The Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

program that represents

Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designated Northern a uni ...

(NMU). The Wildcats are a member of the

Central Collegiate Hockey Association The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previous incarnation, which the curr ...

(CCHA). NMU has won one national title and has made three

Frozen Four The annual NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament is a college ice hockey tournament held in the United States by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to determine the top men's team in Division I. Like other Division I cham ...

appearances. They play at the Berry Events Center in

Marquette, Michigan Marquette ( ) is a city in Marquette County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 20,629 at the 2020 United States Census, which makes it the largest city in the Upper Peninsula. Marquette serves as the seat of government of Marquett ...

History

Early history

Under the Direction of NMU's president, John X. Jamrich, the initial ice hockey program was originally initiated by Seniors Gregory Hyde and Christopher Nolan in 1974. The NMU men's ice hockey program began in 1976, competing as an independent NCAA Division I team and probationary member of

(CCHA) for the 1976–77 season. During that season NMU competed against CCHA teams but did not count for league standings. Northern Michigan became a full member of the CCHA the following season. In the first two season as a full member of the CCHA Northern Michigan finished with back-to-back 19 win seasons before a historic season in program history in 1979–80. During the 1979–80 season the team won its first CCHA regular season championship and CCHA Playoff Tournament championship. The Wildcats advanced to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance and won their first game 4–3 against

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. NMU advanced to the National Championship game with a semifinal win over

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach a ...

5–4. Northern Michigan finished as the runner-up to

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

. In addition to the tournament being the first tournament and National Championship appearance for Northern Michigan, it was also the highest NCAA Tournament finish for a CCHA team. NMU head coach

Rick Comley Rick Comley (born January 20, 1947) is a former collegiate ice hockey player and former head coach at Michigan State University. He finished his 38-year coaching career with a 783–615–110 (.556) record. In 2007, he became the third coach in N ...

became the first CCHA coach to receive the Spencer Penrose Award given to the NCAA Division I Men's Hockey Coach of the Year. The success of the 1979–80 season continued for the 1980–81 season. The Wildcats again won the CCHA regular season and playoff championships and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats won the quarterfinal game against Cornell 10–7 but fell to

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

5–1.

WCHA years

On January 5, 1984, Northern Michigan announced the program was leaving the CCHA after seven seasons two league and playoff championships and two NCAA Tournament berths for the

Western Collegiate Hockey Association The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...

(WCHA). The following day it was announced that rival

Michigan Tech Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michiga ...

was also leaving the CCHA for WCHA. The 1988–89 season marked the first time NMU qualified for the NCAA Tournament as a member of the WCHA. Unlike previous NCAA appearances Northern Michigan fell in the first round to Providence 5–4. Northern Michigan qualified for the 1991 NCAA Tournament after winning the WCHA regular season championship. Northern Michigan won two games to none in the quarterfinal round against Alaska-Anchorage, 8–5 and 5–3. NMU advanced and beat

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

5–3 in the semifinal round. The Wildcats matched up in the National Championship game in St. Paul, Minnesota on April 1, 1991, against

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

and won 8–7 in three overtime periods. The 1990–91 season also set a program best record of 38–5–4 and a winning percentage of .851. It also marked the program's first and only NCAA Championship. The Wildcats returned to the National Tournament in 1992 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament as the 4th seed of the West Regional held in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. NMU picked up a first round win over Clarkson 8–4 before losing in the quarterfinal round 7–6 to

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. The 1992–93 season marked the third straight NCAA Tournament appearance. NMU won a close game in the opening round of the 1993 Tournament in the East Regional in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, against Harvard. The Wildcats won a close game 3–2 in two overtime periods but fell 4–1 in the second round to Boston University in a rematch of the 1991 National Championship. During the following seasons NMU remained competitive in the WCHA but by the mid-1990s the program fell into the bottom half of the standings. After six 20-plus win seasons from 1988 to 1989 season through the 1993–94 season, the Wildcats failed to reach 15 wins in their last three seasons in the WCHA. The 1995–96 season marked a program low record of 7–30–2. On August 19, 1996, the CCHA approved Northern Michigan's application to rejoin the league for the 1997–98 season after 13 years in the WCHA. During the years in the WCHA the Wildcats accumulated a record of 263–243–30.

