Michigan Tech freshman defenseman Grant Docter (11) shoots against Lake Superior State on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021, in Houghton, Mich. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

Michigan Tech faces rival Northern Michigan in the first all-CCHA matchup in series history this weekend.

The Huskies (4-3, 1-1) are coming off a split against Lake Superior State. A 3-2 overtime loss on Nov. 5 was just enough to nudge Tech out of the USCHO Division I poll this week. The Huskies rebounded with a 2-0 win Saturday.

Northern Michigan (4-5, 2-4) swept Boston University last week.

Opening faceoff is 7:07 p.m. Friday at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena and 6:37 p.m. Saturday at the Berry Events Center in Marquette.

The Huskies and Wildcats tied 4-4 in a preseason exhibtion Oct. 2. This weekend will be the first time both teams have played in the CCHA. The Huskies were a longtime WCHA member school while the Wildcats were in the WCHA a few years after being a longtime member school of the first iteration of the CCHA.

The Huskies will look to build on the second half of last weekend’s series against the Lakers. They recovered with a 2-0 win after losing 3-2 in overtime, in frustrating fashion. It was a blueprint copied from a frustrating stretch last season in which Tech had 118 shots in a five-game stretch, and only three goals.

But Saturday’s win showed a team ability it couldn’t find last year — being able to shrug off frustrating stretches and convert chances.

The Huskies scored a pair of power-play goals in the Nov. 6 game to salvage a split and reset heading into the Wildcats series.

Tech was very methodical overall during last weekend’s series against the Lakers. The Huskies controlled the tempo and offensive rhythm, but the few chances they coughed up in Friday’s loss, was all the Lakers needed to cash in a win.

The Wildcats are coming off an octane weekend against the Terriers in scoring a combined 11 goals. Northern bolted out to big first period leads in both games.

The home-and-home series is dynamic because of the vast differences between ice sheets. Tech plays on traditional NHL-size ice, while Northern has an Olympic-size ice sheet. The Huskies have dominated the Wildcats on the bigger ice, winning the last six straight games at the Berry Events Center. The Huskies haven’t lost in Marquette since March 2, 2019.

“They’re always hard to play against, obviously a good team, lots of offense,” Shawhan said. “Their ice is always a completely different game because they have so much room to move and a little bit harder to contain them on the big ice.”

Tech won all three games at Northern last season, spoiling the Wildcats’ senior night with a 3-2 overtime win.