This story was written by NMU Sports Information
HOUGHTON, Mich. - The Northern Michigan University hockey team showed up and shut out the Michigan Tech Huskies in a decisive 4-0 win to advance to the CCHA Mason Cup Finals. Beni Halasz stopped all 44 shots he faced including 10 saves on the penalty kill for his third shutout of the season to help his team defeat the Huskies on the road.
The Wildcats scored three goals in the first 12 minutes of the first period then scored an empty netter, as seven different Wildcats recorded at least a point. Rylan Van Unen recorded the eventual game-winner on his opening tally, Andre Ghantous scored from in tight on the power play, Michael Van Unen scored a highlight reel goal on an end-to-end rush, and Simon Kjellberg potted the empty net goal to seal the deal for the 'Cats.
The Wildcats were outshot 44-26 with shots on goal and 81-48 in shot attempts, as NMU blocked 19 shots to MTU's 13. The 'Cats went 1/4 on the PP and remained exceptional on the PK with another perfect 5/5 on the evening, and had the edge in the faceoff dot winning 32 to MTU's 25.
The game started just how you'd expect it to, with lots of energy, speed, and physicality from both ends in an effort to pull the momentum in each side's respective club's favor. The Huskies had the best chance early, as a quick wrister from the left dot rang the pipe past the ear of goaltender Beni Halasz.
It wasn't long after that AJ Vanderbeck created a turnover at the Michigan Tech blueline and fired a shot that Pietila couldn't quite handle, and Rylan Van Unen found the loose puck and shoveled it home to give the 'Cats an early 1-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game. This was Van Unen's fourth goal of the season and his second goal in three games.
Not three minutes later, the 'Cats got the first specialty teams opportunity and made no mistake to extend their lead to two after Andre Ghantous received a pass on the goalline and was able to stickhandle in tight to his forehand and elevate the puck over the glove hand of Pietila. Joey Larson and Josh Zinger picked up assists on the man-advantage tally.
And the momentum was all the 'Cats favor as they were generating chances, throwing the body around, and blocking shots left and right, clearly having more jump than their counterparts at the halfway part of the opening frame.
Great minds think alike, and no one knows you better than your twin, and Michael Van Unen followed in his brother Rylan's footsteps. Michael blocked a puck and found a head of steam and went end-to-end after beating a defender wide with speed and made a cut to the net, beating Pietila on the far side with a tuck to extend the lead 3-0.
A sweet stretch pass found Joey Larson at the far blue line and was all alone on the goalie and beat Pietila with a nifty head fake but couldn't quite elevate the puck over the outstretched pad. The 'Cats got another breakaway and this time it was AJ Vanderbeck who made almost the same move as Larson, but Pietila sniffed this one out and stayed with him the whole way.
Although the shots were relatively even at 11-10 in favor of the Green and Gold, the 'Cats dominated almost the entirety of the first 20 minutes of play, outscoring the Huskies 3-0 and having a wide majority in quality scoring chances in a game that the Wildcats could easily have had six goals after the first period. The 'Cats went 1/3 on the man advantage and 2/2 down a man, with faceoffs 10-11 in favor of the Huskies.
The 'Cats started the middle frame short-handed from a penalty they took in the dying seconds of the first 20 minutes and Tech had some great looks to try and open their scoring, but Halasz and company had other ideas and successfully killed their third penalty of the game.
In the first five minutes of the game, the Wildcats got another breakaway opportunity but this time he was obstructed from behind which earned Vincent de Mey a penalty shot opportunity. Pietila stood tall on the opportunity, and the score remained 3-0.
The 'Cats got a 2-on-1 opportunity and got three quality shots on the Michigan Tech netminder, but the score remained 3-0 and the teams skated on.
The 'Cats were whistled for a trip to send the NMU penalty kill units to work once again, and Beni Halasz stood tall stopping four shots on target along with countryman Kristof Papp sacrificing the body to deny a scoring chance to kill off the penalty, staying perfect on the evening.
Beni Halasz made a handful of terrific saves from high-danger areas down the stretch in the middle frame, keeping the Huskies off the scoreboard. The 'Cats were whistled for another infraction with just over two minutes to go and went on to kill the penalty again before time expired and 40 minutes were in the book.