Recent history

The return to the CCHA reinvigorated the program after several underachieving seasons and rebuilding years. In the 1996–97 season, the first back in the CCHA, the Wildcats finished with a record of 19–15–4. The season was the first winning record since the 1993–94 season. And in the following season NMU reached the NCAA National Tournament for the seventh time in program history. Northern Michigan entered the tournament as the 5th seed in the West Regional. Northern Michigan's playoff run was ended early by Boston College in a low scoring game 1–2. On June 13, 2002, it was announced that Walt Kyle would take over as head coach for the Wildcats to become the second coach in program history.

left to take over the head coaching position at

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

after 26 seasons behind the bench of the Wildcats. Kyle won his first game as head coach of Northern Michigan on October 5, 2002, against Upper Michigan rival Michigan Tech, 4–1. Kyle's first CCHA victory came on October 18, 2002, 10–4 against Rick Comley and his Michigan State team. Kyle led the Wildcats to four straight 20+ win seasons from 2002 to 2006 and six of his first eight seasons behind the NMU bench. One of the most successful seasons in recent history came in the 2009–10 season. Northern Michigan finished the regular season ranked fourth in the CCHA and ranked 16th in the nation. The Wildcats received a first round bye in the CCHA tournament and matched up against Alaska Fairbanks, coming off first round sweep of

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Pen ...

. Northern Michigan swept the Nanooks two games to none with 4–3 and 5–1 victories, advancing NMU to the semifinal round. Northern Michigan took on Ferris State looking to overcome the semifinal losses the previous two seasons. The Wildcats came out on top of their seventh appearance in the CCHA Semifinals in the last eight seasons with an overtime goal by Greger Hanson to give Northern Michigan the 5–4 OT win. The win was the first time Northern Michigan advanced to the CCHA Championship game since 1999, under Rick Comley. The Wildcats run in the CCHA playoffs ended in the Championship game, when Northern Michigan fell short in a close game to Michigan. The Wildcats' 2–1 loss to the Wolverines did not end their season as NMU received an at-large bid to the 2010 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament, their first tournament appearance since 1999 and first under Walt Kyle. Northern Michigan's first NCAA Tournament berth in 11 seasons took them to the West Regional at the

Xcel Energy Center Xcel Energy Center (also known as "The X") is a multipurpose arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Completed in 2000, it is named for its locally based corporate sponsor Xcel Energy. With an official capacity of 17,954, the arena has four ...

in St. Paul, Minnesota, and first round match-up against

St. Cloud State St. Cloud State University (SCSU) is a public university in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Founded in 1869, the university is one of the largest institutions in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. Its enrollment in 2020 was approximate ...

. The Wildcats battled hard in front of a pro-SCSU crowd. Northern Michigan found themselves down early 2–0 in the first period but picked up a late goal by sophomore forward Justin Florek. St. Cloud answered in the second period on the power play but Northern Michigan kept within one goal when senior forward Ray Kaunisto scored late in the period. St. Cloud was held scoreless in the third while Northern Michigan tied the game with an even strength goal under four minutes left in the third period by junior defenseman Erik Spady. The Two team battled hard through the first overtime before St. Cloud State's

Tony Mosey Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

scored 23 seconds into the second overtime. Senior goaltender Brian Stewart stopped 50 SCSU shots in the tough loss. In the summer of 2011, the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

announced intentions to begin sponsoring men's ice hockey in 2013, followed by Miami (OH) announcing the formation of the

National Collegiate Hockey Conference The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) is an NCAA men's Division I hockey conference formed on July 9, 2011. The league began playing for the 2013–14 season, the same season that the Big Ten Conference began competition, as a combina ...

for 2013 with and five other schools breaking from the WCHA. The realignment continued on July 20, 2011, when Northern Michigan was approved for membership in the WCHA beginning with the 2013–14 season. In June 2019, it was announced that Northern Michigan was one of seven WCHA men's members that would leave to form a new conference after the 2020–21 season. Those schools later announced that they would reestablish the CCHA effective in 2021–22.

Season-by-season results

Source:

Historic record

Records vs. current CCHA teams

As of the completion of the 2020–21 season

Coaches

The Wildcats are currently coached by

Grant Potulny Grant Martin Potulny (born March 4, 1980) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He is currently the head coach of the Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey team. Potulny was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the 5th round ...

