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SUCCESSFUL TRIP: Wildcats Beat, Tie Boston Univ
 These stories was written by NMU Sports Information BOSTON---The Northern Michigan hockey program held strong Saturday night as they topped the No. 20/RV Boston University Terriers, 4-3 at Agganis Arena. This followed NMU’s wild three-goal rally in the third period in Friday’s game to get a 4-4 tie with the Terriers. Darien Craighead posted his second goal of the weekend while Vincent de Mey netted the first multi-goal game of his career and extended his goal and point streaks to four games (5-1-6). Craighead put the Wildcats on the board at the 10:49 mark of the first period to knot the game at 1-1. It was the senior's second goal in as many games and was assisted by Joseph Nardi. The leader in goals heading into tonight, Vincent de Mey added to the scoreboard with less than two minutes remaining in the opening frame to give NMU the 2-1 lead going into the first intermission. His team-leading fourth of the year was assisted by Ty Readman. After BU tied it in the midway through the second, Griffin Loughran took back the Wildcat lead at 2:11 of the third period with assists to Philip Beaulieu and Darien Craighead. The assist marked Beaulieu's 100th career point with 20 goals and 80 assists. Vincent de Mey scored the eventual game-winner with 8:56 gone in the final frame for the first multi-goal game of the young sophomore's career. Michael Van Unen tallied his first career point with the primary assist while Ben Newhouse had the other helper. Sophomore netminder Nolan Kent recorded his first career win between the pipes Saturday night and now owns a 1-1-0 record. Senior captain Philip Beaulieu tallied hit the milestone 100 career points with the first assist on Griffin Loughran's goal early in the third period. The tally also gives him a three-game point streak (0-4-4). Vincent de Mey continued his impressive point streak, netting five goals and an assist for six points through the first four games. NMU outshot the Terriers, 33-30 in the win while Kent stopped 27 of the 30 shots he faced. The Wildcats were perfect on the penalty kill (3/3) as well as converting once with the man advantage. de Mey led the team in shots with eight total and seven on net while Beaulieu was close behind with a total of six. Loughran was second on the team in shots on goal, registering four shots, including his third period goal. The Wildcats are back on the road next weekend as they open WCHA play at Ferris State. Last season, Northern Michigan swept the series against the Bulldogs, posting 4-1 and 4-2 victories. FRIDAY'S GAME RECAP BOSTON---Facing a 4-1 deficit entering the third period, the Northern Michigan Wildcats (1-1-1, 0-0-0-0 WCHA) would not back down as they forced overtime tonight against No. 20/RV Boston University Terriers (1-0-1, 0-0-0-0 HEA) for the eventual tie at Agganis Arena. Joseph Nardi opened the scoring just over one minute into the game as he fired the rebound home for his first of the season. The Terriers went on to post four unanswered goals and held the 4-1 lead through 40 minutes of play. Extending his goal-streak to three games, sophomore forward Vincent de Mey spurred the Wildcat comeback with his onetimer at the 5:53 mark of the third frame. Caleb Schroer scored just 53 seconds later when he picked up Nardi's no-look pass and shot one over Boston goaltender Tucker's blocker. Darien Craighead's first goal of the season sent the two teams to extra time as he redirected Griffin Loughran's initial shot at the top of the crease. Freshman netminder John Hawthorne finished with a career-high 35 saves and is now 1-0-1 on the season. Joseph Nardi found the back of the net first, just 1:02 into play, as he picked up the loose puck in the near faceoff circle and buried it past Tucker's blocker. Hank Sorensen and Griffin Loughran were both credited with assists on the goal. Vincent de Mey kept his goal and point streaks alive with his third goal and fourth point of the season, leading all Wildcats in both categories. His one-timer came at 5:53 of the third period with assists to Hank Sorensen and Grant Loven. Just 53 seconds after de Mey's goal, Caleb Schroer netted his first of the season as he fired one top shelf past Terrier's Tucker in net. Joseph Nardi earned the primary assist on the goal, carrying the puck into the offensive zone while Mason Palmer also got credit for an assist on the play. With 17:53 elapsed in the third, Darien Craighead deflected the puck from the low slot to knot the game at four apiece. Griffin Loughran, who had the initial shot, and Ty Readman were credited with the assists. Vincent de Mey (3-1-4) and Ty Readman (0-3-3) both extend their point streaks the three games with the tie. Northern Michigan tallied 48 total shots, including 20 on net in the tie. The Wildcats doubled their shots on goal in the third period, posting nine for a three period total of 18. They ended with 20 total shots on goal through 65 minutes of action. John Hawthorne made a career-high 35 saves in the tie, recording a .897 save percentage. Nine Wildcats recorded at least one point in the tie, including three with multiple points. Hank Sorensen posted the first multi-point game of his career, adding helpers to Nardi and de Mey's goals. Nardi and Loughran also had multiple points on Friday night. The Wildcats jumped in front of 10 shots in the game with Hank Sorensen, Mason Palmer and Rylan Yaremko each stopping two for the team-lead. On special teams, the Wildcats scored once on the power play while killing two late penalties to hold on for the 4-4 tie. The two teams were even on the faceoffs, winning 35 each. |
