This will be short. Outside of our tussles with Bemidji State (6-1 and 1-0 losses), it was a very light weekend in the WCHA.
The lone conference series featured another big rivalry: Northern Michigan vs. Michigan Tech. These two virtual neighbors on the Upper Peninsula battled as conference mates for the first time since 1997, when NMU left the WCHA to join the CCHA.
Northern Michigan 2, Michigan Tech 0 (Friday): Mathias Dahlstrom, a redshirt freshman goaltender, got the shutout with 24 saves as NMU won in front of a sellout crowd of 4,290 in Marquette. Stephan Vigier and Brock Maschmeyer got the goals for the Wildcats. USCHO recap
Michigan Tech 4, Northern Michigan 1 (Saturday): The Huskies got revenge when the series shifted to their home in Houghton with the help of two first-period goals from Blake Pietila. Mike Neville assisted on both third-period goals by Alex Petan and David Johnstone to put the game away. USCHO recap
The only other action featuring WCHA teams was Mercyhurst visiting Fairbanks and the Alaska Nanooks.
Alaska 5, Mercyhurst 4 (Friday): Mercyhurst scored four unanswered goals after the Nanooks took the early lead. Then Alaska scored four unanswered goals of their own for the win. Colton Beck netted two third-period goals – one shorthanded and one on the power play – to tie the game, and Cody Kunyk got the game-winner with 1:39 remaining. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner recap
Alaska 3, Mercyhurst 3 (OT, Saturday): Alaska needed another streak of three unanswered goals to erase a 2-0 Laker lead. Mercyhurst tied the game with 10:14 to go with its third power-play goal of the night. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner recap
Alaska-Anchorage, Bowling Green, Ferris State, Lake Superior State, and Minnesota State were all idle. All except Lake Superior State will start their conference season this weekend. Bemidji State, in first place in the very early going, hosts in-state rival and conference favorite Minnesota State. Alaska-Anchorage visits Bowling Green, and Northern Michigan goes up to Alaska.
UAH hosts Ferris State this Friday and Saturday at the VBC. Get your tickets now and cheer on the Chargers as they seek their first WCHA wins.
| WCHA Standings | Conference | Overall | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | Pts | W | L | T | |
| Bemidji State | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Northern Michigan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Michigan Tech | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Lake Superior State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Alaska-Anchorage | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Alaska | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Bowling Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Ferris State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Minnesota State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Alabama-Huntsville | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
THIS WEEK IN THE WCHA
All times Central.
* WCHA game.
Tuesday, October 29
Bowling Green at Ohio State, 6:05 p.m.
Laurentian at Lake Superior State (exhibition), 6:37 p.m.
Friday, November 1
* Ferris State at UAH, 7:07 p.m.
* Alaska-Anchorage at Bowling Green, 6:07 p.m.
* Minnesota State at Bemidji State, 7:37 p.m.
* Northern Michigan at Alaska, 10:07 p.m.
Michigan Tech at Michigan, 6:30 p.m.
Lake Superior State at Wisconsin, 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, November 2
* Ferris State at UAH, 7:07 p.m.
* Alaska-Anchorage at Bowling Green, 6:07 p.m.
* Minnesota State at Bemidji State, 7:07 p.m.
* Northern Michigan at Alaska, 10:07 p.m.
Michigan Tech at Michigan, 6:00 p.m.
Lake Superior State at Wisconsin, 7:00 p.m.