{"id":139860,"date":"2023-03-15T06:00:29","date_gmt":"2023-03-15T11:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=139860"},"modified":"2023-03-14T20:59:22","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T01:59:22","slug":"this-week-in-ccha-hockey-northern-michigan-minnesota-state-up-for-challenge-saturday-with-winner-getting-conference-title-ncaa-tournament-autobid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2023\/03\/15\/this-week-in-ccha-hockey-northern-michigan-minnesota-state-up-for-challenge-saturday-with-winner-getting-conference-title-ncaa-tournament-autobid\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in CCHA Hockey: Northern Michigan, Minnesota State up for challenge Saturday with winner getting conference title, NCAA tournament autobid"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Minnesota State swept Northern Michigan Jan. 6-7 at NMU (photo: Northern Michigan Athletics).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since Grant Potulny\u2019s first season in Marquette in 2017-18, Northern Michigan has twice played in a conference championship game.<\/p>\n

In 2018, the second-place Wildcats hosted Upper Peninsula archrivals Michigan Tech in the WCHA championship game. A sold-out crowd at the Berry Events Center saw the Huskies shut out the Wildcats 2-0.<\/p>\n

NMU returned to the conference championship in 2021, reaching the WCHA title game as a No. 6 seed after upsets of Bowling Green and top-seeded Minnesota State before bowing out in the title game at the hands of another U.P. rival (Lake Superior State).<\/p>\n

Now entering his sixth season behind the NMU bench, Potulny has again guided the Wildcats back to the conference title game. This time, the Wildcats will take on top-seeded Minnesota State on Saturday in Mankato \u2013 the scene of their 2021 WCHA title game loss \u2013 in the CCHA Mason Cup final.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been fortunate enough to coach this team for six years, and this is the third time we\u2019ve been to this game,\u201d Potulny said on Saturday, after NMU defeated Tech on the road in the CCHA semifinals. \u201cThe first two times I thought we played tight. But I really, really want to get this team to continue this season. I said it (to assistant coach Byron Pool) before the game, I\u2019m not ready to be done with these guys yet. I like this team too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Wildcats (21-16-0) are one of the hottest teams in the country at the moment, and they\u2019re getting there at the right time. They have won seven in a row and nine of their last 11 and, in the process, have outscored opponents 49-22.<\/p>\n

NMU freshman goaltender Beni Halasz \u2013 who backstopped the Wildcat\u2019s 4-0 win against Tech \u2013 was asked after the game about how good his team\u2019s forward group was in front of him. He smiled and listed off the names of all the offensive weapons NMU has: Joey Larson, A.J. Vanderbeck, Andre Ghantous, Artem Shlaine, Kristof Papp, David Keefer (all of whom have at least 20 points).<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, we have a lot of good players,\u201d Halasz said with a chuckle. \u201cI get scored on a lot in practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Halasz, who was named the goaltender on this season\u2019s CCHA all-rookie team, has a 2.30 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it goes back to his third or fourth game,\u201d Potulny said of the freshman from Hungary. \u201cHe gives you confidence and obviously if I feel it, the players feel it too. Moments aren\u2019t too big for him, and I think he\u2019s kind of coming to his own now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mavericks in an unusual spot \u2013 on the bubble<\/strong><\/p>\n

Minnesota State head coach Mike Hastings was effusive in his praise of how well NMU is playing right now.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re about as hot as a team as there is right now, scoring goals, on the power play, committing to defense. I think Grant does a fantastic job,\u201d Hastings said after the Mavs beat Ferris State 7-2 in their semifinal game in Mankato. \u201cThey\u2019ll be prepared, and they\u2019ll be excited about coming into our building, so it\u2019ll be a tall challenge, but we look forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

MSU (24-12-1) has been here before\u2013as in, they\u2019ve been in the conference finals. The Mavericks are playing for their fifth conference tournament title since realignment (they won three times in the WCHA, plus last year\u2019s controversial CCHA Mason Cup title game).<\/p>\n

However, what the Mavericks maybe aren\u2019t used to at this time of year is playing with their season on the line. For the past few years, they have been a lock to make the NCAA tournament no matter the outcome; this time around they are the No. 13 team in the PairWise rankings and would need some help to make a fifth-straight NCAA tournament appearance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the biggest thing is, next week\u2019s just an early tournament game for us,\u201d MSU defenseman Jake Livingstone said. \u201cWe know from previous years that once we get to the tournament it\u2019s win or go home, so at the end of the day it\u2019s just another extra tournament game for us and we\u2019ve got to win this one to move on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mavericks went 3-1 against the Wildcats during the regular season, but the one loss was a 5-4 overtime decision in Mankato.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re a hot team right now, and we have a lot of respect for them,\u201d Mavericks captain Brendan Furry said. \u201cHaving the opportunity to go in and play for an NCAA berth, I think it\u2019s pretty special in your own building. So, we just got to go back and look at the clips from tonight and we\u2019re gonna have to be better next weekend, because as coach said, they\u2019re a red-hot team right now and we\u2019re gonna have to shut that down. \u201c<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since Grant Potulny\u2019s first season in Marquette in 2017-18, Northern Michigan has twice played in a conference championship game. In 2018, the second-place Wildcats hosted Upper Peninsula archrivals Michigan Tech in the WCHA championship game. A sold-out crowd at the Berry Events Center saw the Huskies shut out the Wildcats 2-0. NMU returned to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":139861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[812],"coauthors":[854],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThis Week in CCHA Hockey: Northern Michigan, Minnesota State up for challenge Saturday with winner getting conference title, NCAA tournament autobid - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Since Grant Potulny\u2019s first season in Marquette in 2017-18, Northern Michigan has twice played in a conference championship game. 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