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

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.

2023–24 Northern Michigan Wildcats
men's ice hockey season
Conference5th CCHA
Home iceBerry Events Center
Rankings
USCHONR
USA TodayNR
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 »

Season

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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.

Departures

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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

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Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Mitchel Deelstra Forward   Canada 24 Wallace, ON; transfer from Ferris State
Viking Gustafsson Nyberg Defenseman   Sweden 20 Sweden
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

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As of September 18, 2023.[3]

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

Standings

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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

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Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
October 13 8:07 pm at #17 Minnesota Duluth* AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota   Halász T 5–5 OT 5,947 0–0–1
October 14 8:07 pm at #17 Minnesota Duluth* AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota   Glockner L 5–8  6,497 0–1–1
October 20 9:00 pm at #18 Arizona State* Mullett ArenaTempe, Arizona   Halász L 2–3  4,495 0–2–1
October 21 9:00 pm at #18 Arizona State* Mullett ArenaTempe, Arizona   Halász L 1–5  4,357 0–3–1
October 27 7:07 pm Ferris State Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Halász L 1–2 OT 4,040 0–4–1 (0–1–0)
October 28 6:07 pm Ferris State Berry Events CenterMarquette, 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 ArenaMendota 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 ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Halász L 1–6  922 1–6–1 (1–3–0)
November 10 7:07 pm Lake Superior State Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Halász W 6–4  3,239 2–6–1 (2–3–0)
November 11 6:07 pm Lake Superior State Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Glockner W 4–3 OT 3,774 3–6–1 (3–3–0)
November 17 7:07 pm Alaska* Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Glockner W 3–1  2,303 4–6–1
November 18 6:07 pm Alaska* Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Glockner W 3–1  2,381 5–6–1
November 24 7:07 pm at Bowling Green Slater Family Ice ArenaBowling 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 ArenaBowling Green, Ohio FloHockey Halász W 2–0  1,340 6–7–1 (4–4–0)
December 1 7:07 pm Augustana* Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Halász T 2–2 OT 2,859 6–7–2
December 2 6:07 pm Augustana* Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Glockner L 3–5  2,911 6–8–2
December 8 7:07 pm at Michigan Tech MacInnes Student Ice ArenaHoughton, Michigan (Rivalry) FloHockey Halász L 2–4  3,649 6–9–2 (4–5–0)
December 9 6:07 pm Michigan Tech Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan (Rivalry) FloHockey Halász W 3–1  7–9–2 (5–5–0)
January 6 6:07 pm Michigan Tech* Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan (Rivalry, Exhibition) FloHockey Halász W 7–2  3,911
January 12 7:07 pm at Lake Superior State Taffy Abel ArenaSault 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 ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Glockner L 2–5  877 7–11–2 (5–7–0)
January 19 7:07 pm St. Thomas Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Halász W 3–2  2,562 8–11–2 (6–7–0)
January 20 6:07 pm St. Thomas Berry Events CenterMarquette, 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 CenterMankato, 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 CenterMankato, Minnesota FloHockey Halász L 0–4  4,981 8–13–3 (6–9–1)
February 2 7:07 pm Michigan Tech Berry Events CenterMarquette, 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 ArenaHoughton, 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 CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Halász L 2–4  2,645 9–14–4 (7–10–2)
February 10 6:07 pm Bemidji State Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Halász T 3–3 SOL 3,011 9–14–5 (7–10–3)
February 23 7:07 pm at Ferris State Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Halász W 3–2  1,950 10–14–5 (8–10–3)
February 24 6:07 pm at Ferris State Ewigleben ArenaBig 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 CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Halász W 4–1  2,565 11–14–6 (9–10–4)
March 2 6:07 pm Bowling Green Berry Events CenterMarquette, 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 CenterMankato, 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 CenterMankato, 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:[4]

Scoring statistics

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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

[5]

Goaltending statistics

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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

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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 Today 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.[6]
Note: USA Today did not release a poll in week 12.

References

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  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. ^ "2023-24 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Northern Michigan Wildcats. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  4. ^ "2023-24 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". Northern Michigan Wildcats. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  5. ^ "Northern Michigan Univ. 2023-2024 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  6. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.