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2023–24 Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey season

2023–24 Northern Michigan Wildcats
men's ice hockey season
Conference5th CCHA
Home iceBerry Events Center
Rankings
USCHONR
USA HockeyNR
Record
Overall12–16–6
Conference10–10–4
Home10–4–2
Road2–12–4
Coaches and captains
Head coachGrant Potulny
Assistant coachesByron Pool
Nick Peruzzi
Jimmy Spratt
Captain(s)
  • Aiden Gallacher
  • André Ghantous
  • Artem Shlaine
Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey seasons
« 2022–23 2024–25 »

The 2023–24 Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey season was the 48th season of play for the program and 26th in the CCHA. The Wildcats represented Northern Michigan University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, played their home games at Berry Events Center and were coached by Grant Potulny in his 7th season.

Season

Despite high hopes for a squad that was picked to finish second in the conference pre-season poll,[1] Northern Michigan got off to a poor start. With four games against ranked opponents to begin with, the Wildcats had the opportunity to gain some notoriety early in the year, however, Béni Halász struggled in goal and the team was unable to overcome his slump. One bright spot was the stellar debut of Tanner Latsch, who had sat out the entire previous season while recovering from hip surgery.[2] The redshirt freshman recorded a hat-trick in his first college game and then scored in each of the next three as well. Unfortunately, he was bit by the injury bug against Ferris State and played just three games afterwards.

The loss of Latsch was bad enough but the team was also in desperate need for offense. Northern Michigan got a reprieve in mid-November when backup Charlie Glockner turned in a few good performances but those results were unsustainable. Halász did start playing better once he got his starting job back but the scoring never really materialized. Over the course of the season, the Wildcats recorded 40 fewer goals than they had in 2023, which equated to about 0.8 goals per game. Even with the defense improving as the season went along, that missing offense prevented the team from being able to capitalize on its chances and left NMU stuck in neutral. In the second half of the season, Northern Michigan lost just five games, however, the team was unable to break a tie on several occasions and could only manage a .500 mark in the spring semester.

The mediocre results placed the team 5th in the conference and forced them to hit the road for their playoff series with Minnesota State. The first game saw the Wildcats outshoot the Mavericks by a wide margin, particularly in the second, but the pop-gun offense could only muster a single goal and the team fell 1–2. They opened the scoring in the rematch with a shorty from André Ghantous but afterwards NMU could only watch as the Minnesota State offense poured on the offense to the tune of 6 goals. The Wildcats couldn't come close to matching that output and quietly ended their disappointing season.

After the season, Grant Potulny stepped down as head coach to continue his career in the professional ranks.[3]

Departures

Player Position Nationality Cause
Nathan Butler Forward  United States Left program (retired)
Rico DiMatteo Goaltender  United States Transferred to Long Island
Vincent De Mey Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Kansas City Mavericks)
Alex Frye Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Orlando Solar Bears)
Jett Jungels Forward  United States Graduation (retired)
David Keefer Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Kalamazoo Wings)
Simon Kjellberg Defenseman  Sweden Graduation (retired)
Joey Larson Forward  United States Transferred to Michigan State
A. J. Vanderbeck Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Kansas City Mavericks)
Tanner Vescio Defenseman  United States Graduation (retired)
Brett Willits Forward  Canada Left program (retired)

Recruiting

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Mitchel Deelstra Forward  Canada 24 Wallace, ON; transfer from Ferris State
Viking Gustafsson Nyberg Defenseman  Sweden 20 Stockholm, SWE
Travis Hensrud Forward  Canada 21 Thunder Bay, ON
Matvei Kabanov Forward  Russia 20 Togliatti, RUS
Kevin Marx Norén Forward  Sweden 21 Knivsta, SWE
Michael Mesic Forward  United States 19 Plymouth, MI
Jack Perbix Defenseman\Forward  United States 22 Elk River, MN; graduate transfer from Western Michigan; selected 116th overall in 2018
Brendan Poshak Forward  United States 21 Green Bay, WI
Grant Slukynsky Forward  United States 21 Edina, MN
Carsen Stokes Goaltender  United States 21 Prior Lake, MN
Jeppe Urup Defenseman  Denmark 24 Odense, DEN; graduate transfer from Sacred Heart

