Stories and photo courtesy of NMU Sports Information
SATURDAY GAME RECAP
MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The NMU Wildcats dropped game two of the weekend series 2-0 to the Augustana Vikings.
The Wildcats (1-23-0, 1-15-0 CCHA) got superb goaltending from Oliver Auyeung-Ashton again, as the freshman netminder turned aside 37 of the 39 he faced for a .949 SV%. Josh Kotai on the other end made 27 saves for his second-consecutive shutout, blanking the Wildcats on back-to-back occasions.
The Vikings paced the Wildcats in shots (39-27), went 1/2 on the power play and 1/1 on the penalty kill, held a 29-18 advantage in faceoffs, and posted 20 blocks to NMUs 13.
The Vikings got the lone goal in the opening from from Will Howard after a Wildcat turnover at the Augustana blueline. The Vikings outshot NMU 13-7, NMU's penalty kill was succesful on the only man-advantage opportunity of the opening 20 minutes, and Augustana held a slight advantage in the faceoff circle at 13-10.
Despite the second period being scoreless, the Wildcats had multiple great chances and periods of sustained pressure, including a four-minute period of 8-0 shot attempts followed by a two-minute stretch of another 8-0 shot attempts in favor of NMU.
Defenseman Easton Young scored his first goal of the season on the power play in the third period, and the Vikings would skate to a 2-0 win.
FRIDAY GAME RECAP
MARQUETTE, Mich. -- After a scoreless first period of action, the Vikings scored a goal in the second and third periods before adding the empty net goal for a 3-0 decision from the Berry Events Center.
The Wildcats (1-22-0, 1-14-0 CCHA) and Vikings skated to a scoreless first twenty minutes, but it was not without its exciting moments, highlighted by Matthew Argentina hitting the post on the opening shift of the game and netminder Oliver Auyeung-Ashton making a crucial save on a partial breakaway. The Vikings held a 12-8 shot advantage and a 9-5 advantage in the faceoff circle.
The Vikings (13-6-3, 7-4-2 CCHA) opened the scoring in the middle frame while on the power play, capitalizing on a deflection in the high slot from the stick of Brett Meerman, scoring his eighth goal of the season.
Shortly after the media timeout in the third period, sophomore Samo Meritahti converted on a one-timer off a pass from Ben Troumbly to give the VIkings a 2-0 lead on Meritahti's second career collegiate goal. Joey DelGreco added the VIkings third tally into the empty net, and the Vikings would skate away with a 3-0 victory.
Wildcat netminder Oliver Auyeung-Ashton made 30 stops, posting a .928 SV%. Tobias Pitka won nine of his 15 faceoffs, the most wins among skaters in the
