North Michigan News

The Northern Michigan University (NMU) Wildcats men's ice hockey team will continue its non-conference schedule this weekend with a two-game series against the No. 16-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. The games are set for Friday at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday at 5 p.m. at Value City Arena. Both matchups will be available for streaming on B1G+, with radio coverage on 100.3 The Point and live statistics accessible via nmuwildcats.com.

This series marks the first meeting between NMU (0-2-0) and Ohio State (0-0-0) since the 2012/13 season, when both teams were members of the CCHA. In their last encounter, NMU swept the Buckeyes at the Berry Events Center.

A key storyline from NMU’s opening weekend was the performance of goaltender William Gramme, a transfer from Wisconsin. Gramme started both games, marking his first collegiate start since November 2024. In that previous game, he made 39 saves, which was his career high until this past weekend.

"Coming into the season, [goaltending] was an unproven position for us. [Gramme] had the most [NCAA] experience out of our group, and he did a heck of a job. He gave us a chance to win, and he was probably the best player on the ice in both games... He's big, he's athletic, he's a competitor, he has a great work ethic… and he came up with key saves at the right time to keep games tight… Obviously, it's still early in the season, but he gives us confidence."

Head coach Shyiak compared this situation to last year’s opener, when Ryan Ouellette made 45 saves in his debut as a Wildcat. Shyiak said his decision to stick with Gramme for both games in Massachusetts depended on how Gramme felt after each outing.

"We talked to [Gramme] after the game and then again on Sunday morning to make sure he felt good and his level would be the same, and he said he was good. When a goalie is playing well, you don't want to mess with that, and he was able to give us our best chance to win both nights."

Despite being swept by one of the top teams in the country last weekend, Shyiak emphasized improvement and praised several young players.

"Some guys played real up for us. [Tobias] Pitka was really good for us, [Medrick] Bolduc took another step, and Mikey Burchill was up and down the lineup, and did his thing."

Pitka recorded his first two collegiate assists. Bolduc moved up to the first line after scoring Saturday’s go-ahead goal. Burchill logged significant ice time among freshmen. Other notable performances included Caiden Gault with two goals, Jakub Altrichter with two assists, Grayden Slipec with two assists, and sophomore defenseman Joe Schiller scoring in his return from injury.

Shyiak also highlighted team execution in special teams play, conditioning, and goaltending during their opening series.

"Going into the weekend, we put a major emphasis on four things: our special teams (power play and penalty kill), our conditioning, and our goaltending, and I thought we were excellent in all those. We didn't look fatigued, our special teams were outstanding (8/9 on the PK and 1/4 on the PP with two of the man-advantage opportunities being abbreviated), and like you guys mentioned earlier, our goaltending was great… You wanna build on the positives, which we'll do, and we'll have a game plan for [another really good opponent] Ohio State."

Ohio State begins its season against NMU after finishing last year ranked as high as No. 9 nationally. The Buckeyes lost to Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship before falling to Boston University in the NCAA Tournament’s first round. They enter this weekend ranked No. 16 nationally.

"Another team that was in the national tournament [last year]. They're loaded with talent, and I think [head coach] Steve Rohlik, who's a good friend of mine, does a heck of a job with that program. They'll be well prepared, they come at you hard, they're really good off the rush, and we'll have to protect the puck and manage it the right way."

This will be NMU’s first game this season on a regulation-sized ice sheet following recent renovations at their home rink. The Wildcats played their opener on an Olympic-sized surface at UMass.

"This will be a bit of an adjustment for us playing on the regulation ice sheet. You practice on the bigger ice here [at the BEC], then you go to UMass on even bigger ice, and now going to smaller ice. Things are going to happen a little quicker, and we'll have to adapt to that."

Coach Shyiak concluded by focusing on development through challenging early-season matchups.

"It's another great opponent that gets us more battle-tested, and that's part of the process. Our guys battled hard this weekend. It was a hard-fought, physical series [this past weekend], and this series is going to be the same. That is going to make us better in the end… From one night to the next, and throughout the weeks, you want to get better, and our guys have done a nice job of that."