North Michigan News

The Northern Michigan University hockey team has named four student-athletes as captains for the 2025-26 season. Tynan Ewart and Nicolas Ardanaz will serve as captains, while Caiden Gault and Zane Dempsey have been selected as alternate captains.

Head coach Dave Shyiak, entering his second season with the Wildcats, commented on the selections: "We really like our leadership group and the experience they bring, and they've done a great job in building our culture over the course of the last six weeks," said Shyiak. "With 16 new faces, our captains have led by example on and off the ice, and it doesn't surprise our coaching staff that the players voted for Tynan, Nick, Caiden, and Zane. They all have an understanding of what our standards and expectations are on a day-to-day basis."

Ewart is a junior defenseman from Duncan, British Columbia. He is entering his second year with NMU after previously playing at St. Cloud State under Coach Shyiak. Last season, Ewart wore an 'A' as an alternate captain and played in all 34 games for NMU. He led Wildcat defensemen in assists, points, blocks, and had the highest average time on ice per game at nearly 25 minutes. Ewart has twice been named CCHA Defenseman of the Week.

Ardanaz joins Ewart as captain. The senior defenseman from Surrey, British Columbia joined NMU last season after two years at RPI. Over three seasons he has appeared in 64 games—26 with NMU last year—ranking fourth on the team in blocks and averaging 19 minutes of ice time per game. Ardanaz was also recognized as an AHCA Krampade All-American Scholar.

Gault is a senior forward from Oakbank, Manitoba who transferred to NMU after three seasons with Ferris State University. Last season he set career highs with 25 points in 36 games played for Ferris State and was nominated for the Hobey Baker Award. He led his former team with 15 goals (fifth-most in CCHA) and was second in conference play with five game-winning goals.

Dempsey comes to NMU from Miami University (Ohio), where he spent three seasons as a left-shot defenseman appearing in 79 games. The Harrison Township native was honored as a Krampade/AHCA All-American Scholar in 2024 and is a three-time NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete as well as an NCHC Academic All-Conference selection.

The Wildcats begin their season with a road series against University of Massachusetts before facing Ohio State away. Their home opener features back-to-back weekend series against Colorado College and Michigan State.