Since Grant Potulny’s first season in Marquette in 2017-18, Northern Michigan has twice played in a conference championship game.
In 2018, the second-place Wildcats hosted Upper Peninsula archrivals Michigan Tech in the WCHA championship game. A sold-out crowd at the Berry Events Center saw the Huskies shut out the Wildcats 2-0.
NMU returned to the conference championship in 2021, reaching the WCHA title game as a No. 6 seed after upsets of Bowling Green and top-seeded Minnesota State before bowing out in the title game at the hands of another U.P. rival (Lake Superior State).
Now entering his sixth season behind the NMU bench, Potulny has again guided the Wildcats back to the conference title game. This time, the Wildcats will take on top-seeded Minnesota State on Saturday in Mankato – the scene of their 2021 WCHA title game loss – in the CCHA Mason Cup final.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to coach this team for six years, and this is the third time we’ve been to this game,” Potulny said on Saturday, after NMU defeated Tech on the road in the CCHA semifinals. “The first two times I thought we played tight. But I really, really want to get this team to continue this season. I said it (to assistant coach Byron Pool) before the game, I’m not ready to be done with these guys yet. I like this team too much.”
The Wildcats (21-16-0) are one of the hottest teams in the country at the moment, and they’re getting there at the right time. They have won seven in a row and nine of their last 11 and, in the process, have outscored opponents 49-22.
NMU freshman goaltender Beni Halasz – who backstopped the Wildcat’s 4-0 win against Tech – was asked after the game about how good his team’s forward group was in front of him. He smiled and listed off the names of all the offensive weapons NMU has: Joey Larson, A.J. Vanderbeck, Andre Ghantous, Artem Shlaine, Kristof Papp, David Keefer (all of whom have at least 20 points).
“Yeah, we have a lot of good players,” Halasz said with a chuckle. “I get scored on a lot in practice.”
Halasz, who was named the goaltender on this season’s CCHA all-rookie team, has a 2.30 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage.
“I think it goes back to his third or fourth game,” Potulny said of the freshman from Hungary. “He gives you confidence and obviously if I feel it, the players feel it too. Moments aren’t too big for him, and I think he’s kind of coming to his own now.”
Mavericks in an unusual spot – on the bubble
Minnesota State head coach Mike Hastings was effusive in his praise of how well NMU is playing right now.
“They’re about as hot as a team as there is right now, scoring goals, on the power play, committing to defense. I think Grant does a fantastic job,” Hastings said after the Mavs beat Ferris State 7-2 in their semifinal game in Mankato. “They’ll be prepared, and they’ll be excited about coming into our building, so it’ll be a tall challenge, but we look forward to it.”
MSU (24-12-1) has been here before–as in, they’ve been in the conference finals. The Mavericks are playing for their fifth conference tournament title since realignment (they won three times in the WCHA, plus last year’s controversial CCHA Mason Cup title game).
However, what the Mavericks maybe aren’t used to at this time of year is playing with their season on the line. For the past few years, they have been a lock to make the NCAA tournament no matter the outcome; this time around they are the No. 13 team in the PairWise rankings and would need some help to make a fifth-straight NCAA tournament appearance.
“I think the biggest thing is, next week’s just an early tournament game for us,” MSU defenseman Jake Livingstone said. “We know from previous years that once we get to the tournament it’s win or go home, so at the end of the day it’s just another extra tournament game for us and we’ve got to win this one to move on.”
The Mavericks went 3-1 against the Wildcats during the regular season, but the one loss was a 5-4 overtime decision in Mankato.
“They’re a hot team right now, and we have a lot of respect for them,” Mavericks captain Brendan Furry said. “Having the opportunity to go in and play for an NCAA berth, I think it’s pretty special in your own building. So, we just got to go back and look at the clips from tonight and we’re gonna have to be better next weekend, because as coach said, they’re a red-hot team right now and we’re gonna have to shut that down. “