Roster

As of September 18, 2023.[4]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Minnesota Charlie Glockner Junior G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2000-06-27 Minnetonka, Minnesota Waterloo (USHL) —
4 British Columbia Michael Van Unen Graduate D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-02-26 Kamloops, British Columbia Merritt (BCHL) —
5 North Dakota Colby Enns Senior (RS) D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 1999-09-16 Minot, North Dakota Lincoln (USHL) —
6 Sweden Kevin Marx-Norén Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-07-15 Knivsta, Sweden Minnesota (NAHL) —
7 Wisconsin Brendan Poshak Freshman F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2002-07-13 Green Bay, Wisconsin Brooks (AJHL) —
8 Russia Artem Shlaine (C) Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-03-07 Moscow, Russia UConn (HEA) NJD, 130th overall 2020
9 Alberta Josh Zinger Sophomore D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-08-05 Red Deer, Alberta Brooks (AJHL) —
10 Michigan Aiden Gallacher (C) Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2000-03-20 Rochester Hills, Michigan Michigan State (Big Ten) —
11 California André Ghantous (C) Graduate F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-12-07 Glendale, California Penticton (BCHL) —
12 Minnesota Jack Perbix Graduate F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-09-13 Elk River, Minnesota Western Michigan (NCHC) ANA, 116th overall 2018
13 New Jersey Mikey Colella Senior F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 155 lb (70 kg) 1999-06-12 Wenonah, New Jersey Trail (BCHL) —
14 Alberta Tyrell Boucher Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-06-03 Nampa, Alberta Cowichan Valley (BCHL) —
15 British Columbia Rylan Van Unen Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-02-26 Kamloops, British Columbia Merritt (BCHL) —
16 Hungary Kristóf Papp Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 2001-06-27 Budapest, Hungary Michigan State (Big Ten) —
17 Minnesota Luke Gramer Sophomore D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-07-02 Moorhead, Minnesota Fargo (USHL) —
18 Michigan Michael Mesic Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2004-08-15 Plymouth, Michigan Lincoln (USHL) —
19 Minnesota Grant Slukynsky Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2002-03-12 Edina, Minnesota Sioux City (USHL) —
20 Ontario Mitch Deelstra Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 191 lb (87 kg) 1999-07-15 Wallace, Ontario Ferris State (CCHA) —
21 British Columbia Connor Eddy Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2002-04-18 Victoria, British Columbia Victoria (BCHL) —
22 Michigan Tanner Latsch Freshman (RS) F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-01-02 Muskegon, Michigan Des Moines (USHL) —
23 Michigan Jakob Peterson Sophomore (RS) D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 2002-04-18 Marquette, Michigan Amarillo (NAHL) —
24 Quebec Isack Bandu Sophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-05-03 Montreal, Quebec Victoria (BCHL) —
25 Denmark Jeppe Urup Graduate D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 196 lb (89 kg) 1999-03-14 Odense, Denmark Sacred Heart (AHA) —
26 Ontario Travis Hensrud Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-05-02 Thunder Bay, Ontario Steinbach (MJHL) —
27 Minnesota Zach Michaelis Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 2002-05-30 Elk River, Minnesota Trail (BCHL) —
28 Sweden Viking Gustafsson Nyberg Freshman D 6' 6" (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2003-09-21 Stockholm, Sweden Leksands IF J20 (J20 Nationell) —
29 Manitoba Reilly Funk Sophomore (RS) F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 2000-12-23 Portage, Manitoba Youngstown (USHL) —
30 Hungary Béni Halász Sophomore G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 2001-08-13 Budapest, Hungary New Mexico (NAHL) —
32 Minnesota Carsen Stokes Freshman G 5' 10" (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2002-02-13 Prior Lake, Minnesota New Mexico (NAHL) —
33 Russia Matvei Kabanov Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 2003-01-15 Togliatti, Russia Amurskie (MHL) —

