Freshman defenseman Darik Olson scored twice, and Northern Michigan beat Stonehill 5-1 on Friday night at the Berry Events Center in Marquette. Michael Burchill, Mathew Ward, and Owen Pitters also scored as the Wildcats improved to 2-3-0 before a crowd of 2,533. Stonehill, which came in unbeaten, fell to 2-1-0.
How the goals came
Olson opened the scoring at 11:10 of the first period, when his shot deflected in off a Stonehill defender. Evan Depatie and Pitters assisted. Northern outshot the Skyhawks 10-3 in the period.
The Wildcats broke the game open with three goals in the second. Burchill finished a one-timer on an odd-man rush at 8:23, from Peter Cisar and Joe Schiller. Ward, fresh off the bench, stole the puck and scored unassisted at 13:26 for his first goal of the season. Pitters then scored his first collegiate goal at 17:35, set up by Burchill and Nik Gudmundson, who picked up his first college point.
Former Wildcat Matthew Romer got Stonehill on the board with 32 seconds left in the second period. Olson answered with a power-play goal at 16:03 of the third, assisted by Schiller and Pitters.
Standouts and goaltending
Pitters finished with a goal and two assists, and Burchill and Schiller had two points each. Oliver Auyeung-Ashton made 27 saves on 28 shots. Stonehill actually outshot Northern 28-27 and held a 16-10 edge in the second period, but Linards Lipskis allowed five goals on 27 shots. The Wildcats went 1-for-3 on the power play and killed all three Stonehill chances.
Head coach Dave Shyiak said the Wildcats expected a heavy, physical opponent and liked how the night started. “Getting the first goal of the game is really good, especially at home here,” he told the athletics department. He added that his team played the right way for most of the game and needs to finish the job Saturday.
What’s next
The teams meet again Saturday at 6:07 p.m. at the Berry Events Center, on Midco Sports Plus and 100.3 The Point.
Watch
See the Wildcats’ video and photos from Friday night on Instagram.
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