From left, Northern Michigan University’s Jesse Tucker battles with St. Thomas’ Jake Braccini and Grant Docter in the faceoff circle at the Berry Events Center in Marquette on Friday. (Journal photo by Caden Sierra)

MARQUETTE — Offense was hard to come by — in fact, it was nearly impossible — for the Northern Michigan University hockey team on Friday night when St. Thomas goaltender Jake Sibell shut down the home team in the Tommies’ 3-0 shutout at the Berry Events Center.

This was Sibell’s first collegiate shutout.

“I thought we had way too blocked shots against,” NMU head coach Dave Shyiak said. “That’s obviously a skill to move laterally, to get pucks to the net with screens in front, and that’s been a little inconsistent for us.

“I still think there’s a game there that we could have won. Liked (NMU netminder Ryan) Ouellette in net, I liked our penalty kill, but power plays got to get more pucks to the net.”

Both teams started cautiously, exchanging the offensive zone back and forth but struggling to get pucks on net in the opening minutes.

The Tommies gradually took control, outshooting NMU 4-0 in the first five minutes before breaking through with 11:28 left in the period. A shot by Grant Docter took a fortunate bounced off the end boards and deflected back toward the net, ricocheting off the back of Ouellette’s skate and in, putting St. Thomas up 1-0. Ethan Elias and Caige Sterze were credited with the assists.

About 3 1/2 minutes before the period ended, the Tommies doubled their lead. Matthew Gleason shook free past two NMU defenders before finishing a slick passing play from Lucas Wahlin and Liam Malmquist, making it 2-0. The Wildcats had a late push, including a dangerous chance from Jakub Altrichter, but Sibell stood tall.

St. Thomas took a 17-9 shots on goal advantage into the first intermission.

Coming out of the break, NMU looked like a different team. The Wildcats controlled possession early, pinning the Tommies in their zone for the first few minutes. However, their pressure didn’t translate on the scoreboard.

Midway through the period, Northern found itself in penalty trouble. Grayden Daul was sent off for slashing, giving St. Thomas a chance to extend their lead. But NMU’s penalty kill held strong, and just minutes later, they were tested again when Grayden Slipec took a cross-checking penalty. The Wildcats successfully killed both penalties, thanks in part to Ouellette’s sharp goaltending.

With under five minutes to go in the period, Wahlin broke free on a breakaway, but Ouellette made a goal-saving stop to keep NMU within striking distance. The Wildcats outplayed St. Thomas for much of the frame but still trailed 2-0 heading into the third. Shots at this point were 30-15 in favor of the Tommies.

The final period saw NMU continue to push for offense, but St. Thomas’ defense remained rock solid. A glimmer of hope came when the Tommies’ Ray Christy took a penalty with 16 minutes left, putting NMU on a power play for the only time all night. The Wildcats moved the puck well but failed to beat Sibell.

As time ticked down, Shyiak pulled Ouellette for an extra attacker, but instead, Wahlin capitalized on the empty net to secure the three-goal victory.

“They’re good skating team,” Shyiak said. “I thought they beat us to the net when we turned pucks over.

“Their transition speed up the ice was greater than ours, we gave up too many free looks, our ‘D’ gaps need to be better and they’re wide speed was good. We’ve got to do better job covering that, and if we manage the puck a little bit better, take away the race game. Obviously, that should help us.”

Caden Sierra can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 551. His email address is csierra@nmu.edu.