From left, NMU WIldcat James Vermeulen races toward the puck with MSU's Ty Readman close behind during their game Friday, Jan. 25, 2019. (Journal photo by Trinity Carey)

MARQUETTE — The second period has been the Northern Michigan University hockey team’s Achilles heel this season.

The Wildcats have built a reputation for having solid starts and good finishes, but the middle period has come back to bite them this year and it did again Friday night against No. 7 Minnesota State.

NMU had a chance to gain ground in the WCHA standings against the conference-leading Mavericks, but crucial mistakes in the second gave MSU a two-goal lead and the Wildcats’ furious rally in the third came up short as they fell 3-2. The loss also snapped Northern’s six-game winning streak as they stand at 13-11 overall, 12-5 in the WCHA

Minnesota State leads the league at 20-6-1 and 15-4 in league games.

“I think if you look at, not even just this weekend, but if you look at our team in general, we struggle in the second period,” Wildcats head coach Grant Potulny said. “We’re a plus-10 in the first, we’re a plus-18 in the third, but we’re a minus-5 in the second and it cost us tonight.

“I don’t know if it’s a letdown, or I don’t know what it is, but we’ve got to make sure that we score first and we keep our foot on the gas because I guarantee you, they (the Mavericks) will play better tomorrow than they did tonight. So we have to make sure that we match their effort and hopefully, execute a little bit more than we did tonight.”

The Wildcats appeared to have the edge early in the second as they started to pressure MSU goalie Dryden McKay. Northern forward Darien Craighead had two scoring opportunities in the opening five minutes with a shot just wide of the net on a delayed Mavericks penalty and then his wraparound attempt almost tucked inside the near post, but McKay just kept it out with his skate.

However, when it seemed like NMU was on the cusp of getting on the board, the ‘Cats made a crucial error on their penalty kill. MSU sent the puck into the Northern defensive zone and Wildcats goalie Atte Tolvanen went way out of his net to play the puck. The Mavericks then stole the puck from Tolvanen and Parker Tuomie sent a puck on net that went off of teammate Charlie Gerard’s stick and past a sprawling Tolvanen at the 8:30 mark.

Potulny didn’t criticize Tolvanen after the game, though, and said it didn’t shock him that his goalie came out to try to clear the puck.

“I wasn’t surprised he came out to play it,” he said. “I think he kind of got caught in-between and when you’re caught in-between, the best play is to go with your gut and be aggressive. It just ended up going on their stick. He’s the best player we have.”

Five minutes later, the Mavericks struck again. With MSU buzzing around Tolvanen, Dallas Gerads sent a puck on net that somehow snuck its way between Tolvanen and the near post. With Gerads’ fluky goal, MSU had a 2-0 advantage.

Northern didn’t get a good scoring opportunity until around four minutes left. While trying to kill a penalty, Wildcats forwards Adam Rockwood and Troy Loggins broke free. Rockwood tried to feed Loggins with a pass, but he couldn’t get a handle on it to get a shot off. Just a few seconds later, defenseman Ryan Black sent a shorty attempt at McKay that the netminder saved, but he left a rebound for Denver Pierce. Pierce’s shot rang off the pipe, though, and NMU went into the third down 2-0.

Things got worse for the Wildcats early in the third. A turnover at the NMU blue line left MSU’s Walker Duehr open on a short breakaway and he lifted a shot just under the crossbar to put the Mavericks up 3-0 at the 1:27 mark. After that miscue though, it was all Northern. With five minutes left in a Wildcats power play, forward Griffin Loughran got a rebound by the near post and lifted it over McKay to get NMU on the scoreboard.

“He’s (Loughran) the kind of player that you know is going to show up in these games,” Potulny said. “He kind of always has his whole career. His goal got us going and the ice was really tilted at the end of the game.”

Less than four minutes later, the Wildcats got another goal back, again on special teams. While trying to kill a hooking penalty, Loggins and Rockwood connected again. Loggins picked off a Mavericks pass and fed it over to a streaking Rockwood, who almost beat McKay, but he got a piece of it with his leg pad. However, McKay sent the puck over to a trailing Loggins, who fired it into the open net to cut the Wildcats’ deficit to 3-2.

NMU had two more chances to tie the game late, but couldn’t cash in. After Phil Beaulieu’s shot almost trickled in past McKay, a wild scrum occurred in front of the net with the Wildcats getting two whacks at it, but McKay managed to cover it to get the whistle. With 1:30 remaining, Loggins got another good look in the slot as he sent a puck fluttering at McKay, but it just went over the crossbar.

“I thought we had some good looks,” Potulny said. “Phil was all alone, Blackie was all alone, Luke (Voltin) was all alone. They just didn’t go in for us. Conversely, they had a couple of opportunities that may or may not even been scoring chances and they ended up going in.

“That’s hockey, that’s how it’s played. You’ve just got to regroup and know that you have to emulate that effort. If we do, we’re going to win a lot of games. This one stings because you kind of feel like it got away from you a little bit.”

Even though his team came up short, Potulny was feeling positive about its performance and gave it credit for making a comeback against a good team.

“I thought we played outstanding,” he said. “We played to a level that is required to win a lot of games. We just didn’t execute in key moments.”

Ryan Stieg can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 252. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.net.