Standings

2023–24 Central Collegiate Hockey Association Standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Bemidji State † 24 15 7 2 2 1 2 48 82 64 38 20 16 2 117 111
St. Thomas 24 12 11 1 0 2 0 39 68 62 37 15 20 2 97 105
#19 Michigan Tech* 24 12 10 2 1 2 0 39 63 54 40 19 15 6 109 102
Minnesota State 24 12 10 2 2 1 1 38 73 62 37 18 15 4 111 96
Northern Michigan 24 10 10 4 1 1 2 36 57 67 34 12 16 6 83 105
Bowling Green 24 11 12 1 1 1 1 35 60 69 36 13 22 1 86 116
Lake Superior State 24 11 12 1 2 2 0 34 79 73 38 17 20 1 114 113
Ferris State 24 6 17 1 3 2 1 19 49 80 36 10 24 2 83 125
Augustana ^ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 34 12 18 4 90 105
Championship: March 22, 2024
† indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Mason Cup)
^ Augustana is playing a transition schedule of 16 games against conference opponents that are not counted in the standings
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
October 13 8:07 pm at #17 Minnesota Duluth* AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota   Halász T 5–5 OT 5,947 0–0–1
October 14 8:07 pm at #17 Minnesota Duluth* AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota   Glockner L 5–8  6,497 0–1–1
October 20 9:00 pm at #18 Arizona State* Mullett Arena • Tempe, Arizona   Halász L 2–3  4,495 0–2–1
October 21 9:00 pm at #18 Arizona State* Mullett Arena • Tempe, Arizona   Halász L 1–5  4,357 0–3–1
October 27 7:07 pm Ferris State Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan FloHockey Halász L 1–2 OT 4,040 0–4–1 (0–1–0)
October 28 6:07 pm Ferris State Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan FloHockey Halász W 4–1  4,135 1–4–1 (1–1–0)
November 3 8:07 pm at St. Thomas St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Halász L 2–4  614 1–5–1 (1–2–0)
November 4 7:07 pm at St. Thomas St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Halász L 1–6  922 1–6–1 (1–3–0)
November 10 7:07 pm Lake Superior State Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan FloHockey Halász W 6–4  3,239 2–6–1 (2–3–0)
November 11 6:07 pm Lake Superior State Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan FloHockey Glockner W 4–3 OT 3,774 3–6–1 (3–3–0)
November 17 7:07 pm Alaska* Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan FloHockey Glockner W 3–1  2,303 4–6–1
November 18 6:07 pm Alaska* Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan FloHockey Glockner W 3–1  2,381 5–6–1
November 24 7:07 pm at Bowling Green Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio FloHockey Glockner L 2–6  2,610 5–7–1 (3–4–0)
November 25 7:07 pm at Bowling Green Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio FloHockey Halász W 2–0  1,340 6–7–1 (4–4–0)
December 1 7:07 pm Augustana* Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan FloHockey Halász T 2–2 OT 2,859 6–7–2
December 2 6:07 pm Augustana* Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan FloHockey Glockner L 3–5  2,911 6–8–2
December 8 7:07 pm at Michigan Tech MacInnes Student Ice Arena • Houghton, Michigan (Rivalry) FloHockey Halász L 2–4  3,649 6–9–2 (4–5–0)
December 9 6:07 pm Michigan Tech Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan (Rivalry) FloHockey Halász W 3–1  — 7–9–2 (5–5–0)
January 6 6:07 pm Michigan Tech* Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan (Rivalry, Exhibition) FloHockey Halász W 7–2  3,911
January 12 7:07 pm at Lake Superior State Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Halász L 1–5  995 7–10–2 (5–6–0)
January 13 6:07 pm at Lake Superior State Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Glockner L 2–5  877 7–11–2 (5–7–0)
January 19 7:07 pm St. Thomas Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan FloHockey Halász W 3–2  2,562 8–11–2 (6–7–0)
January 20 6:07 pm St. Thomas Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan FloHockey Halász L 1–3  — 8–12–2 (6–8–0)
January 26 8:07 pm at Minnesota State Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center • Mankato, Minnesota FloHockey Halász T 2–2 SOW 4,667 8–12–3 (6–8–1)
January 27 7:07 pm at Minnesota State Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center • Mankato, Minnesota FloHockey Halász L 0–4  4,981 8–13–3 (6–9–1)
February 2 7:07 pm Michigan Tech Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan (Rivalry) FloHockey Halász W 4–1  4,260 9–13–3 (7–9–1)
February 3 6:07 pm at Michigan Tech MacInnes Student Ice Arena • Houghton, Michigan (Rivalry) FloHockey Halász T 3–3 SOW 3,730 9–13–4 (7–9–2)
February 9 7:07 pm Bemidji State Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan FloHockey Halász L 2–4  2,645 9–14–4 (7–10–2)
February 10 6:07 pm Bemidji State Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan FloHockey Halász T 3–3 SOL 3,011 9–14–5 (7–10–3)
February 23 7:07 pm at Ferris State Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Halász W 3–2  1,950 10–14–5 (8–10–3)
February 24 6:07 pm at Ferris State Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Halász T 1–1 SOL 2,389 10–14–6 (8–10–4)
March 1 7:07 pm Bowling Green Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan FloHockey Halász W 4–1  2,565 11–14–6 (9–10–4)
March 2 6:07 pm Bowling Green Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan FloHockey Halász W 1–0  3,007 12–14–6 (10–10–4)
CCHA Tournament
March 8 8:07 pm at Minnesota State* Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center • Mankato, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 1) FloHockey Halász L 1–2  3,084 12–15–6
March 9 7:07 pm at Minnesota State* Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center • Mankato, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 2) FloHockey Halász L 1–6  3,494 12–16–6
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[5]