Bein Halasz was the story of the middle frame as the Huskies couldn't solve the NMU netminder despite 19 shots on goal with 34 total shot attempts to the Wildcats' 10 on target and 16 attempts. The 'Cats were 3/3 on the penalty kill and didn't have one man advantage opportunity, and won 13 faceoffs to MTU's eight.
The Wildcats came into the third period with defense in mind, dropping back into a trap defensive formation, looking to protect their three-goal lead for the final 20. Alex Frye drew a penalty and sent the 'Cats to the man advantage, and although the Green and Gold moved the puck around rather well, the final pass on three separate occasions was batted away by a Michigan Tech defender to stop a wide-open look from any of the 'Cats.
It was all Michigan Tech for the vast majority of the third period, especially in the final 10 minutes of play as they generated zone time, possession, and scoring chances in a last-ditch effort to find something to build off. The Huskies pulled the goalie with just under three minutes left, and Simon Kjellberg created a turnover at the center ice line and found the empty net to seal the deal for the Wildcats.
1st
4:44 - Rylan Van Unen (NMU GWG, 1-0), Assisted by AJ Vanderbeck.
7:45 - Andre Ghantous (NMU PP, 2-0), Assisted by Joey Larson and Josh Zinger.
11:07 - Michael Van Unen (NMU, 3-0), Unassisted.
2nd
None.
3rd
18:00 - Simon Kjellberg (NMU ENG, 4-0), Assisted by Andre Ghantous.
HOUGHTON, Mich. - The Northern Michigan University hockey team showed up and shut out the Michigan Tech Huskies in a decisive 4-0 win to advance to the CCHA Mason Cup Finals. Beni Halasz stopped all 44 shots he faced including 10 saves on the penalty kill for his third shutout of the season to help his team defeat the Huskies on the road.
The Wildcats scored three goals in the first 12 minutes of the first period then scored an empty netter, as seven different Wildcats recorded at least a point. Rylan Van Unen recorded the eventual game-winner on his opening tally, Andre Ghantous scored from in tight on the power play, Michael Van Unen scored a highlight reel goal on an end-to-end rush, and Simon Kjellberg potted the empty net goal to seal the deal for the 'Cats.
The Wildcats were outshot 44-26 with shots on goal and 81-48 in shot attempts, as NMU blocked 19 shots to MTU's 13. The 'Cats went 1/4 on the PP and remained exceptional on the PK with another perfect 5/5 on the evening, and had the edge in the faceoff dot winning 32 to MTU's 25.
The game started just how you'd expect it to, with lots of energy, speed, and physicality from both ends in an effort to pull the momentum in each side's respective club's favor. The Huskies had the best chance early, as a quick wrister from the left dot rang the pipe past the ear of goaltender Beni Halasz.
It wasn't long after that AJ Vanderbeck created a turnover at the Michigan Tech blueline and fired a shot that Pietila couldn't quite handle, and Rylan Van Unen found the loose puck and shoveled it home to give the 'Cats an early 1-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game. This was Van Unen's fourth goal of the season and his second goal in three games.
Not three minutes later, the 'Cats got the first specialty teams opportunity and made no mistake to extend their lead to two after Andre Ghantous received a pass on the goalline and was able to stickhandle in tight to his forehand and elevate the puck over the glove hand of Pietila. Joey Larson and Josh Zinger picked up assists on the man-advantage tally.
And the momentum was all the 'Cats favor as they were generating chances, throwing the body around, and blocking shots left and right, clearly having more jump than their counterparts at the halfway part of the opening frame.
Great minds think alike, and no one knows you better than your twin, and Michael Van Unen followed in his brother Rylan's footsteps. Michael blocked a puck and found a head of steam and went end-to-end after beating a defender wide with speed and made a cut to the net, beating Pietila on the far side with a tuck to extend the lead 3-0.
A sweet stretch pass found Joey Larson at the far blue line and was all alone on the goalie and beat Pietila with a nifty head fake but couldn't quite elevate the puck over the outstretched pad. The 'Cats got another breakaway and this time it was AJ Vanderbeck who made almost the same move as Larson, but Pietila sniffed this one out and stayed with him the whole way.
