Home opener against Colorado College
MARQUETTE, Mich. – The NMU hockey team has announced its 2025/26 schedule of games.
Beginning on October 4, 2025, in Massachusetts, the season consists of 16 home games, 18 road games, and eight non-conference match-ups before the Mason Cup Playoffs begin on March 6, 2025.
The ‘Cats open the season with eight non-conference games against four different teams, including a rematch with the long-standing No. 1 team in the nation, and three squads that made the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
The ‘Cats open the season on the road, squaring off against Hockey East’s University of Massachusetts on October 4 and 5, the Wildcats’ first time at Mullins Center in program history. The Minutemen finished 24/25 at No. 10 in the country, a 21-14-5 overall record, and a win over the No. 2 seed Minnesota in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling 2-1 to the eventual national champion, Western Michigan. In program history, NMU and UMass have met once before, with a 3-0 win for the Cats in the Mariucci Classic on December 29, 1999, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
NMU remains on the road the following weekend, traveling to Columbus, Ohio, to play Big Ten opponent Ohio State on October 10 and 11. The Buckeyes finished last season as No. 11 in the nation with a 24-14-2 overall record, finishing the season with a double-overtime loss to Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship before being knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by Boston University. An old CCHA foe, NMU is 38-37-3 against Ohio State, with the last series coming on January 18 and 19, 2013, 4-2 and 3-2 wins in Marquette.
After four on the road to start the season, NMU begins the home schedule with the same opponent they opened last season with, welcoming in Colorado College to Marquette after the teams squared away in Colorado Springs last season. A 2025 NCAA Tournament hopeful, the Tigers were No. 12 in the nation when NMU played them last season before ending the year receiving votes with an 18-18-1 record after losing to Denver in three games in the first round of the NCHC Quarterfinals.
After not seeing them since 2019, NMU played the then No. 1 Michigan State Spartans in the GLI Tournament last season, falling 2-0 after playing them tight from Van Andel Arena. The 2025 NCAA Tournament favorites before getting bounced in the first round, NMU welcomes MSU to the Berry Events Center on October 24 and 25 to finish the non-conference schedule. After spending most of the 2024/25 season as the No. 1 team in the nation, the Spartans ended in 6th with a 26-7-4 record.
The conference schedule begins with seven road games in the first ten CCHA match-ups for the ‘Cats, starting with a road trip to Augustana on October 31 and November 1 before welcoming the first home-and-home rivalry series against Michigan Tech on November 7 and 8. The ‘Cats travel to Bemidji State on November 21 and 22 before ending November playing host to CCHA Champions and NCAA Tournament team Minnesota State on November 28 and 29.
NMU has two series in December, those being on the road to Bowling Green for the teams’ only meeting on December 5 and 6, then hosting St. Thomas on December 12 and 13 before the winter recess. Play returns on the first weekend of January, with a rare Saturday/Sunday series at Lake Superior State on January 3 and 4.
NMU then closes out three season series in consecutive match-ups; first welcoming Augustana to Marquette the weekend of January 9 and 10, the final home-and-home series against the Huskies on January 23 and 24, then rounding out January with a home series against the Beavers on January 30 and 31.
February sees three series, as the regular season winds down with two of those three being on the road, starting with the ‘Cats only meeting of the year against Ferris State on February 13 and 14. NMU returns home for a series against Lake State the weekend after, before the regular season ends in Mankato on February 27 and 28.
The Mason Cup Playoffs begin in March, with the quarterfinals running from March 6-8, the semifinals on March 14, and the championship on March 20.
