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U.P. SWEEP! Wildcats Rally Past Lake Superior, 5-3
 This story was written by NMU Sports Information SATURDAY'S GAME SUMMARY SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan University hockey team showed up and showed out as they swept the Lakers on the road. The Wildcats secured a 5-3 win, with goals from five different players. The team now holds a 2-0 lead in the Cappo Cup series. Despite the Lakers' securing the first period 2-0, the Wildcats did not let up in the second and third. In the second, Artem Shlaine and AJ Vanderbeck each netted one, and Joey Larson put the cherry on top with a power play goal. Dedication continued in the third period when David Keefer popped in another power play goal. Vincent De Mey managed to tally another goal this weekend with a last minute empty netter. The Wildcats opened up the first period dominating the offensive end, barely letting the Lakers get past the redline. Chippy play from Friday night's game seemed to carry over to Saturday as Connor Eddy took an early penalty at 17:44 for slashing the goalie. The Lakers were unable to produce a goal. Following the penalty, the Lakers picked up the pace, eliminating several Wildcat shot opportunities. The neutral ice hockey continued until about the halfway mark of the period, when Laker forward Timo Bakos roofed one in the middle of a scrum in the crease. The Lakers led 1-0. The Lakers continued to put pressure on the 'Cats, and were able to capitalize on a faceoff win and score from the high slot, 2-0 for the Lakers at 12:38. Bryan Huggins of LSSU took a late penalty for interference, which gave the Wildcats a man advantage as they looked to close the scoring gap. The 'Cats were unable to put one in the net. The Lakers led 2-0 after 20 minutes of play, outshooting the 'Cats 12-6. The 'Cats came to play in the second period, as Artem Shlaine gripped it and ripped it to the back of the net. The Wildcats trailed 2-1. Northern looked to climb the ladder as they took the man advantage off of a bench minor penalty for the Lakers. NMU stacked their lineup in the offensive end, setting up Kristoff Papp and Vincent De Mey for any one-timer opportunity. The play did not go in favor of the Wildcats, as Laker Dawson Tritt was able to head down on the breakaway, scoring a short-handed goal, LSSU led 3-1. Freshman Zach Michaelis put the wheels on for a 2-on-0 opportunity but was hit down by a Laker player. The Laker was given a minor penalty for interference. NMU was able to get the well deserved goal on the PP, as Joey Larson sniped one from the top of the circle, 3-2 Lakers with five minutes remaining in the second period. Just over a minute later, captain AJ Vanderbeck pulled out his classic wrist shot from the a near impossible angle, tying the game up for the 'Cats, 3-3. The period ended with a few dicey penalties for both teams. Score remained at three a piece, the Wildcats outshot the Lakers 19-3 in the second. The Wildcats were ready to rumble early in the third period as Alex Frye screened the Laker goaltender, giving David Keefer the green light to put the puck in the back of the net. NMU gained their first lead of the game, 4-3. Beni Halasz stood on his head, helping the Wildcats keep the lead, despite constant shot attempts from the Lakers. Wildcat Aiden Gallacher headed to the box with 12 minutes remaining in the game for interference, but the 'Cats would not let the Lakers finesse a goal. This wasn't the end of a busy penalty period, as Wildcat Andre Ghantous and Laker Brandon Puricelli went to the box for roughing. Both teams continued 5-on-5 hockey. With two minutes remaining in the final period of play, the Lakers pulled their goaltender in hopes to tie it up with the man advantage. The Wildcats, however, were quick to blast one down from the far blueline and into an empty Laker net. The goal was credited to Vincent De Mey, 5-3. Four Wildcats had multi-point games: AJ Vanderbeck, David Keefer, Alex Frye, and Joey Larson.