, who assumed coaching duties after Walt Kyle's contract was not renewed in March 2017.

All-time coaching records

As of the completion of 2021–22 season

Statistical leaders

The team statistical leaders are given below.

Career points leaders

Career goaltending leaders

''GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% =

Save percentage Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various goal-scoring sports that track saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse, it is a statistic that represents the percentage of shots on goal ...

; GAA =

Goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on s ...

'' minimum 1000 minutes played Statistics current through the start of the 2019–20 season.

Players

Current roster

As of September 8, 2022.

Awards and honors

NCAA

Spencer Penrose Award *

: 1980, 1991 NCAA Scoring Champion *

Bill Joyce William Joyce (born 8 April 1877) was a Scottish footballer who played as a centre-forward in the Football League for Bolton Wanderers and Burton United. He played in Thames Ironworks' final season before reforming as West Ham United, and als ...

: 1980 * Scott Beattie: 1991 Tournament Most Outstanding Player * Scott Beattie: 1991 AHCA First Team All-Americans *1980-81:

Steve Bozek Steven Michael Bozek (born November 26, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left wing who spent 11 seasons in the NHL with five clubs. Noted for his hard shot, he was a reliable two-way forward and strong penalty killer. Playing c ...

, F *1990-91:

Brad Werenka John Bradley Werenka (born February 12, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the second round of the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, 47th overall. Werenka played college hockey for t ...

, D; Scott Beattie, F *1991-92:

Dallas Drake Dallas James Drake (born February 4, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger in the National Hockey League who last played for the Detroit Red Wings. Having played the beginning and end of his NHL career with Detroit, he won his ...

, F *2009-10:

Mark Olver Mark Olver (born January 1, 1988) is a Canadian-German professional ice hockey centre currently playing under contract to Kölner Haie of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He previously played in the National Hockey League with the Colorado Ava ...

, D AHCA Second Team All-Americans *1983-84:

Bill Schafhauser William Schafhauser is an American retired ice hockey defenseman and head coach who was an List of Division I AHCA All-American Teams, All-American for Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey, Northern Michigan. Career Schafhauser began atte ...

, D *1986-87: Gary Emmons, F *1987-88: Phil Berger, F *1988-89: Darryl Olsen, D *1990-91:

Bill Pye Thomas Wilbur Washington (‘Bill’) Pye (3 September 1912 – 3 October 1996) was an Australian politician. Early life Bill Pye was born in Harden, New South Wales, on 3 September 1912. He was the 3 x great grandson of Third Fleet convicts Jo ...

, G *1991-92:

Jim Hiller James Andrew Hiller (born May 13, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He currently serves as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hiller played 63 games in the NHL with the Los An ...

, D *2004-05:

Tuomas Tarkki Tuomas Tarkki (born February 28, 1980) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender, currently serving as director of goaltending coaching for the under-18 (U18) team of Vaasan Sport in the U18 SM-sarja and as an assistant coach to the ...

, G *2005-06:

Nathan Oystrick Nathan Oystrick (born December 17, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Oystrick has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Atlanta Thrashers, Anaheim Ducks and St. Louis Blues. He was originall ...

, D *2006-07: Mike Santorelli, F *2008-09: Erik Gustafsson, D *2009-10: Erik Gustafsson, D *2017-18:

Philip Beaulieu Philip Beaulieu (born September 2, 1995) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman currently under contract with Asiago HC in the ICE Hockey League (ICEHL). He was an All-American for Northern Michigan. Playing career After graduating ...

, D *2018-19:

Troy Loggins Troy Loggins (born July 21, 1995) is an American professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing for HC Nové Zámky of the Slovak Extraliga. Playing career Junior During the 2014–15 season, Loggins recorded 14 goals and 21 assis ...

, F

WCHA

Individual awards

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

* Scott Beattie: 1991 *

: 2019 Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year *

: 1991 Defensive Player of the Year *

: 1992 *

: 2019 Rookie of the Year * Scott Beattie: 1990 * Tony Szabo: 1991

Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

: 1989, 1991 *

: 2018 Most Valuable Player in Tournament *

: 1989, 1991 * Corwin Saurdiff: 1992

All-conference teams

First Team All-WCHA *1985–86: Gary Emmons, F *1986–87: Gary Emmons, F *1987–88: Phil Berger, F *1988–89: Darryl Olsen, D *1990–91:

, G;

, D; Scott Beattie, F *1991–92:

, F *1994–95: Greg Hadden, F *2017–18:

Atte Tolvanen Atte may refer to the following people: ;Finnish given name * Atte Engren (born 1988), Finnish ice hockey goaltender * Atte Hoivala (born 1992), Finnish football player * Atte Mäkinen (born 1995), Finnish ice hockey defenceman * Atte Muhonen (188 ...

