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FURIOUS RALLIES: Wildcats Have Big 3rd Periods
 Stories by NMU Sports Information. Photos, Video Clips from both games by RRN Sports. SATURDAY'S GAME RECAP After erasing their second-consecutive three-goal deficit in the third period, the Northern Michigan Wildcats (6-2-2, 4-0-0-0 WCHA) fell in overtime to the St. Cloud State Huskies (2-2-4, 0-0-0 NCHC), 5-4 Saturday night. The Huskies came out strong in the first frame outshooting the Wildcats, 15-4 to head into the first intermission with a 3-0 lead. The second period was more balanced, with Northern Michigan posting eight shots to their opponent's nine while both teams tallied a goal through the second 20-minute session. Andre Ghantous scored his third goal of the weekend and fifth in his last four games to cut the game to two before the Huskies found the back of the net at 9:30 to carry a 4-1 lead into the second intermission. Another comeback loomed as time ticked off the clock but Luke Voltin's first goal of the season sparked hope among the nearly 3,300 fans in attendance at the Berry Events Center. His tally at 9:31 of the final period of regulation cut the Huskies lead to 4-2. Griffin Loughran devoured the momentum and brought the Wildcats within one off his wrister from the top of the slot. Ty Readman was the next Wildcat to find the back of the net in the period off a pass from Darien Craighead. His goal from the left circle knotted the game at four-all just 1:51 after the Voltin's. Standing on his head much of the latter half of the game, John Hawthorne recorded 24 saves in the loss, including a flurry of shots late in the overtime period. Rookie forward Andre Ghantous extended his career-long point and goal streaks when he put the Wildcats on the board just 5:54 into the middle frame. Griffin Loughran beat a defender before passing the puck back to Ghantous who buried it stick side passed Huskies' netminder Hrenak. Joseph Nardi also picked up an assist on the play for his sixth of the season. Luke Voltin netted his first of the season with 10:29 to go in the game, bringing the Wildcats within two. Picking up a pass from Mitchel Slattery, Voltin carried the bpuck into the zone, fooling multiple defenders in the process, before tapping in the backhander. Fellow senior Darien Craighead earned the second assist on the play. Just 1:11 later, Griffin Loughran found the back of the net to make it a 4-3 game with 9:18 to play in regulation. Vincent de Mey and Ty Readman were both credited with assists on the goal. Readman then rounded out the Wildcat scoring 40 seconds later. A series of qucik passes from Loughran and Craighead found the puck on Readman's stick in the left circle and an open net in front of him. St. Cloud's goaltender, Hrenak, dove for the puck but was unable to stop Readman's shot to tie the game at 4-4. After a career-high two-goal game Friday night, Andre Ghantous opened the Wildcat scoring Saturday evening and is now on a four-game goal-streak (5-0-5) and has tallied a point in each of his last six games (6-1-7). Two Wildcats recorded season firsts in the loss, including Luke Voltin who tallied his first goal of the season. Mitchel Slattery tallied his first assist of the year on the Voltin goal. Averaging 0.90 goals per game, Griffin Loughran ranks sixth in the nation and holds the team lead in total goals with nine. Averaging 3.90 goals per game, the Wildcats currently rank eighth in scoring offense. Operating at 27.1%, the Wildcat power play unit is seventh in the nation with 13 goals on 48 chances. The team also sits 12th in win percentage (6-2-2; .700). Northern Michigan had multiple strong scoring chances that were somehow stopped, including a shorthanded chance from Mitch Slattery that sailed just wide and a rocket shot from Darien Craighead early in the third that was gloved down by a sprawled out Hrenak. The Wildcats have now overcome three three-goal deficits in the third period and hold a 0-1-2 record in those contests. The other two include at Boston University (T, 4-4) and vs. St. Cloud State (T, 3-3). FRIDAY'S GAME RECAP MARQUETTE---Northern Michigan University's hockey team rallied for three goals in the third period to tie the St. Cloud State Huskies, 3-3, Friday night at the Berry Events Center. The two teams skated to a stalemate through the first 20 minutes of action before St. Cloud found a way to net three in the second period. A slight delay to replace a pane of glass stalled the Huskies' momentum which the Wildcats carried into the final frame. With less than 10 minutes to play in regulation the Wildcats found themselves on a five-on-three power play following back-to-back five-minute major penalties by the Huskies. Northern Michigan took full advantage of the opportunity, scoring three goals within 3:02 to knot the game at 3-3. Northern Michigan and St. Cloud State skated the rest of the period tied with a five-minute overtime period looming. Neither team was able to fire any pucks on net in the extra period for a 3-3 final score in the record books. John Hawthorne made 21 saves in net Friday night while the Wildcats posted 25 shots on goal. Vincent de Mey scored his eighth goal of the season, sparking the comeback early with the two-man advantage. His one-timer proved powerful again as his signature shot from the top of the circle found its way past Huskies' netminder Hrenak to put the Wildcats on the board with 11:32 elapsed in the third period. He was assisted by Ben Newhouse and Hank Sorensen. Andre Ghantous, with his third goal in as many games, drew the Wildcats within one just over two minutes after their first tally. The near impossible shot, Ghantous grabbed the puck from a bounce off the end wall and banked it in off the goaltender's skate blade for a 3-2 score with 6:52 remaining. Vincent de Mey and Hank Sorensen both picked up thier second points of the contest with assists on the goal. The game-tying goal came off Ghantous' stick for his first-career multi-goal game. Sorensen's slapshot bounced off the pads of Hrenak where Ghantous was able to corral the puck just outside the paint and slip it by the Huskies' last line of defense. De Mey was also credited with an assist on the play for his second of the night and third point. With an undefeated streak of eight games, the Wildcats hold the second longest streak in the nation with a 6-0-2 record in their last eight contests. Andre Ghantous posted his first-career multi-goal night and is now on a three-game goal-streak (4-0-4) and has tallied a point in each of his last five games (5-1-6). Vincent de Mey's tally to spark the comeback was his team-leading eighth of the season. He is now tied with fellow sophomore Griffin Loughran in both goals (eight) and points (12; 8-4-12). With a power play tally Friday night, de Mey's five power play goals leads the nation and his 0.89 goals per game is tied for eighth overall with Loughran. Scoring two goals with the man-advantage in the 3-3 tie, Andre Ghantous now boasts three on the season and ranks fifth in the country in power play tallies. With an overall record of 3-0-2, rookie netminder John Hawthorne ranks 11th in the country with a .800 win percentage. Averaging 3.89 goals per game, the Wildcats currently rank eighth in scoring offense and 14th in scoring margin (0.89). The team also sits eighth in win percentage (6-1-2; .778) and 11th in the nation in power play goals with 12, operating at a .261 average. Northern Michigan outshot St. Cloud, 25-24, with Hawthorne posted 21 saves between the pipes. de Mey led the team in shots with five while Darien Craighead and Andre Ghantous registered four each. Ben Newhouse, Garrett Klee and Hank Sorensen all posted a team-best two blocked shots in the game. The two teams look to break the tie tomorrow night with a strong nonconference game to be played. Puck drop for Saturday's game is set for 6:07 p.m. |
