again gave the home team a man advantage.

It stretched nearly a minute into OT, but Gramme and Northern killed it off to keep the game going.

Gramme finished with 38 saves, including at least 10 in each regulation period and three in OT. Lundberg had 30 saves, 14 in the second, just two in the third and four more in the five-minute overtime.

Later during OT, Gramme somehow stopped a shot from a 2-on-none breakaway, while NMU’s Michael Burchill just missed the net on his own breakaway seconds later to get the game to a shootout for the first time this season for both teams.

The goalies who were tested throughout continued to stymie skaters in the shootout, with only the Bulldogs’ Max Itagaki getting a score for either team during the shootout’s three rounds. Northern sent out skaters Jakub Altrichter, Aidyn Hutchinson and Burchill in an attempt to win the “extra-extra” period.

Earlier, the Bulldogs also opened the scoring just over seven minutes into the game when Tyler Schleppe perfectly redirected a shot from the point by Xavier Jean-Louis, according to NMU SI.

Then with 10 seconds left in the opening period, the Wildcats evened the score when leading scorer Caiden Gault played a long cross-ice stretch pass to Kyle Bettens streaking down the right boards. Bettens used his speed to beat a defender and walk in on the breakaway, shooting to the backhand for a 1-1 tie on his first goal of the season.

Incredibly, after Gault has accounted for just about 30% of Northern’s goals this season, he picked up his first assist as a Wildcat, doing it against the team he led in scoring a year ago. It wouldn’t be his last assist of the night, however.

With less than four minutes gone in the second, Bettens won a battle along the wall, passing the puck to Olivier Beaulieu, one of the newest NMU players who joined the team to start 2026. Beaulieu let go a shot that deflected into the corner, off the end wall and right to teammate Warren Clark, who beat Lundberg after a screen by Gault.

But Gault didn’t get an assist on that play; instead, it would come in the third period.

After Ferris retied the score 2-2 on what was called a lucky bounce — the puck deflected off Clark’s skate and past Gramme — just 17 seconds later, Northern retook the lead on a give-and-go by Altrichter and Zane Demsey. Altrichter was the one to speedily streak in and beat the FSU goalie on his short side.

NMU attained its 4-2 lead with 3:31 elapsed in the final regulation period when Gault went to work behind the net to strip the puck from a Bulldog defender, according to NMU SI, and found a wipe-open Girts Silkalns on the edge of the crease for the knock-in.

The score remained that way for just over 11 minutes, as with 5:28 left, Ferris began to chip into Northern’s advantage when Schleppe jumped on a turnover in the Wildcats’ end and walked a shot in from the top of the circle, the puck going through the legs of two NMU defenders before getting past Gramme.

Gault’s assists brought his point total to 15, while Altrichter and Bettens each reached double-digit points with 10 apiece, Altrichter including four goals in his total.

Clark’s goal gives him three, the most among Northern defensemen, while Beaulieu’s two assists give him three points in 10 games at NMU.

And Nicolas Ardanaz’s and Demsey’s assists were their first points of the season as Wildcats’ blueliners.

Gramme’s start was his first since Dec. 13 and raised his saves percentage to near .900 at .898.

Ferris St. 6, NMU 0

On Saturday, penalties by both sides contributed to Northern digging itself an early hole it couldn’t get out of.

The Wildcats gave up 5-on-5, shorthanded and power play goals by the end of the second period, then saw the roof cave in with three more allowed in the third.

Each team was whistled for nine penalties, with Cisar picking up a cross-checking major that resulted in the Bulldogs’ third goal just three seconds into that five-minute power play.

Twenty-nine penalty minutes — which included a Cisar 10-minute game misconduct with the major — were the most by NMU in more than two years as they were whistled for 30 minutes on Jan. 27, 2024.

Gramme went about eight minutes into the third, giving up five goals as he made 31 saves, including getting peppered with 20 shots in a first period that only ended 1-0. Max Weilandt came on in relief during the third, allowing a goal and making four saves.

For Ferris, Lundberg posted a 25-save shutout as he faced 14 shots in the final period.

The Bulldogs’ first-period goal came from Caden Brown knocking home a rebound through traffic even strength despite six minor penalties being whistled.

Ferris then got a shorthander by Schleppe, his first collegiate goal that way, when FSU forced a turnover on Northern’s power play and Schlepped walked in alone down the slot after receiving a pass from Gavin Best just past the game’s midpoint.

Then just three seconds into the major penalty kill and 76 seconds after the Bulldogs’ previous score, NMU fell behind 3-0 when Ferris’ Carter Rapalje took a one-timer from the left circle.

Schleppe got his second of the night and fourth of the weekend 5:43 into the third, while Tanner Rowe scored barely two minutes later to make it 5-0, the latter left all alone in the slot after receiving a pass from the corner.

And Rapalje’s second of the night with 4:26 to go came on a 2-on-1 as an FSU penalty was expiring.

Ferris St. 4, NMU 4 (OT)

Friday at Big Rapids

Summary:

First period — 1. FSU, Tyler Schleppe (Jean-Louis, Itagaki) ppg 7:11; 2. NMU, Kyle Bettens (Gault, Beaulieu) 19:50

Second period — 3. NMU, Warren Clark (Beaulieu, Bettens) 3:33; 4. FSU, Max Dukovac (Itagaki, Mesic) 9:51; 5. NMU, Jakub Altrichter (Demsey, Ardanaz) 10:08

Third period — 6. NMU, Girts Silkalns (Gault) 3:31; 7. FSU, Schleppe (unassisted) 14:32; 8. FSU, Josh Zary (Lie, Brown) 18:25

Penalties-minutes: NMU 4-8, Ferris St. 2-4

Power-play opportunities: NMU 0 of 1, Ferris St. 1 of 3

Goalie saves: NMU, William Gramme 38 (13-12-10-3); Ferris St., Martin Lundberg 30 (10-14-2-4)

Ferris St. 6, NMU 0

Saturday at Big Rapids

Summary:

First period — 1. FSU, Caden Brown (Lie, Belpedio) 6:03

Second period — 2. FSU, Tyler Schleppe (Best, Rapalje) shg 10:24; 3. FSU, Carter Rapalje (Lie, Brown) ppg 11:40

Third period — 4. FSU, Schleppe (Taulien, Best) 5:43; 5. FSU, Tanner Rowe (Schleppe, Badal) 7:49; 6. FSU, Rapalje (Badal) 15:34

Penalties-minutes: NMU 9-29, Ferris St. 9-18

Power-play opportunities: NMU 0 of 7, Ferris St. 1 of 6

Goalie saves: NMU 35 (William Gramme 19-10-2–31, Max Weilandt x-x-4–4); Ferris St., Martin Lundberg 25 (8-3-14)

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.