There are two ways to define the 2007-08 Northern Michigan Wildcats: 1. Young. This is a roster that includes 17 sophomores and freshmen. 2. Really young. Not only will the Wildcats play as many as 15 underclassmen per game, but the average age of the NMU team is just over 20 years. Five of the … Read more
Northern Michigan forward Mike Santorelli has signed with the Nashville Predators, and will forgo his senior season with the Wildcats. Santorelli completed his junior season at Northern Michigan in 2006-07, earning a spot on the 2006-07 All-American West Second Team and the All-CCHA First Team. The Vancouver native led the conference in goals (30) and … Read more
Brian Stewart was thrust into the limelight against Ohio State last weekend, and didn’t disappoint. Matt Mackinder reports on the former junior MVP turned freshman surprise for Northern Michigan.
He’s a team-first guy who’s not concerned about the spotlight or his stats. He’s also second in the nation in goals, and the focus of the Northern Michigan offense. Kyle Whitney profiles NMU’s Mike Santorelli.
This is an exciting time for Wildcat head coach Walt Kyle. Don’t take my word for it. “As all these guys are, we’re very excited about the start of our year,” said the man himself at Media Day. These are certainly interesting times for Kyle and his staff, entering their fifth season at the helm … Read more
Willie Mitchell, a 1993 graduate of the University of Western Ontario and a former associate head coach at Wayne State has been named an assistant coach for the Vermont men’s hockey team. Head coach Kevin Sneddon made the announcement today. “I feel very fortunate to be adding another great coach to our program,” Sneddon said. … Read more
Northern Michigan University will host the Wisconsin Badgers for a two-game series on Oct. 6-7 at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis. Tickets for Northern Michigan fans will go on sale Monday, NMU athletic director Ken Godfrey said, if the system can be finalized by TicketStar in Green Bay. Tickets will be $15 for … Read more
It takes three facts to make a truth. — Eugene Manlove Rhodes. One. The Northern Michigan Wildcats return one of the toughest defenses in college hockey. Two. The Wildcats were collectively born under a star lucky enough to award Andrew Contois, their 2004-05 leading goal scorer, a fifth year of NCAA eligibility. Three. NMU’s cluster … Read more
Andrew Contois, whose collegiate eligibility at Northern Michigan had apparently been exhausted earlier this year, has been granted a final year after a review of the school’s appeal by the NCAA. Contois began his collegiate career at Lake Superior State before transferring to NMU during his freshman year. Previously, the NCAA had counted his time … Read more
John Olver has joined the Northern Michigan Wildcat staff as an assistant coach, replacing Dave Shyiak, who left to be the head coach at Alaska-Anchorage. For the past five years (2000-05), Olver was the vice president of hockey operations and head coach of the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL. His team won the 2004 Kelly … Read more
Dave Shyiak has been hired as the fourth head coach of Alaska-Anchorage in the 26-year history of the program. Shyiak replaces John Hill, who resigned last week to take the assistant coaching position at Minnesota. “My family and I are extremely excited to have this opportunity. We can’t wait to get to Anchorage to begin … Read more
Northern Michigan head coach Walt Kyle has been named head coach of the U.S. National Junior Team that will compete in the 2006 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. It will be Kyle’s sixth coaching assignment with USA Hockey and fourth with the U.S. National Junior Team. Kyle will be assisted by John Hynes, … Read more
For two years, Northern Michigan netminder Tuomas Tarkki was stuck behind a wall. More specifically, he was stuck behind a K-Wall. Craig Kowalski — K-Wall, for short — the four-year starting goalie for the Wildcats, was unflappable in net from 2000-2004. During his run in Marquette, Kowalski rewrote the NMU record book for goaltending stats. … Read more
Northern Michigan senior goaltender Tuomas Tarkki became the first Wildcat in 24 years to be named the CCHA Player of the Year. Eight individual honors were awarded Wednesday at Detroit’s historic Fox Theatre, including six determined by a vote of the league’s 12 coaches. NMU’s Tuomas Tarkki became the first European to win CCHA Player … Read more
Quick! Name six members of the 2003-04 Northern Michigan team. Tuomas Tarkki, Darin Olver, and Nathan Oystrick don’t count. Gotcha. If the Wildcats weren’t voted so high in the CCHA coaches and media preseason polls, they might seem like a league darkhorse. NMU returns just one double-digit conference goal scorer from a year ago, and … Read more
Kris Chucko, headed to Minnesota in the fall, was one of three players taken from the British Columbia Junior League in the first 50 picks of the draft, including his Salmon Arm teammate Travis Zajac and second-round pick Ray Sawada. Chucko, the 24th overall pick by Calgary, was another player whose stock rose quickly since … Read more
“We are all in a situation where we control our own fates. The answer is simple: win.” So says Walt Kyle, NMU head coach and believer in the league title. In a time when many coaches begin checking their Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and PairWise Rankings midseason to determine whether or not they may be … Read more
North Dakota captured first place in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll for the second consecutive week. The Fighting Sioux played St. Cloud State, the only team to hand North Dakota a loss this season, twice this weekend. With 4-3 and 5-4 victories, North Dakota improved to 14-1-1 and has not lost in nine straight … Read more
Rick Comley is gone, but Walt Kyle has returned. And make no mistake about it: Northern Michigan is still the hardest-working team in college hockey. One-Step Success How do you replace the man who built your hockey program from scratch, the only coach in the team’s 29-year history? Well, you don’t. You can’t. But you … Read more
With the interview process finally completed on Wednesday afternoon, Northern Michigan athletic director Dan Spielmann wasted no time naming 1981 alumnus Walt Kyle as the program’s second head coach. He fills the spot left vacant when Rick Comley resigned in March to become the head coach at Michigan State. For the past two years Kyle, … Read more