Great Lakes Wire

The NMU hockey team is preparing for its first road series of the year, heading to Bemidji, Minnesota, for a CCHA weekend matchup against the Bemidji State Beavers. The Wildcats (2-19-1, 1-12-1 CCHA) will face off against the Beavers (8-10-4, 5-6-3 CCHA) at the Sanford Center with games scheduled for Friday at 8:07 p.m. ET and Saturday at 7:07 p.m. ET. Coverage will be available via MidcoSports Plus streaming and on radio station 100.3 The Point.

The Wildcats are coming off a notable weekend split against No. 12 ranked Minnesota State Mavericks, where freshman forward Ryan Duguay made headlines by scoring his first career hat-trick and totaling four goals over the two games. This performance earned him CCHA Freshman of the Week honors.

Meanwhile, Bemidji State enters this series without a win in their last six games, having gone 0-2-1 since returning from the holiday break. Despite struggling recently, they have shown strength on home ice earlier in the season with a record of 4-4-2.

NMU has been showing improvements since returning from break as well; they held top-ranked Michigan Tech to two goals in an overtime game and ended Mankato's long unbeaten streak.

"With his four goal weekend," notes NMU statistics highlight that "Ryan Duguay (5-1--6) now holds the team lead in goals." His recent performance places him among conference leaders in several categories.

On Bemidji's side, junior Kirklan Irey leads his team in goals and points while ranking high within conference standings as well. The Beavers have also demonstrated discipline by accumulating few penalty minutes compared to other teams.

This series marks another test for both teams as they seek momentum mid-season under head coach Dave Shyiak's leadership at NMU facing Bemidji’s consistent starter Mattias Sholl between pipes despite challenges faced this year defensively.