Last weekend, the Northern Michigan men's hockey team played the final game of the 2023-24 season against the Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks. The Cats lost in the first round of the CCHA playoffs, losing both games Friday and Saturday by scores of 2-1 and 6-1, respectively. The Wildcats finished with a 12-16-6 record overall and 10-10-4 in the conference.
On Friday, March 8, the Cats traveled to Mankato to face the Mavericks in the CCHA quarterfinals. The Mavericks took the lead in the game after a scramble in front of the net late in the third period. In the second period, Minnesota State scored another goal, extending the lead by two points. Senior Rylan Van Unen scored a goal to give the Cats hope in the third. However, NMU was unable to tie the game before the buzzer, ending the game at 2-1.
In Saturday's game, March 9, the Cats got off to a hopeful start with senior Andre Gantus' first goal. The Mavericks failed to score six goals through the remainder of the game, ending NMU's season with a 6–1 loss. Gantas played in the 170th game of his collegiate career, becoming the 10th Wildcat to score 50 or more goals and 100 or more assists.
The Cats said goodbye to eight seniors: Artem Schlein, Christoph Papp, Michael Colella, Rylan Van Unen, Mitch Dielstra, Aiden Gallasher, Colby Enns and Tyrell Boucher. .
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Sophomore Josh Zinger was named to the All-CCHA second team after posting three goals and nine assists on the year. Gantus' total assists (23) placed him first in the CCHA, and he was second overall in assists per game (0.68). Shalain ranked first in the entire CCHA with 315 total faceoff wins and a 0.588 percent faceoff win percentage. Gallacher ranks first in blocked shots with 78 total.
