Last season, Northern Michigan bolted to a promising start under new coach Grant Potulny, whose Wildcats sat with a 4-2 record one year ago.

The auspicious beginning was the start of a huge season in Marquette, as Potulny’s team finished the campaign with a 25-15-3 overall record, giving NMU their first winning record since 2011-12. 

The Wildcats clawed their way to second in the WCHA (19-7-2-2) before losing in the conference championship. The loss ended their season as they fell just short of an NCAA tournament bid. Even with impending graduations awaiting key players, the future was bright and the program rewarded Potulny’s success with a contract extension through 2026.

Entering the 2018-19 season, the Wildcats came in ranked No. 20 in the USCHO poll, but after a 1-3 start there have been notable problems across their 200-foot game.

Potulny was eager for a quick start this season, but the loss of graduates Zach Diamantoni, Jordan Klimek, Filip Starzynski, and captain Robbie Payne has proven difficult to overcome.

With all but Klimek coming from the forward corps — and Payne’s 24 goals ranking sixth in the NCAA last year — making up for lost offense was going to be a collective effort.

That collective offense has been quiet early on. The Wildcats have scored just seven goals (1.75 per game), down from the 11 they tallied through four games last year. The team just hasn’t clicked in the offensive zone, managing 20.25 shots per game.

The story in the defensive zone has been similar, as they have proverbially hung netminder Atte Tolvanen out to dry. Tolvanen has made 122 saves, second most in the NCAA this season. The senior has been a workhorse for the Wildcats during his collegiate career. After being named WCHA Goaltender of the Year last season, he has wrestled with bailing out a shaky defense thus far.

Tolvanen himself can be better, but getting more goal support from his forwards and better defensive play on the blue line can help him return to being the backstop the team rallied around last season.

The Wildcats are coming off an ugly sweep by No. 4-ranked St. Cloud State, an annually dangerous team that simply outmatched NMU and has unsurprisingly started the season 4-0.

This weekend’s matchup against WCHA foe Bemidji State will be pivotal for NMU. It’s the Wildcats home opener after a four-game road trip. Last season, home ice was truly an advantage, as they went 17-5, opposed to a 7-8-2 road record. Bemidji State is their only non-ranked opponent in their next six games. Another poor series could put them down for the count with high-end teams awaiting, but a sniff of success could get this team back on the right track.

A strong outing can help offset the poor start to the season in time to build confidence ahead of early November series against a rolling No. 15 Bowling Green team and stingy No. 8 Cornell.

The Wildcats take on Bemidji State this weekend for a pair of games on Oct. 26 and 27. Catch the action live right here on FloHockey.

Have a question or a comment for Jacob Messing? You can find him on Twitter @Jacob_Messing.