MARQUETTE – After picking up an exciting win over Michigan State to wrap up the Great Lakes Invitational last week, the Northern Michigan University hockey team is looking to build upon that success this weekend at Minnesota State.

The No. 18 Mavericks sit atop the WCHA and haven’t lost since Nov. 13 to Minnesota. They are 9-1-4 in league games and 10-6-4 overall. NMU is an even .500 at 7-7-6 overall and 5-5-4 in the WCHA, fifth in the 10-team league.

However, Northern fought to 1-1 and 2-2 ties in a Nov. 20-21 home series against MSU, so the Mavs can be stopped.

“I remember that they’re a real good hockey team,” NMU head coach Walt Kyle said.

“They had the puck a lot against us. I thought we did a real good job in keeping a lot of their guys from penetrating.

“They got a lot of shots, but they didn’t get a lot of great opportunities. We’re going to do an even better job at that.

“I didn’t think we played as well as we could offensively. We didn’t generate enough shots or generate enough possession time. That’s one of our things that we want to do in the second half and that’s also one of the things that should indicate some growth.”

Minnesota State has four players with 10 points or more, led by senior Teddy Blueger’s 17. Freshman goalie Jason Pawloski has also shined this season (1.62 goals-against average) since usurping the starting role from Cole Huggins.

However, statistically Northern is ranked higher in total offense and is only slightly behind the Mavericks in total defense (14th vs. 16th).

On special teams, despite recent struggles, NMU has the better power play. With goalie Atte Tolvanen consistently playing well (.930 saves percentage and 2.30 GAA) as well as the emergence of Mathias Israelsson and the potential upcoming return of Mathias Dahlstrom, the Wildcats look great in net.

All things considered, Northern is more than capable of upsetting the Mavericks this weekend as well as earning a potential sweep.

Last week, Northern competed in the GLI, falling in a hard-fought battle to now No. 8 Michigan before rebounding for a 2-1 overtime win over Michigan State.

“I thought it was a great tournament,” Kyle said. “I thought it was a great event for us to be involved in. I think that we played well and I think it was a good opportunity for us to play on a big stage, which always helps at the end of the year.

“I think the last period and a half we played a lot better against Michigan State. When I watched the tape, we were actually a lot better than I thought we were, to be honest. Right now, we’re .500 against the Big Ten and I think that’s always a good thing.”

When asked if he thought the comeback victory over the Spartans could be a springboard as Northern enters the second half of the season, Kyle said he thought it could. He also said that the team feels positive and that the next few weeks are going to be tough.

“You always hope that that happens,” he said. “You could see the energy around the guys after we won and we have a very tough series coming up in our league this weekend. Any wins here would help keep us moving in the right direction.

“I think the guys feel really good about themselves. They’ve got to slog it through January and early February because these are kind of the dog days.

“You have to make sure that you’re very focused on getting better and on picking up points wherever you can. You can’t lose focus. It’s a real challenge for us and I think we’re all excited to go through it.”

Northern plays the Mavericks in Mankato at 8:07 p.m. EST both Friday and Saturday.

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