, G;

, F *2018–19:

, G;

, D;

, F Second Team All-WCHA *1988–89: Phil Berger, F *1991–92:

, F *1992–93: Joe Frederick, F *1993–94:

Mike Harding Mike Harding (born 23 October 1944) is an English singer, songwriter, comedian, author, poet, broadcaster and multi-instrumentalist. Harding has also been a photographer, traveller, filmmaker and playwright. Early life and education Harding's ...

, F *2015–16:

Darren Nowick Darren is a masculine given name of uncertain etymological origins. Some theories state that it originated from an Anglicisation of the Irish first name Darragh or Dáire, meaning "Oak Tree". According to other sources, it is thought to come from ...

, F;

Dominik Shine Dominik Shine (born April 18, 1993) is an American professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for the Grand Rapids Griffins in the American Hockey League (AHL). Early life Shine was born on April 18, 1993, to parents Scott and Marcy ...

, F *2016–17:

, G *2017–18:

, D;

Adam Rockwood Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as ...

, F *2018–19:

, F *2019–20:

, D;

Griffin Loughran The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a literary standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It was used fro ...

, F *2020–21: Joseph Nardi, F Third Team All-WCHA *2014–15: Brock Maschmeyer, D *2016–17:

, F *2017–18: Darien Craighead, F; Robbie Payne, F *2019–20: Darien Craighead, F *2020–21: André Ghantous, F WCHA All-Rookie Team *1990–91: Tony Szabo, F *1991–92: Corwin Saurdiff, G;

Jason Helr Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek mythology, mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was marri ...

, D *1993–94:

Dean Seymour Dean Seymour (born December 8, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in the Finnish SM-liiga with KalPa Kalevan Pallo (KalPa) is a professional ice hockey team which competes in the Finnish Liiga. They play in Ku ...

, F *1996–97: Buddy Smith, F *2015–16:

, G *2016–17: Darien Craighead, F *2019–20:

John Hawthorne John Patrick Hawthorne (born 1964) is an English philosopher, currently serving as Professor of Philosophy at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne, and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southern California. He is recogniz ...

, G *2020–21: Rico DiMatteo, G

CCHA

Individual awards

Don Waddell Donald Douglas Waddell (born August 19, 1958) is American professional ice hockey executive and former player. He is the president and general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes. Playing career Waddell was selected 111th overall, in the 1978 NH ...

: 1978 * Steve Weeks: 1980 * Jeff Pyle: 1981 *

: 2005 Rookie of the Year *

Jeff Poeschl Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes * ...

: 1981 * Gary Emmons: 1984 * Chris Gobert: 2000

: 1980, 1981 Perani Cup *

Craig Kowalski Craig Kowalski (born January 15, 1981) is a former American professional ice hockey goaltender who most recently played for the Nottingham Panthers of the EIHL. Playing career Kowalski's Pro career begun on June 25, 2000, when he was selected ...

: 2004 Best Offensive Defenseman * Erik Gustafsson: 2009, 2010 Best Defensive Defenseman *

: 2005 Best Goaltender *

: 2005

All-conference teams

First Team All-CCHA *1977–78:

, D;

, F *1978–79:

Tom Laidlaw Thomas John Laidlaw (born April 15, 1958) is a Canadian retired ice hockey defenceman. Laidlaw started his National Hockey League career with the New York Rangers in 1980, arriving from Northern Michigan University. He also played for the Los ...

, D *1979–80: Steve Weeks, G;

, D;

, F;

, F *1980–81:

, F; Jeff Pyle, F *1999–00: Roger Trudeau, F *2004–05:

, G;

, D *2005–06:

, D *2006–07: Mike Santorelli, F *2008-09: Erik Gustafsson, D *2009-10: Erik Gustafsson, D;

, F *2011-12: Tyler Gron, F Second Team All-CCHA *1978–79: Steve Weeks, G *1980–81:

, G *1998–99:

J. P. Vigier Jean-Pierre Vigier (born September 11, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Atlanta Thrashers and in Switzerland's National League A for Genève-Servette HC and SC ...

