By Steven Miller –
Northern Michigan University will be hosting the No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish this weekend. NMU has come off the last weekend with two losses to Western Michigan University, but was able to gain a point on Saturday in a 3-2 overtime loss.
Stephan Vigier had a successful outing for Northern Michigan, as he scored all four of the Wildcats’ goals against the Broncos. Reid Ellingson made 52 saves on the weekend.
The Wildcats’ next opponent, Notre Dame, swept the Bowling Green Falcons last weekend. Overall, the Fighting Irish are 5-2 (3-1 in CCHA play) with their two losses coming against Minnesota-Duluth and Ohio State.
This weekend the Cats will need to bring energy and scoring early to get the game going in their favor. Notre Dame tends to be a slow starting team in the early season, with only having scored five goals in the first period, while recording nine in the second, and 13 in the third. Although the Irish’s power play and penalty kill are ranked lower than Northern Michigan, the Wildcats still need to stay out of the penalty box to be successful against the Irish. Anders Lee and T.J. Tynan are the two Irish players that need to be on the radar for the Wildcats this weekend, as Lee is the leading goal scorer in the NCAA with 10 goals, and Tynan has the second-most points, with 14. The games this weekend should be a defensive battle as NMU’s Ellingson’s goals-against is 2.24 and Notre Dame’s Mike Johnson’s is 2.02
The Wildcats/Irish should be a great weekend series. Look for the Wildcats to be successful at home against the Fighting Irish. The atmosphere at the Berry Events Center is intoxicating and definitely drives the Wildcats to a winning tradition at home.
Steven Miller is a guest contributor for mihockeynow. A Northern Michigan alum, he now resides in Virgina.