Scoring statistics

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
André Ghantous RW 34 9 23 32 48
Artem Shlaine C 27 10 13 23 23
Josh Zinger D 34 3 17 20 20
Kristóf Papp C 34 6 13 19 6
Kevin Marx-Norén LW/RW 30 4 13 17 14
Connor Eddy C 34 7 6 13 40
Michael Colella F 34 7 5 12 6
Rylan Van Unen F 33 4 6 10 55
Grant Slukynsky C 34 6 3 9 6
Michael Mesic C 26 4 5 9 8
Matvei Kabanov LW 26 4 5 9 4
Tanner Latsch C 8 7 1 8 6
Aiden Gallacher D 34 3 5 8 25
Isack Bandu D 26 1 4 5 45
Reilly Funk C 17 2 2 4 10
Mike Van Unen D 17 1 3 4 8
Colby Enns D 28 1 3 4 4
Jack Perbix D/RW 31 1 3 4 35
Viking Gustafsson Nyberg C 33 2 1 3 24
Mitch Deelstra LW 25 1 2 3 8
Zach Michaelis C 9 0 3 3 2
Jakob Peterson D 18 0 1 1 2
Tyrell Boucher D 21 0 1 1 4
Brendan Poshak F 7 0 0 0 0
Jeppe Urup D 8 0 0 0 2
Charlie Glockner G 9 0 0 0 0
Béni Halász G 28 0 0 0 15
Total 83 138 221 438

[6]

Goaltending statistics

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Béni Halász 28 1650:30 9 12 6 78 707 2 .901 2.84
Charlie Glockner 10 405:12 3 4 0 22 169 0 .885 3.26
Empty Net - 19:57 - - - 5 - - - -
Total 34 2075:39 12 16 6 105 876 2 .893 3.04

Rankings

Main article: 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings
Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 (Final)
USCHO.com NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR – NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR – NR
USA Hockey NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR – NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 and 25.[7]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

Awards and honors

Player Award Ref
Josh Zinger CCHA Second Team [8]

2024 NHL Entry Draft

Main article: 2024 NHL Entry Draft
Round Pick Player NHL team
7 205 Austin Moline † Philadelphia Flyers

† incoming freshman [9]

References

  1. ^ "Preseason Coaches' Poll and Awards Announced". CCHA. September 18, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  2. ^ "Northern Michigan University hockey player Tanner Latsch continues to collect CCHA hardware". The Mining Journal. October 24, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  3. ^ "Grant Potulny Named Head Coach of the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack". New York Rangers. June 27, 2024. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  4. ^ "2023-24 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Northern Michigan Wildcats. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  5. ^ "2023-24 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". Northern Michigan Wildcats. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  6. ^ "Northern Michigan Univ. 2023-2024 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  7. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  8. ^ "Six Earn All-CCHA Second Team". CCHA.com. March 11, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  9. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2024 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023%E2%80%9324_Northern_Michigan_Wildcats_men%27s_ice_hockey_season