, F *1999–00:

Kevin Schmidt Kevin Gerard Schmidt (born August 16, 1988) is an American actor, known best for his role as Henry Baker in ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' and ''Cheaper by the Dozen 2'' and as Noah Newman in ''The Young and the Restless''. Schmidt also played Ryan in ...

, D *2003–04:

, D *2011–12: Justin Florek, F *2021–22: AJ Vanderbeck, F CCHA All-Rookie Team *1998–99: Chad Theuer, F *1999–00: Jimmy Jackson, D; Chris Gobert, F *2004–05: Mike Santorelli, F *2007–08: Erik Gustafsson, D;

, F *2010–11: Kevin Kapalka, G *2021–22:

Charlie Glockner Charlie may refer to: Characters * "Charlie," the head of the Townsend Agency', from the Charlie's Angels (franchise), ''Charlie's Angels'' franchise * Charlie, a character on signs for the CharlieCard, a smart card issued by the Massachusetts Ba ...

, G

Northern Michigan Wildcats Hall of Fame

The following is a list of people associated with the Northern Michigan men's ice hockey program who were elected into the Northern Michigan Wildcats Hall of Fame (induction date in parenthesis). * Scott Beattie (2003) *

Joe Blake John Joseph Blake (1882 – 23 February 1931) was an English footballer who played as an outside-forward for Southampton in the early part of the twentieth century. Football career Blake was born in Belchamp Walter, near Sudbury and played hi ...

(2002) *

(1991) *

(1998) *

(2002) * Gary Emmons (1999) *

(2007) *

(1998) *

(1990) * Jay McQuillan (2017) * Mike Mielke (2009) * Darryl Plandowski (2014) *

(2007) *

(2008) *

(2013) *

(1993) * Steve Weeks (1990) *

(2002) * 1979–80 Hockey Team (2017) * 1990–91 Hockey Team (1998)

Olympians

This is a list of Northern Michigan alumni who have played on an Olympic team.

Wildcats in the NHL

As of July 1, 2022. File:DDrake.jpg,

File:Justin Florek - Boston Bruins.jpg, Justin Florek File:Mark Olver Avalanche cropped.jpg,

File:Michael Santorelli (26283942126) (cropped).jpg, Mike Santorelli Source:

Notable players

Dual US/French citizen Eric LeMarque went on to play for Team France at the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

, later losing his feet to frostbite in a mishap chronicled in autobiography and in the 2017 film '' 6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain''.

Arena

The Wildcats play at the 3,902-seat Berry Events Center on the NMU campus in

. The arena has been the home of the Wildcats since 1999, replacing

Lakeview Arena Lakeview Arena is a 3,100-seat multi-purpose arena, located in Marquette, Michigan. It opened in 1974, during the Marquette Iron Rangers hockey season. The team had previously played in the historic Palestra, a building that had moved from Lauriu ...

which had been the home to NMU hockey since the program began in 1976.

Pageantry

Puckheads

The Puckheads are a group of fans of the Wildcats hockey team, made up of students as well as community residents. In the words of a ''

Michigan Daily ''The Michigan Daily'' is the weekly student newspaper of the University of Michigan. Its first edition was published on September 29, 1890. The newspaper is financially and editorially independent of the University's administration and other st ...

'' feature article, "The Puckheads have created an atmosphere that makes the Berry Events Center one of the most entertaining and frustrating road trips for other teams in the CCHA.""'Puckheads' add to Icers' challenge"
''

'', November 14, 2005. The Puckheads were founded in November 1996 at Lakeview Arena. They travel and follow the team on many occasions, and have established rivalries with other teams' fan groups, notably the "Red Army" supporters of the Nebraska–Omaha

Mavericks Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Bureau ...

.Chad Purcell
"Fish fight: Whopper of a brawl leads to a friendly rivalry"
''

Omaha World-Herald The ''Omaha World-Herald'' is a daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, the primary newspaper of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It was locally owned from its founding in 1885 until 2020, when it was sold to the newspaper ch ...

'', January 21, 2010.

References

External links

Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey
{{Central Collegiate Hockey Association Ice hockey teams in Michigan