Saturday night's second game in the weekend series between Northa
Dakota's Fighting Sioux and Northern Michigan's Wildcats resulted in a
5-4 NMU victory and a series sweep.  The game was all Northern Michigan
for the first 40 minutes, with the 'Cats holding a 5-1 lead halfway
through the second period, a score maintained for the rest of that
stanza.  However, the Sioux scored a goal very early in the third period
to make it 5-2, another at 3:10 to narrow the spread to 5-3, and yet
another at 7:32 to turn it into a one-goal game.  No further scoring
occurred, although a number of Wildcat penalties resulted in several
good opportunities for the Sioux, who had eight power play chances on
the night--but scored on only one.
 
Even more so than was the case in the Friday night 4-2 NMU win, the
Wildcats' best offensive unit was their penalty-killing team.  They
scored two shorthanded goals, their first of the season (NMU was the
last WCHA team to get a SHG this season).  Continuing the tradition he
began late last season, senior winger Joe Frederick got both of the
SHGs, with great work by teammate Greg Hadden who did receive assists
for his efforts.  With these two goals Frederick tied and then broke the
Wildcat career SHG record, set just lst year by Dallas Drake.  Last
night's effort gives Frederick 9 career short handed goals. The
interesting thing about this is that six of his first seven came in the
last ten games of last season.
 
Rick Comley agreed that the Wildcats' play in the first two periods was
the best performance his team has produced this season, although I'd
have to believe that the 4-2 win over Michigan State in the GLI was
right up there.  In the second period, in particular, Northern appeared
to be about to overwhelm the Sioux.  NMU outshot UND 32-13 through the
fist two periods.  In the final period UND really came back and the
mainly-young Wildcats seemed a bit taken aback themselves.  However,
they did a good job of protecting the final one-goal lead for the last
12:28.  The only UND threats during that time came on power plays.  Even
with their stepped-up action in the third period, the Sioux still
finished behind in the shots on goal total, 39-25.
 
Again Billy MacGillivray was assigned to shadow UND star Greg Johnson
and he did a superlative job.  Johnson had only one assist and no goals
in the game, and that one point was his total for the series.
MacGillivray played at both ends of the ice, too; his shot total was
significantly higher than Johnson's, in fact, and he scored the second
NMU goal as well.
 
Freshman Paul Taylor got his first regular game start in goal, and
responded very well, making 21 saves.  The first Sioux goal was a very
strange tumbling looper off NMU defenseman Steve Hamilton's stick, and
a couple of the others came on close-in passes involving several UND
players, including a power play.
 
Wildcat fans are happy (at least I am) that next weekend's series in the
Twin Cities will be telecast (I presume on the MSC net) and carried live
on the Bresnan cable systems in Marquette, Gwinn, Negaunee and
Ishpeming.  So . . . Pam and Carol--we'll be reviewing your Hockey-L
reports for accuracy!  :-)
 
 **********************************************************************
 *  Steve Christopher, NMU  [log in to unmask]             * * * *    *
 *  NCAA Division I Hockey National Champions  1990-91   *   GO   *   *
 *  NCAA Division I Hockey Final Eight 1991-92           *        *
 *  WCHA League Champions 1990-91                        * 'CATS! *   *
 *  WCHA Playoff Champions 1989-90/1990-91/1991-92 . . .   * * * *    *
 **********************************************************************