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MARQUETTE — Northern Michigan University vs. Michigan Tech hockey — a rivalry so nice they played it twice … then twice more … and two more times after that.

The Wildcats and Huskies meet for their fifth and sixth games against each other this weekend, which includes a preseason exhibition in early October and the third-place game at the Great Lakes Invitational tournament in Grand Rapids in late December.

It should be the perfect time for NMU to take on its most heated rival, considering that Northern pulled off their first sweep of the season last weekend. And they did it on the road against a respected CCHA rival — Bemidji State.

Northern Michigan University’s Jakob Peterson, left, tries to move Minnesota State-Mankato’s Kaden Bohlsen, front right, away from goalie Ryan Ouellette, behind Bohlsen, during a CCHA hockey game played at the Berry Events Center in Marquette on Jan. 10. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

Near the middle of the pack, the Beavers lost in their home arena to the Wildcats 4-1 and 3-1 even as NMU was outshot nearly 2-to-1.

The Tech-Northern rivalry will be renewed at 7:07 p.m. today at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton, then moves a hundred miles southeast to the Berry Events Center in Marquette at 6:07 p.m. Saturday.

At 13-9-2 overall and 9-5-2 in the CCHA, MTU is the decided favorite against 4-19-1 Northern, which is 3-12-1 in league. That plus the Huskies have won all four of their previous meetings, though the exhibition ended up 4-3 and the GLI third-place game also 4-3, and that one in overtime.

Both games will be televised on Fox-U.P., broadcast on radio station WUPT 100.3 FM The Point and available in streaming coverage on Midco Sports Plus. Fan can also follow @NMUHockey on X (formerly Twitter) to get updates leading up and live updates during games.

Or visit the NMU athletics website at nmuwildcats.com and look under the hockey schedule for links to live video, live audio, live statistics, ticket information, a series preview and the teams’ histories.

Northern Michigan University goaltender Ethan Barwick, in back at right, peers around Michigan Tech skater Logan Morrell as the Huskies’ player jumps up to get out of the way of a shot taken in the second period of the third-place game at the Great Lakes Invitational tournament played at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids on Dec. 30. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

Saturday’s game at home is a White Out game with fans encouraged to wear that hue to “white out the Berry.”

Fans can also join the team after the game for NMU’s third 4th Period Party of the season, hosted by Slabz Bar and Grill in the Ramada Inn on West Washington Street in downtown Marquette.

With NMU getting outshot 59-35 at Bemidji, a major reason the Wildcats won both games was senior goalie Ryan Ouellette, one of numerous transfers to NMU during the transition to its new head coach, Dave Shyiak.

Ouellette, named the CCHA Goaltender of the Week a few days ago for the second time this season, has been nominated for this season’s Hobey Baker Award, the college hockey equivalent of college football’s Heisman Award for the sport’s best player.

Fan voting started Wednesday and runs through midnight on March 9. You can vote by going to this link — https://hobeybaker.com/vote/.

Ouellette stopped 57 of 59 shots he saw, including all 51 that came during even-strength, 5-on-5 situations. Part of being cited as the league’s top goalie was his CCHA weekly best two wins, 1.00 goals-against average and .966 saves percentage.

This was also Northern’s first sweep of Bemidji since Feb. 13, 2021.

Just for a bit of a bonus, Ouellette also earned his first career point with an assist on Grayden Slipec’s second-period goal on Saturday night that proved to be the game winner. The last time an NMU goalie got an assist was on Feb. 24, 2023, by Beni Halasz in a win over Bowling Green State.

On the offensive side of the ledger, Friday’s win was the first time this year’s Wildcats scored four goals in a game. They’d had three goals seven times previously — and would do it again for the eighth time the following night — which helped freshman forward Jakub Altrichter join Ouellette in the conference honors department when he was named CCHA Rookie of the Week.

Altrichter finished the weekend with league-leading three goals and four points for rookies. He also posted a plus-5 in the plus-minus statistic with a game-winning goal and eight shots on goal.

His total included the first two goals on Friday scored less than four minutes apart in the middle of the second period that staked Northern to a 2-0 lead.

Then he assisted on Ryan Duguay’s opening goal Saturday early in the second period before scoring his team’s final goal about 11 minutes later.

NMU Sports Information put some statistics together about the Wildcats’ four games in January:

• The Wildcats are 3-1 in that stretch, scoring three or more goals and allowing two or less in each win.

• Northern hasn’t allowed a 5-on-5 goal in just short of 160 minutes ice time (159:22), which the rounded-off number is exactly eight periods.

• Duguay is second in the nation with five goals and first in the country with three power-play goals in those past four games.

• Altrichter is No. 1 in NCAA Division I with his plus-7 and one point shy of second place among NCAA freshmen with his six points.

• Tynan Ewart is second in the nation with 15 blocks as the Wildcats lead that category team-wise with 98.

• Ouellette leads CCHA netminders with three wins, fewest goals with seven and a .926 saves percentage for goalies who have played all four games since Jan. 10, and he is second with 88 saves and a 2.18 goals-against average.

• Northern players have six of the top seven league spots since Jan. 10 in blocked shots as Ewart has 15, Rasmus Larsson 11, Billy Renfrew and Anthony Cliche nine apiece, Grayden Daul eight and Danny Ciccarello seven.

In addition to the exhibition, which doesn’t count on either team’s record, and the GLI, Tech prevailed 3-0 in Marquette on Nov. 1 and 6-3 in Houghton on Nov. 2.

NMU’s last win in this Upper Peninsula rivalry was a 4-1 decision at home on Feb. 2, 2024, though the following night in Houghton, Northern won a shootout 2-1 after they tied 3-3 through overtime.

In the three regulation games against Tech this season, Slipec has three goals and four points, Altrichter four assists for four points and Ewart three assists for three points.

Here are some MTU facts gleaned by NMU SI:

• The Huskies’ Hobey Baker nominees Stiven Sardarian and Max Koskipirtti have identical two-goal, four-assist scoring lines vs. the Wildcats this season, while teammate Marcus Pederson has two goals and four points and Trevor Kukkonen two goals and three points in those games.

• Tech goalie Derek Mullahy has played all but two periods vs. NMU, compiling a 1.72 goals-against average, .918 saves percentage and one shutout so far. Fellow MTU netminder Ryan Manzella played two of the periods in the GLI vs. Northern.

• Since Jan. 10, the Huskies are 2-2 and haven’t scored more than two goals in any game, each of their wins by 1-0 counts, one each at home vs. Lake Superior State and at Minnesota State-Mankato.

• Over the four recent games, no Tech player has more than one goal as Sardarian leads them in points in that stretch with three, including a goal.

• Mullahy has only a 4.67 goals-against average and .806 saves percentage in the past four games (the two losses were 4-2 and 5-2). He was pulled after 20 minutes in the Mankato 5-2 loss.

• Manzella’s numbers contrast quite a bit — he’s at 0.74 goals against and .972 saves percentage with two goals allowed and two shutouts in three appearances in the recent stretch. His first collegiate appearance was in the third-place game vs. NMU at the GLI, when in two periods he made 15 saves with a 2.98 goals against and .882 saves percentage.

Story contents based on Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release previewing the games. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.