Northern Michigan University’s Ryan Duguay, right, talks with a teammate during a Wildcats’ game earlier this season. (Photo courtesy NMU)

MARQUETTE — Freshman forward Ryan Duguay of the Northern Michigan University hockey team was named the CCHA Rookie of the Week on Monday after his four-goal weekend against No. 12 Minnesota State-Mankato.

Playing at home in the Berry Events Center, he scored all four of the Wildcats’ goals in a split, earning NMU just its second regulation win this season and first in the CCHA.

Northern previously also had a tie vs. the same Mavericks team in Mankato, Minnesota, in mid-November that became a shootout victory.

Duguay took over the Wildcats’ goal-scoring lead after he had just one goal before last weekend. It included a hat trick in NMU’s 3-2 victory on Friday night, the first of his collegiate career and first by a Mankato opponent since October 2022.

It snapped Northern’s eight-game losing streak, and also was the team’s first win against a ranked opponent since a shutout of Michigan Tech in the CCHA Tournament semifinals on March 11, 2023.

Duguay also had NMU’s lone goal of a 6-1 loss on Saturday as he now leads the Wildcats with five goals.

He led all conference rookie players over the weekend with his four goals, four points, six shots, two power-play goals, one game-winning goal and plus-1 rating.

While his second-game goal was unassisted, teammates Jakub Altrichter and Aidyn Hutchinson each picked up assists on Duguay’s first two Friday goals before Matthew Argentina and Tynan Ewart assisted on the game-winner with just under 12 minutes remaining.

Those assists vaulted Ewart and Altrichter into a tie with Grayden Slipec for the Wildcats’ points lead with eight.

Slipec, Hutchinson, Matthew Romer, Tanner Latsch and Anthony Cliche are tied for second in NMU goal scoring with three apiece.

The Wildcats travel to Minnesota to take on Bemidji State this weekend at 8:07 p.m. EST Friday and 7:07 p.m. Saturday.

The following weekend, they have their second home-and-home series against MTU, which will be those teams’ fifth and sixth meetings this season, counting a preseason exhibition in early October and the third-place game at the Great Lakes Invitational in Grand Rapids on Dec. 30.

That final series against the Huskies — unless they were to meet in the CCHA Tournament in March — is in Houghton at 7:07 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 24, and in Marquette at 6:07 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.