Wildcats move into eighth place in CCHA
MARQUETTE, Mich. — Carrying momentum from the victory on Saturday against Michigan Tech in Houghton, the Wildcats scraped out a 2-0 win against the Bemidji State Beavers to open the weekend series.
Hobey Baker award nominee and Mike Richter Award ‘Watch List’ representative, Oliver Auyeung-Ashton, made 38 saves to earn his first career collegiate shutout, earning first star honors and playing a pivotal role in tonight’s outcome.
“Being able to build off of the momentum that we gained last weekend was huge,” added Auyeung-Ashton in a post-game press conference. “Getting a win against our rival in their arena was big for our team, and the goal at practice this week has been to keep [that momentum] going into the game tonight.”
Head coach Dave Shyiak was also complimentary of his goaltender during his post-game media availability.
“Bemidji was very good; they’re fast, they counter really well, they’re good off the rush, but I think the difference in the game was that Oliver was outstanding in the net. He was the best player on the ice.”
Oliver Auyeung-Ashton stopped all 39 shots he faced tonight for his first collegiate shutout!
While Auyeung-Ashton will get the spotlight for an unblemished performance, the netminder had a lot of praise for his teammates who were blocking shots and getting into shooting lanes down the stretch. Tynan Ewart and Mathew Ward led all skaters with four, while Joe Schiller, Nicolas Ardanaz, and Kyle Bettens all recorded three blocks. The Wildcats blocked 28 shots for the game, a mark that is the seventh-most since 2012, and setting a new season-high.
“It was good to see the guys sacrificing the body and blocking shots down the stretch there… [the Beavers] know how to work the offensive zone, and it’s really helpful when our guys sacrifice their body [to block shots].”
The ‘Cats jumped off to a hot start, scoring on the first shot of the game off a point shot through traffic from the stick of Warren Clark just 54 seconds in. Tobias Pitka capitalized off a Beaver turnover in the neutral zone and made it 2-0 with just over three minutes left in the opening frame.
“I liked our start, we got the [early] first one and were able to extend the lead, then I thought the ice tilted a little bit into [Bemidji’s] favor.”
The Wildcats were out shot 39-17 on target with shot attempts 87-31 in Bemidji’s favor, with a big reason for that was the Wildcats early goals Beaver’s desperation to get anything past Auyeung-Ashton. The Beavers fired 18 of their shots on target and 46 of the attempts the third period alone. The Beavers pulled starting netminder Max Hildebrand with just under five minutes of game time left, and the ‘Cats were able to weather the 18 shot attempts.
“We didn’t manage the puck well and we had too many turnovers in the middle of the ice, but they’re a good team and you have to give them credit. I thought the last ten minutes [of the game] we did a lot of good things, and then when the game counted the most at the end when they pulled the goalie, we won a handful of key faceoffs, had some good blocks, and Olly came up with some saves. Big win for our guys.”
With the win, the Wildcats now move two points ahead of Ferris State in the CCHA standings and into the final playoff position. While Shyiak may not be 100% pleased with the complete team effort, remarking that “an ugly win is better than an ugly loss”, he emphasized that his young club has “more to give” as the season begins to wind its way down and inch closer to the post season.
“There were some things in the game that as a coach I really liked, but there were other segments where we have to do a better job… We’re a team that’s learning how to win the right way; there were times where we showed a bit of panic, and we have to show more poise in all three periods… Bemidji is a good team, and we can’t give them easy offense by turning pucks over.”
The Wildcats have now won two straight for the second time under second-year head coach Dave Shyiak and company. The last time the Wildcats won two consecutive games and swept a CCHA opponent was against Bemidji on the road last season.
“There wasn’t a whole lot of ice for us to make plays because of how quick they are and how fast they get on top of you… so we have to keep our game simple. We’ll look at some film, reassess, and be better tomorrow night for another great matchup.”
Game two against the Beavers from the Berry Events Center is set for a 6:07 p.m. puck-drop.
‘Cat Nips
- Auyeung-Ashton earned his first career shutout; The first NMU shutout since March 2, 2024, vs Bowling Green on Senior Day (Beni Halasz, 20 saves).
- This marked the eighth-most saves in an NMU shutout effort dating back to 2010.
- Clark (2-3–5) scored his second goal of the season on the game’s first shot on goal. Clark is now tied with Joe Schiller for the team’s lead in goals from defensemen.
- Pitka (5-4–9) now moves into sole possession of second for goals scored among the Wildcats. The freshman has now scored in back-to-back games, with three points in two games.
- With the primary assist on Clark’s game-winning goal, Peter Cisar (2-4-6) extends his point streak to three games, where he has a goal and three assists in that span.
- Matthew Argentina (4-5-9) also extends his point streak to three games; with the secondary assist on Clark’s goal, the senior now has three goals and two assists in his last three.
The Wildcats opened the scoring in the first minute of the game, giving the ‘Cats and the Berry Events Center life early. Argentina made a great forchecking play to drive to the corner that allowed Cisar to rim the puck back up the boards to Clark, who let go a seeing-eye shot from the point.
Pitka added his second goal in as many games by taking advantage of a Beaver turnover in the neutral zone. After stealing the puck, the freshman center gained the zone and fired a wrist shot under the stick of the last defender and past the blocker-hand of the netminder on the far side.
