Auyeung-Ashton made 37 saves for Wildcats
MARQUETTE, Mich. — The Wildcats dropped game two of the weekend series 2-0 to the Augustana Vikings.
The Wildcats (1-23-0, 1-15-0 CCHA) got superb goaltending from Oliver Auyeung-Ashton again, as the freshman netminder turned aside 37 of the 39 he faced for a .949 SV%. Josh Kotai on the other end made 27 saves for his second-consecutive shutout, blanking the Wildcats on back-to-back occasions.
The Vikings paced the Wildcats in shots (39-27), went 1/2 on the power play and 1/1 on the penalty kill, held a 29-18 advantage in faceoffs, and posted 20 blocks to NMUs 13.
The Vikings got the lone goal in the opening from from Will Howard after a Wildcat turnover at the Augustana blueline. The Vikings outshot NMU 13-7, NMU’s penalty kill was succesful on the only man-advantage opportunity of the opening 20 minutes, and Augustana held a slight advantage in the faceoff circle at 13-10.
Despite the second period being scoreless, the Wildcats had multiple great chances and periods of sustained pressure, including a four-minute period of 8-0 shot attempts followed by a two-minute stretch of another 8-0 shot attempts in favor of NMU.
Defenseman Easton Young scored his first goal of the season on the power play in the third period, and the Vikings would skate to a 2-0 win.
‘Cat Nips
- The last time the Wildcats were shutout in back-to-back games in a weekend series was January 2 and 3, 2021; 5-0 and 4-0 losses to Minnesota State at the Berry Events Center.
How It Happened
The Vikings took advantage of a Wildcat turnover at the Augustana blueline, and Howard stormed down on a two-on-one with Drotts. Drotts played a pass to Howard, who out-watied the sliding Auyeung Ashton to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead.
The Vikings converted on its second man-advantage opportunity of the game, coming seven minutes into the third period. Young had time to line up a blistering wrist shot into the upper corner past the glove hand of Auyeung-Ashton
Up Next
The Wildcats now enter a bye week, and return to action against Michigan Tech on Friday, January 23 from the Berry Events Center.
