Northern Michigan Releases 2023-'24 Hockey Sked
This story was written by NMU Sports Information
MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan University men's hockey team has announced its 2023-2024 schedule on Thursday (May 4). Home games are set for 7:07 p.m. on Friday throughout the season with a 6:07 p.m. puck-drop on Saturday.
The Wildcats start its 2023-24 schedule with a pair of non-conference matchups on the agenda, first on the road against Minnesota-Duluth before traveling to Mullet Arena to play Arizona State the weekend after.
The 'Cats are 3-3 all-time against Minnesota Duluth, including a home sweep against the then-top-ranked Bulldogs during the 2021-22 season. The 'Cats have seen Arizona State once in its history, a 7-3 loss at the Ice Vegas Invitational during the 2017-18 season.
CCHA play officially starts the weekend after for the Green and Gold, hosting Ferris State to officially kick off the season at home. The Wildcats went 3-1 last season against the Bulldogs, including the 9-2 and 8-3 thrashings that kickstarted a swing of seven straight wins at the end of the season. The Wildcats have had success against the Bulldogs, going 21-2-1 since the 2016-17 season.
Northern then travels to Mendota Heights to square off against the University of St. Thomas. The 'Cats went 1-1 against the Tommies last season and are 3-1 all-time.
NMU will then come back to the Berry for back-to-back home stands against Lake Superior State and Alaska Fairbanks. The 'Cats went 3-1 against the Lakers last season and are 6-2 in its last eight meetings. The 'Cats split the 2022-23 series with Fairbanks, and are 14-5-1 against the Nanooks in the previous 20 meetings.
The team then queues up the Bowling Green State University Falcons on the road during Thanksgiving weekend. The 'Cats went 3-1 against the Falcons last season, including two 4-2 wins to end the regular season in Ohio to secure a home playoff series.
For the first time in history, the Wildcats will host the Augustana Vikings, a newcomer to the CCHA and the NCAA D1 hockey scene for the 2023-2024 season, the weekend of December 1-2. Garrett Raboin, former assistant coach for the University of Minnesota of the Big Ten, has been selected to be the inaugural head coach of the Viking Hockey program.
The 'Cats then have a home-and-home series against the Michigan Tech Huskies on December eighth and ninth before starting winter recess. The Wildcats went 2-3 against the Huskies in the 2022-2023 season, including a 4-0 win in Houghton to propel the 'Cats to the CCHA Mason Cup Finals.
While students are still on winter break, the 'Cats are traveling to Lake Superior State for its second and final regular season meeting, before coming back home to round out the season series with St. Thomas as students return for the spring semester.
The Wildcats then travel to Mankato to square off against the Minnesota State Mavericks for the first time since losing a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime decision in the CCHA Mason Cup Finals. The 'Cats went 1-4 against the Mavericks in 2022-23, with the win being a 3-2 overtime victory in November of 2022.
The 'Cats will have its final home-and-home series with the Huskies before hosting the Bemidji State Beavers for the first and only time during the 2023-24 regular season. Northern went 4-2 against the Beavers in the 2022-23 season, including an opening-round sweep during the CCHA Mason Cup Quarterfinals.
After a late-season bye week, NMU will head to Ferris State on February 23 and 24 before hosting Bowling Green for the regular season finale on March first and second.
The CCHA Quarterfinals begin on March eighth, the Semifinals will be held on Saturday, March 16, and the Championship will take place the following weekend. NCAA Regionals will start on March 29 and will extend to April 13, 2024.
The 'Cats finished the 2022-23 season with a 21-17-0 overall record and a 14-12-0 conference record, posting the most overall wins since the 2018-19 season.
View the 2023-24 schedule in full here.