1st Period 9:34 - Timo Bakos (LSSU 0-1) - Assisted by Joshua Wildauer and Benito Posa 12:38 - Harrison Roy (LSSU 0-2) - Assisted by Louis Boudon 2nd Period 1:03 - Artem Shlaine (NMU 1-2) - Assisted by Joey Larson 7:59 - Dawson Tritt (LSSU SH, 1-3) - Unassisted 14:29 - Joey Larson (NMU PP, 2-3) - Assisted by Josh Zinger and Michael Colella 15:40 - AJ Vanderbeck (NMU 3-3) - Assisted by David Keefer 3rd Period 1:14 - David Keefer (NMU PP, 4-3) - Assisted by Alex Frye and AJ Vanderbeck 18:05 - Vincent De Mey (NMU EN, 5-3) - Assisted by Michael Van Unen and Alex Frye Next weekend, the Wildcats return to the Berry Events Center to face off against Bemidji State University. Game one puck drop will be 7:07 p.m. on Friday, November 11. FRIDAY'S GAME SUMMARY SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan University hockey team dominated in the Taffy Abel Arena on Friday night with a 4-1 win over the Lake State Lakers. The win marked the first point for the Wildcats in the Cappo Cup series. The teams split the first period as Zach Michaelis scored his first NCAA goal, followed by the lone goal for the Lakers. In the second, Vincent De Mey put one in on a wide open net, extending the lead to 2-1. Two more goals came for the Wildcats in the third period, securing the game for the 'Cats. David Keefer put in his 6th of the season and AJ Vanderbeck tallied an unassisted empty net goal. The Wildcats started off hot with an early shot by Tanner Vescio, only 11 seconds into play, but was denied by Laker goaltender Seth Eisele. The rivalry that has lasted decades continued to show as the high level of physicality could not go unnoticed. Near the midway point of the period, freshman Zach Michaelis found a gap in the Laker defenseman, scoring his first collegiate goal. The Wildcats led 1-0. The Lakers quickly regrouped, tying the game up at 1-1, on a goal by Harrison Roy. Connor Eddy took the puck end to end in the final moments of the period, just barely missing over the top of the cross bar. The two teams remained at one a piece. Northern outshot the Lakers 11-9. Joey Larson came out flying in his first shift of the period, nearly roofing one. The Wildcats looked to keep the pace as they took the man advantage. 19 seconds later, Artem Shlaine took a penalty for high sticking. The teams played 4-on-4 and neither were able to capitalize. A sneaky wrap around pass by a Laker had the whole crowd holding their breath, but the Lakers were no match for the strong Wildcat defense. NMU received their second man advantage of the period as Jacob Bengtsson went to the box for interference. Despite valiant efforts, the 'Cats couldn't put it in the back of the net. The chippy pace of play kept up as Aiden Gallacher went to the sin-bin for interference. Jack Jeffers of the Lakers took a clapper from the outside hash marks, but was denied by Tanner Vesico, leaving the Lakers goalless on the PP. A major slip up behind the net by Laker goaltender allowed for Vincent De Mey to score a wrap-around goal with an open net. 'Cats lead 2-1 at 13:14. A scrum between Wildcat Andre Ghantous and Laker Jack Jeffers ended in a tripping penalty for NMU. The Lakers still could not net one on the PP. The Wildcats closed out the period with a 2-1 lead. The Lakers took control of the opening minute of play in the third, as captain Louis Boudon went down on a breakaway, denied by Beni Halasz. Northern continued to produce opportunities with numerous 3-on-2's and 2-on-1's. Just past the 10 minute mark, forward David Keefer was able to net one after a back-and-forth in the offensive end. The Lakers nearly returned the favor but Simon Kjellberg bodied the Laker out of the crease. As time wound down for the two teams, the Lakers looked to net another as they pulled Seth Eisele for the man advantage. But they were no match for AJ Vanderbeck as he stole the puck on the 'Cats defensive blue line and made an empty net goal. The Wildcats were able to secure the win 4-1 on night one.
1st Period 9:06 - Zach Michaelis (NMU 1-0) - Assisted by Connor Eddy 14:54 - Harrison Roy (LSSU 1-1) - Assisted by Jared Westcott 2nd Period 13:14 - Vincent De Mey (NMU 2-1) - Unassisted 3rd Period 9:49 - David Keefer (NMU 3-1) - Assisted by Andre Ghantous and AJ Vanderbeck 17:20 - AJ Vanderbeck (NMU EN, 4-1) - Unassisted |
