Freshman Jakub Altrichter, a 5-foot-11, 165-pound forward from Prague, the Czech Republic, was named to the conference’s All-Rookie team.

Despite the Wildcats languishing in last place in the CCHA with 4-20-2 league and 5-27-2 overall records, Altrichter shined in this rebuilding season for NMU, tying Grayden Slipec for the most points on the team with 19 as Altrichter had three goals and by far Northern’s most assists with 16.

He played in 32 of 34 games and also had a game-winning goal, an unassisted goal and a first-in-the-game goal, was second on the Wildcats with 80 shots, blocked 23 shots and took only two penalties all season.

While playing in all 26 of NMU’s conference games, he posted three goals and 14 assists for 17 points, leading CCHA freshmen in assists and finishing second in points in those games.

Northern Michigan University’s Tynan Ewart brings the puck into the offensive zone during a CCHA hockey game played against Lake Superior State in Sault Ste. Marie on Feb. 8. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

He was among the best faceoff men in the league, finishing second among freshmen with 226 faceoff wins and a 52.9% win percentage.

The CCHA also announced its All-Academic Team as there were eight Wildcats among the 160 student-athletes who were recognized for maintaining a 3.0 or better (on a 4.0 scale) grade-point average. Of that group, 102 also earned CCHA Scholar-Athlete Team honors for having a GPA of 3.50 or higher.

Eligible players must have completed at least one semester at a CCHA school and one full year at any NCAA member institution, meaning freshmen aren’t eligible, though redshirt freshman could be.

The Wildcats had the fewest players recognized in the league probably because of the 28 players on their roster listed on nmuwildcats.com, there were 15 — just over half — listed as freshmen. That doesn’t count the one player, goalie Ethan Barwick, who was a redshirt freshman.

Of the 13 eligible for the award from NMU, three made the elite Scholar-Athlete Team — juniors Jakub Peterson and Nicholas Ardanaz and sophomore Tynan Ewart.

Northern Michigan University’s Jakob Peterson, right, protects the puck from St. Thomas’ Quinton Pepper during their CCHA game played at the Berry Events Center in Marquette on Feb. 22. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

Five more earned All-Academic — seniors Jakub Lewandowski and Ryan Ouellette, juniors Danny Ciccarello and Zach Michaelis, and sophomore Matthew Romer.

Peterson is actually a fourth-year junior, a redshirt junior, and is a 6-1, 190-pound defenseman who is a finance major at NMU. He was one of the four returnees from the 2023-24 Northern squad.

He had two goals and four assists this season for six points while playing in 29 games, scoring an unassisted goal, taking 28 shots, blocking 37 shots to tie for fifth among the Wildcats, and taking six penalties for 12 minutes.

Ardanaz is a 5-10, 185-pound defenseman from Surrey, British Columbia, who is a business management major and transferred last offseason from RPI.

He had three assists in 26 games this past season, was fourth on the team by blocking 40 shots, took 36 shots and drew three penalties for six minutes.

Ewart is a 6-foot, 188-pound defenseman from Duncan, British Columbia, who is majoring in criminal justice and transferred last offseason from St. Cloud State.

He was third on the team in scoring with 11 points, scoring a goal and 10 assists, the team’s second-highest assist total, while leading Northern with 72 blocked shots as he played in all 34 of NMU’s games. He took 39 shots and had just two penalties for four minutes.

Lewandowski is a 6-3, 197-pound forward from Torun, Poland, who is majoring in business and transferred in the past offseason from Bemidji State.

He had three assists in 17 games last season and had the team’s best plus-minus ranking of minus-1, excellent on a team that was outscored 115-55. He took four shots and was called for just two penalties for four minutes while blocking nine shots.

Ouellette is a 6-foot, 200-pound goalie from Colorado Springs, Colorado, who is majoring in business and transferred last offseason from Niagara.

He was often credited as the player who kept the Wildcats respectable in the season’s early going as 24 of the 28 players were new to the NMU team last fall. He played about 85% of Northern’s minutes in goal last season, starting all 32 games he saw action and compiling a 2.95 goals-against average with a .917 saves percentage.

Ouellette faced an average of 35.3 shots for every 60 minutes — the equivalent of one full regulation game — he played in net, letting in just under three goals in that span.

And he was also credited with an assist and didn’t draw a penalty all season.

Ciccarello is a 6-foot, 201-pound forward from Kirkland, Quebec, who is a business management major and transferred last season from RPI.

He scored a goal and had four assists for five points in 33 games last season, his goal being a game-tying one as he blocked 21 shots, took 33 shots and had six penalties for 12 minutes.

Michaelis is a 6-1, 210-pound forward from Elk River, Minnesota, and is majoring in secondary health and physical education. He is one of the four players who was also on the 2023-24 Wildcats team.

He had a goal and two assists for three points in 27 games last season, his goal a first-in-the-game goal as he took 37 shots, blocked 14 and didn’t draw a penalty.

Romer is a 5-11, 185-pound forward from Algonquin, Illinois, who is majoring in communications and transferred last offseason from Arizona State.

He tied for seventh in NMU scoring with eight points as he tied for the third-most goals with five and had three assists in 23 games. Romer had two unassisted goals, a power-play goal and a first-in-the-game goal, taking 35 shots, blocking 20 and drawing two penalties for four minutes.

Story contents based on Northern Michigan University Sports Information press releases explaining the honors and an examination of the Wildcats’ roster and statistics for the past season. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.