Michigan Tech’s Alec Broetzman (29) chases the puck between Northern Michigan’s Philip Beaulieu (25) and Adam Roeder (27) on Friday, Nov. 22, 2019, in Houghton, Mich. Michigan Tech won 3-2. (David Archambeau/Daily Mining Gazette)

Michigan Tech faces arch-rival Northern Michigan this weekend with WCHA tournament implications.

Tech, at No. 6 in conference standings with 41 points, faces the No. 3 Wildcats (47 points) in a home-and-home series. Puck drop in Marquette is 7:07 p.m. Friday. The Huskies host NMU at 6:07 p.m. Saturday.

The WCHA teams between the Huskies and Wildcats are Alaska and Bowling Green. A lot of outcomes are still possible, but all Tech head coach Joe Shawhan knows is his Huskies have a chance to host a WCHA playoff series with a good performance against Northern.

“All we can do is control our effort and what happens,” Shawhan said. “You’d like to go into this situation where it’s completely in your hands, but it’s not. Our goal is to be focused well. The mood of the team is good. Our off week, we had great practices, great competition and came out healthy. I think the guys came out mentally a little bit rested which is probably the most important thing now. I think we’re ready to play these last couple regular season games and get going for the playoffs. I think our mood is really good right now.”

Tech (18-14-3, 13-11-2 WCHA) used an idle week last week to work on some individual skills, Shawhan said. The Huskies are on a three-game win streak after sweeping Ferris State on Feb. 14-15.

“We just focused on fundamentals and on things we can’t spend a lot of individual time on, when you’re prepping for opposition and things like that,” Shawhan said. “It’s a lot like running a little mini training camp, where you’re going over the details of everything that we do, re-explaining why we do things. We have had success with that in this situation in the past and never really seen it work against us.”

The Wildcats (17-13-4, 15-10-1) split against Lake Superior State last week.

The Huskies swept Northern with a pair of 3-2 wins on Nov. 22-23.

The Wildcats got hot after the new year, going 6-1-2 in January while the Huskies staggered at 3-4-2.

But NMU went into a tailspin this month, going 2-5. The Huskies are 3-2 in February.

Part of the Wildcats’ nosedive this month is due to a scoring drought. Northern has been outscored 26-15 this month and was shut out twice. Four of the Wildcats’ losses were by at least four goals. Granted, those losses included back-to-back sweeps by No. 2 Minnesota State and No. 11 Bemidji State.

Shawhan said staying out of the penalty box will be a key all weekend for his Huskies.

“A big part of their game is their power-play. Our goal is we have to be disciplined,” he said. “We have shown that we’ve been that this year. That’s going to be a big part of it. That’s a big deal when you’re playing Northern is that the officiating sees what they’re calling and don’t get talked into things, don’t think that something might have happened. That’s a big deal because that changes the focus. As long as that part of the game is square and our discipline is good, I think it’ll be a great series.”

While Tech hasn’t had the point production the Wildcats have, the Huskies have been anchored by strong defensive play and a strong goaltending battery mostly composed of senior goalie Matt Jurusik.

The Huskies have four players with at least 20 points. The Wildcats have five, nearly six with Ry Readman at 19 points.

First matchup

The Wildcats led for nearly half of the Nov. 22 game in Houghton. Michigan Tech scored two goals in the third to take the win.

The Huskies got off to a faster start the following night in Marquette. Senior captain Ray Brice scored his first goal of the season on a pass attempt that deflected off a Wildcats defender and past goalie John Hawthorne. The Huskies built a three-goal lead before the Wildcats rallied back.

A scrum happened in the corner late in the third period that turned into a line brawl. Huskies senior goalie Matt Jurusik also got into the fracas. With playoff implications riding on this weekend’s series, it’s sure to be as physical as it was in November.

“They have a lot of guys that play extremely well. They’re competitive,” Shawhan said. “We’re looking forward really to see where we’re at. We’ve been growing as well. Our game hasn’t changed. I think we’re playing a good brand of hockey and I think they are as well. We’re looking forward to it.”

Players to watch

MTU — Sophomore Alec Broetzman is Tech’s leading goal scorer with 14 goals and 23 points. Sophomore Trenton Bliss is tied with Broetzman at 23 points including 14 assists.

Colin Swoyer is an honorable mention with three goals and two assists in five games this month. Swoyer scored both goals of a 2-0 win to seal a sweep against Ferris State with an assist the previous night.

NMU — Griffin Loughran is second in the country with 22 goals, two shy of national scoring leader John Leonard Jr. of UMass. Loughran scored twice in the November series.

Senior forward Darien Craighead has 12 goals and 27 points for the Wildcats.