North Michigan News

After leading 1-0 at the end of the second period, Northern Michigan Wildcats lost to the Augustana Vikings 3-1 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The defeat marks the Wildcats’ tenth straight loss to start their season.

Both teams were scoreless after the first period, with Augustana outshooting Northern Michigan 11-7. Wildcats’ freshman goaltender Oliver Auyeung-Ashton started in net and stopped all shots he faced during the opening frame.

Northern Michigan opened the scoring less than five minutes into the second period. Tobias Pitka scored his third goal of the season, marking goals in back-to-back games for him. Matthew Argentina assisted on Pitka’s goal, earning his first point of the season. During this period, Northern Michigan outshot Augustana 24-11 and killed off a late power play.

The Vikings tied the game early in the third period with a shot from Cole Burtch that went through traffic and beat Auyeung-Ashton. The Wildcats challenged for goaltender interference but officials ruled against them as Auyeung-Ashton was outside of his crease.

Augustana took its first lead midway through the final period when Leonid Bulgakov capitalized on a loose puck following an unusual bounce. Just over a minute later, Joey DelGreco added another goal for Augustana, giving them a two-goal cushion.

Northern Michigan pulled its goalie with two and a half minutes remaining in an attempt to close the gap. Leading scorer Caiden Gault hit the post during this stretch, but no further goals were scored by either team.

Wildcats finished with more shots on goal than Augustana (41 to 38), but Vikings’ goaltender Josh Kotai made 41 saves for a .976 save percentage—just four short of his career high. Faceoffs were closely contested; Augustana won 35 compared to Northern Michigan’s 30, with Girts Silkalns winning 12 of his 15 draws.

Additional notes include that this was only the second time this season Northern Michigan scored first in a game.

"Tobias Pitka gets @NMUHockey on the board first against the Vikings!

???: https://t.co/FwkzD2GuCc#CCHAHockey | #NMUWildcatspic.twitter.com/1gxlIWrXXQ"

— CCHA (@CCHAHockey) November 2, 2025