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MARQUETTE — The Northern Michigan University hockey team heads east to play in its “other” Upper Peninsula rivalry series this weekend at Lake Superior State.

With the series against Michigan Tech getting TV time every time it’s played, the NMU-LSSU series sometimes gets forgotten.

However, this is the only series the Wildcats are regularly involved in still with a trophy on the line — the Cappo Cup. It’s named for the late Monsignor Louis Cappo, a Roman Catholic priest who moved up the ranks to earn his final title. The trophy has been awarded annually since the 1994-95 season, with its first presentation actually made by Cappo in 1991 before it became an every-year award.

Northern Michigan University’s Nikolas Ardanaz, center, and goaltender Ryan Ouellette, right, stretch out for a shot that goes wide during a CCHA game played against Bowling Green at the Berry Events Center in Marquette on Saturday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

Cappo died in 2007 at age 87 after serving at multiple U.P. chuches in the Marquette diocese from 1952 until his death.

The Lakers have a leg up — probably more like two legs up — in the four-game Cappo Cup series, having won both game at the Berry Events Center in Marquette back in November, 5-0 and 5-1.

So the Wildcats will not only need a sweep in Sault Ste. Marie, but a dominating one, to bring the trophy back to the NMU campus.

Game times are 7:07 p.m. today and 6:07 p.m. Saturday, with both games available to watch online at MidcoSports Plus or listen to on radio station WUPT 100.3 FM The Point.

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 and a series preview and history.

“The most important thing is we, as a team, are getting better,” Northern head coach Dave Shyiak in his mid-week media availability. “Every night is hard for us, but there is no quit in our team.

“They believe in each other, it just comes down to execution and consistency in how we play.

“We’ve gotten better (since our last meeting against LSSU). I know they scored a pile of power-play goals. Obviously, you can’t allow that. You have to have good special teams and good goaltending this time of the year to win hockey games.

“It’s about continuing the process, and if we take care of our compete and execution, that gives us our best chance of success.”

Northern got 2025 off to a hot start, winning three of its first four games after the new year began, but since have lost four in a row to Michigan Tech and Bowling Green State, though two of them were by a single goal and one going to overtime.

NMU still resides well into the CCHA basement at 4-23-1 overall and 3-16-1 in the league for 12 points.

However, LSSU is one of the two teams immediately above the Wildcats with 24 points, as the Lakers are 9-15-2 overall and 7-10-1 in the conference, tied with Bemidji State.

And Lake State is winless in its past five contests, in that span having lost the second game of a series at MTU, losing and tying at home vs. St. Thomas, and being swept at Augustana.

Last weekend, NMU’s opening 3-2 OT loss at Bowling Green was probably the hardest to take.

“We didn’t like our first period, but after that, I really liked our second and third periods, and after that, the game was in our hands,” Shyiak said about that Friday night game in Ohio. “We had a 4-on-3 power play in overtime, and that’s when you need to execute.

“That would’ve been a good win for our crew, but they got a blocked shot to go down on a 2-on-1 and score on their first chance. That’s deflating mentally and really hard to come back from that.”

Shyiak then saw his Wildcats drop a 5-2 decision the next night after the Falcons jumped out to a 3-0 lead, including two goals allowed in the first period.

“I think there was a carryover (from Friday night’s result) into the first period on Saturday,” Shyiak said. “We couldn’t make plays, we were slow, we only had a handful of shots, and we addressed that with the team.

“But then, in the second and third period, I thought we played with way more urgency and desperation, and that’s how we need to play for 60 minutes. If we do that, that gives us the best chance of winning.”

Team captain Tanner Latsch scored a goal each night at BGSU after being out of the lineup the last two weekends, giving him three goals in his past five games.

“He’s got a lot on his shoulders, and he’s done a real good job with that,” Shyiak said. “He has a real presence in the locker room, he’s highly respected, and everyone knows he can shoot.

“I think for him to get a couple of goals and come away healthy from the weekend is a positive. We needed him to score, and he did.”

Looking at the team in the Soo, LSSU boasts the CCHA’s No. 2 goal scorer with Sasha Teleguine, who has 13 goals and four assists for 17 points. The Lakers also have one of the league’s top special teams units, having scored the second-most power play goals with 21 and a 21.2% conversion rate, while also holding the third-best penalty kill at 81.8% in the league.

Actually ahead of Teleguine in points for Lake State are Timo Bakos and Connor Milburn, each with an identical seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points. Bakos comes in after a three-point outing against Augustana last weekend, while Milburn only has one assist in his past six games.

Projected starting goaltender Rorke Applebee has a 2.86 goals against average, .910 saves percentage, two shutouts and a 9-13-1 record in 24 games.

Northern’s Ryan Ouellette, who has played about 85% of his team’s minutes in goal, is at a 2.85 goals against, .918 saves percentage and 4-21-1 record.

“I think (LSSU) is fast and I think their power plays are good,” Shyiak said. “We’ve been pretty good on smaller ice surfaces this year, and hopefully, we will continue to do so.”

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.