By RYAN STIEG

Journal Sports Writer

MARQUETTE The Northern Michigan University hockey Wildcats couldn’t afford to get swept this weekend and they were able to avoid that scenario Saturday night.

The Wildcats (8-6-4, 5-6-3 WCHA) fought Minnesota State to a 2-2 tie and picked up a much-needed point in the WCHA standings.

“Tonight was way different,” NMU head coach Walt Kyle said. “Last night, we tried to play a game that wasn’t our game. We tried to force pucks and create offense where we had no opportunities.

“I think we battled harder (tonight). We made some lineup changes with the emphasis on guys who were going to play and were going to compete.

“D.J. (Vandercook) had two Grade A (scoring) opportunities and I give that line a lot of credit,” he added. “They were good all week and I told the guys they had an opportunity to get it this weekend.

“Casey (Purpur) won faceoffs and Rosie (Justin Rose) did a good job managing the puck. The guys we took out tonight should take a lesson from those guys.”

The Mavericks scored first when Jean-Paul Lafontaine poked a rebound into a wide-open net with the man advantage.

NMU bounced back, though, as the Wildcats scored a power play goal of their own. Mitch Jones fired a slap shot past Mavericks goalie Stephon Williams to tie the score at 1-1.

MSU went up by one at the end of the period, though, when Zeb Knutson found an opening and beat Wildcats goalie Michael Doan. The Mavericks led 13-7 in shots after the first period.

NMU played much better in the second period and tied the game at 2-2 on the power play when Dominik Shine flung the puck at the net and it flittered past Williams.

The Wildcats also held the high-powered Mavericks to only four shots in the frame and seemed to head into the third period with a little momentum.

“We’ve been really stressing on improving our power play,” Shine said. “By moving the puck around, I think we created some good opportunities.

“It felt really good to have our power play go well.”

Both teams had several chances to take the lead in the third period, but both goaltenders stood strong and made big saves to keep the game deadlocked at 2-2.

In the extra session, the Wildcats had a long power play, but weren’t able to do anything with it and the game ended in a draw.

“I thought Michael (Doan) was really good,” Kyle said. “The same thing happened last weekend. He struggled a little on Friday, but he was really good on Saturday.

“I’m happy for him. He’s come in and done what he’s done.”

Kyle also felt the same way about his team’s performance.

“I feel good about the way we played,” he said. “That’s what I said to the guys afterward. We’re disappointed with a tie, but I’m happy with how we played.

“We talked before the game and I said that if we were going down, we were going down hard. I’m proud of our effort.”

The Wildcats will take on archrival Michigan Tech in a home-and-home series next weekend.

Ryan Stieg can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 246. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.net.