This week, FloHockey presents two CCHA battles: A crossroads match for a new rivalry in Minnesota and an old-fashioned shootout in the Upper Peninsula.

Ferris State Vs. Northern Michigan

Forget today’s “dead puck” era in college hockey, which also is known as the paradigm where three goals represents an insurmountable mountain. 

This weekend in Marquette, you can expect 8-10 goals per game. It’ll be old-fashioned shootouts that will remind you of Northern Michigan’s high-scoring circus of 1991 – the national championship squad that featured Dallas Drake and Scott Beattie.

This weekend’s mega point-producers wearing green and gold are a five-year veteran and a rookie.

The former is Andre Ghantous (128 career points to lead the nation). The latter is Tanner Latsch, a redshirt freshman from Twin Lake, Michigan, who has stymied the nation’s statistical gurus by firing in seven goals across the first four games of his career. 

Latsch earns CCHA weekly honors for the second week in a row!

Read the release here ➡️ https://t.co/c77Bbv1bS0#NMUwildcats #WelcometotheWild pic.twitter.com/7vaVsQqAyd

— Northern Michigan Hockey (@NMUHockey) October 23, 2023

Latsch’s streak has prompted FloHockey to take a dive into the deepest databank available – College Hockey News’ “Statistics Customizer,” going back two decades. 

We learned that the gold standard for scoring goals in consecutive contests is eight straight, held by three players, one being Harvard’s Jimmy Vesey, who poured in 10 goals in eight contests in 2015. However, none of the three were freshmen, let alone a rookie who opened his career with such a streak. 

The CHN database reveals only one freshman who had a streak comparable to Latsch, and that was Michigan’s Kyle Connor. 

In his only NCAA season (2015-2016), Connor scored in five consecutive games, notching eight goals over that span. 

Should Latsch score once Friday night, he’ll tie Connor with eight snipes in five games. If he scores more than once Friday, or extends his run through Saturday, he’ll be in a league of his own when it comes to freshmen scoring streaks. 

The remarkable aspect of Latsch’s feat is that these games represent his NCAA debut, something that has all the historians shaking their heads.

Latsch is the beneficiary of Northern’s highly efficient power play, a top unit that is humming along at better than 30%. 

Tanner Latsch connects on the power play for his 4th of the weekend! #NMUwildcats pic.twitter.com/mPp4dpOs1l

— Northern Michigan Hockey (@NMUHockey) October 15, 2023

Ghantous is NMU’s quarterback, the playmaker who has assisted on four of Latsch’s nation-leading six power-play goals. It is the other side of the special teams equation, however, that will keep the scorer’s table scribbling this weekend in Marquette. 

The Wildcats penalty kill is last in the nation, allowing enemy power plays to score at an astonishing 44% (11 goals) through four games.

If Northern Michigan continues its undisciplined play by taking so many penalties, Ferris State’s veteran scorers – Stepan Pokorny, Jason Brancheau and Antonio Venuto – will continue building up their statistical resumes. 

There is no Vegas betting line on the Ferris-Northern games as of this writing, but if one should emerge, by all means take the over.

Prediction: Despite what Latsch has accomplished Northern Michigan is winless (0-3-1) and in a tailspin, having barely practiced in the newly reconstructed Berry Center. Take Ferris (1-2-1) to win this series.  

St. Thomas Vs. Bemidji

Rico Blasi is a disrupter. He has come into the insular world of Minnesota Division I hockey, planted a flag in the capital city and proceeded to upset the state’s natural order. 

In only his third year at the helm of former Division III St. Thomas, he has upset NCAA powerhouse St. Cloud and taken the top-ranked Minnesota Gophers to overtime in the best game of the new season. 

Now, he has his sights set on Bemidji.

The Tommies finally claimed their first win over Tom Serratore’s club in the last regular-season series of the 2022-2023 campaign, and they are looking to build on it. They’re hoping to claim another victory within the state and boost their recruiting profile. 

As the Tommies grow into a hockey power before our eyes, Blasi’s explanation always boils down to one word – culture.

“We focus on three things in our culture,” Blasi explained, “Daily behaviors, internal team dynamics and accountability.” 

That translates into a group of skating soldiers willing to sacrifice their well-being in pursuit of pucks, a team striving to improve individually for the greater good, shot-blockers and back-checkers who are becoming extraordinarily tough to beat.

Last weekend against Lindenwood clearly was a “trap” series for the Tommies. That means St. Thomas sandwiched a series against a low-profile opponent between two in-state rivals. 

And though St. Thomas faced a goalie setting personal bests for saves, the Blasi warriors persevered with a win and a tie. The men in purple now take the four-hour bus ride north to begin CCHA play. 

Bemidji used to fill the role as Minnesota’s blue-collar team. Serratore’s club had a reputation as defensive stalwarts, a team that planted layers of defenders between the puck and their net, choking off any direct routes to the goal. 

BEAVER GOAL! Lleyton Roed hammers one home to pull within one.#GoBeavers #BeaverTerritory pic.twitter.com/bGfkELyaMl

— Bemidji State Men’s Hockey (@BSUBeaversMHKY) October 22, 2023

But the days of the Beavers 90% penalty kill appear to be over, as the team’s personality has seen subtle changes. 

They now have dynamic scorers, such as Lleyton Roed and Eric Martin, but their team’s save percentage has slipped in recent years. St. Thomas is replacing Bemidji as the state’s toughest team out in Division I.

This is a classic crossroads bout, a snapshot in time of two clubs converging – one slowly fading and the other surging. 

Can Bemidji still slug it out for six periods and beyond? 

That is what makes this series so compelling. There is little to choose from. In the CCHA’s pre-season poll, the coaches picked Bemidji to finish fourth and St. Thomas to land in fifth place. 

Their paths cross this weekend.

Prediction: Edge to the upstarts. Blasi and the Tommies march on, and the State of Hockey continues to take notice of the purple wave.