Although the shots were relatively even at 11-10 in favor of the Green and Gold, the 'Cats dominated almost the entirety of the first 20 minutes of play, outscoring the Huskies 3-0 and having a wide majority in quality scoring chances in a game that the Wildcats could easily have had six goals after the first period. The 'Cats went 1/3 on the man advantage and 2/2 down a man, with faceoffs 10-11 in favor of the Huskies.
The 'Cats started the middle frame short-handed from a penalty they took in the dying seconds of the first 20 minutes and Tech had some great looks to try and open their scoring, but Halasz and company had other ideas and successfully killed their third penalty of the game.
In the first five minutes of the game, the Wildcats got another breakaway opportunity but this time he was obstructed from behind which earned Vincent de Mey a penalty shot opportunity. Pietila stood tall on the opportunity, and the score remained 3-0.
The 'Cats got a 2-on-1 opportunity and got three quality shots on the Michigan Tech netminder, but the score remained 3-0 and the teams skated on.
The 'Cats were whistled for a trip to send the NMU penalty kill units to work once again, and Beni Halasz stood tall stopping four shots on target along with countryman Kristof Papp sacrificing the body to deny a scoring chance to kill off the penalty, staying perfect on the evening.
Beni Halasz made a handful of terrific saves from high-danger areas down the stretch in the middle frame, keeping the Huskies off the scoreboard. The 'Cats were whistled for another infraction with just over two minutes to go and went on to kill the penalty again before time expired and 40 minutes were in the book.
Bein Halasz was the story of the middle frame as the Huskies couldn't solve the NMU netminder despite 19 shots on goal with 34 total shot attempts to the Wildcats' 10 on target and 16 attempts. The 'Cats were 3/3 on the penalty kill and didn't have one man advantage opportunity, and won 13 faceoffs to MTU's eight.
The Wildcats came into the third period with defense in mind, dropping back into a trap defensive formation, looking to protect their three-goal lead for the final 20. Alex Frye drew a penalty and sent the 'Cats to the man advantage, and although the Green and Gold moved the puck around rather well, the final pass on three separate occasions was batted away by a Michigan Tech defender to stop a wide-open look from any of the 'Cats.
It was all Michigan Tech for the vast majority of the third period, especially in the final 10 minutes of play as they generated zone time, possession, and scoring chances in a last-ditch effort to find something to build off. The Huskies pulled the goalie with just under three minutes left, and Simon Kjellberg created a turnover at the center ice line and found the empty net to seal the deal for the Wildcats.
- Beni Halasz posted his third shutout of the season and third of his collegiate career, stopping all 44 that found their way on target. In the postseason, Halasz is now 3-0 with a 1.33 GAA and a .964 SV% and has recorded a shutout.
- Rylan Van Unen opened the scoring for the 'Cats, giving him four goals on the season and his second goal in his three post-season games.
- Andre Ghantous registered a powerplay goal for his 13th tally of the season and registered an assist, leading all NMU skaters in points this postseason with five in three games (2G, 3A). Ghantous now has 16 points in his last 11 games (9G, 7A).
- Michael Van Unen registered a goal for his third of the season and has himself three points this postseason (2G, 1A) and six points in his last seven games (3G, 3A).
- Simon Kjellberg found the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season and has seven points in his last seven games (3G, 4A).
- The Wildcats now improve to 21-16-0 overall, 14-5-0 when scoring first, 10-11-0 when outshot by their opponent, 11-8-0 on the road, 9-0-0 when leading after one, 11-0-0 when leading after two, and 19-3-0 when scoring three or more goals.
- The last time the Wildcats won in regulation at The Mac was a 3-2 win on 2/29/2020. This was the first time the 'Cats shut out Michigan Tech since 3/2/2019, and the first time they shut out the Huskies on the road since 12/15/2007.
1st
4:44 - Rylan Van Unen (NMU GWG, 1-0), Assisted by AJ Vanderbeck.
7:45 - Andre Ghantous (NMU PP, 2-0), Assisted by Joey Larson and Josh Zinger.
11:07 - Michael Van Unen (NMU, 3-0), Unassisted.
2nd
None.
3rd
18:00 - Simon Kjellberg (NMU ENG, 4-0), Assisted by Andre Ghantous.
