Sophomore Goaltender Oliver Auyeung-Ashton and Freshman Forward Coster Dunn.
MARQUETTE, Mich. — The NMU hockey team earned two spots on the first installment of CCHA Players of the Week for the 2026-27 season: sophomore goaltender Oliver Auyeung-Ashton and freshman forward Coster Dunn.
“I thought it was a great weekend for our young group,” added head coach Dave Shyiak, who oversaw his team earn a weekend split with (RV/RV) Miami (OH), including a 3-0 shutout on opening night. “We learned a lot about what it’s going to take to win games, and we will take some lessons from last week and continue to grow.”
Auyeung-Ashton earned CCHA Goalie of the Week, and centerman Dunn earned CCHA Rookie of the Week, with head coach Shyiak adding that “both Olly and Coster were impactful in both games.”
‘OAA’, who earned a spot on the CCHA Media Preseason All-CCHA Team, kicked off his second season with the Green and Gold in style, posting a 30-save shutout, the second of his career. Auyeung-Ashton was the only CCHA netminder to post a shutout over the weekend, one of nine goaltenders nationally, and his 30 saves were the third-highest in a shutout performance across the nation.
‘Olly’ followed that up with 28 saves on 30 shots on Saturday night, only allowing two power-play goals, for a .966 SV% and 1.02 GAA on two games. Both of those numbers are good for third among NCAA goalies who played 118+ minutes. Auyeung-Ashton also posted a +3.58 Goals Saved Above Expected, the second-best among collegiate netminders, according to College Hockey News.
Dunn, a freshman center from Edmonton, Alberta, joined the Wildcats from the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL and made an immediate impact in his first weekend with NMU. Dunn scored the first goal of the 50th season of NMU hockey, a short-handed tally and the eventual game-winner, after receiving a pass from fellow WHL skater Mathew Ward, beating the Miami goaltender cleanly to the stick side.
Dunn was one of the most impactful players on the ice for NMU over the two-game weekend; aside from scoring the game-winning goal on Friday, Dunn played a critical role in all situations and on the power play and penalty kill both nights, winning 20 faceoffs for a 54.1% success rate. Dunn’s 20 faceoff wins were the most of any CCHA freshman and second among all CCHA forwards.
Dunn also logged 23:29 minutes of ice time on Friday (the most single-game minutes of any CCHA skater over the weekend) before clocking 17:33 on Saturday; Dunn’s 20:31 AVG/TOI was three minutes ahead of the next CCHA freshman, and just 00:15 behind the most ice time of all CCHA forwards from the weekend.
The Wildcats now look ahead to East Lansing, where the ‘Cats face off against the Spartans on Friday, October 9, and Sunday, October 11.
