Week 4 Preview: Marquette squares off against Aurora, NMU goes on the road to SNC
Weekly Preview:
Heading into week four the Black Division and Orange Division each have one series scheduled to take place. In the Black Division, Marquette University takes on a divisional foe for the second straight week and the competition is Aurora University. This will be Aurora’s first foray into divisional action this season after having taken part in an inter-divisional series with UW Milwaukee last weekend.
Over the course of the seven previous meetings between Marquette and Aurora the home team has yet to taste victory. The closest anyone has come is a tie. So, will history repeat, or will the streak be broken? Luckily for Marquette they will have first crack at reversing their fortunes as they host game one of the home and home series.
In the second division series, Orange Division members Northern Michigan University and St. Norbert College battle it out in DePere, WI. Last season was the first meeting between these two teams as league members and each team scored a victory. Neither team heads into this series riding much momentum as they were both swept during their last series. This will be the second divisional series for both teams and NMU has earned one point, via a tie with UW Oshkosh, to sit in third place while SNC is looking to get their first points of the season.
In non-conference action, DePaul University goes to Drury University, Marian University takes part in the Lindenwood Showcase and faces Florida Gulf Coast University, Lindenwood University, and Sault College, Lewis University hosts McKendree University, UW Oshkosh has home and home with Milwaukee School of Engineering, and UW Milwaukee travels to University of Iowa.
Marquette University and Aurora University take part in a home and home series:
Black Division members Marquette University and Aurora University partake in a home and home series this weekend, game one of which will take place at The Ponds of Brookfield in Brookfield, WI, and game two at All Seasons Ice Arena in Naperville, IL. While Marquette got their first taste of divisional action last weekend this will be the first divisional series for Aurora.
Marquette and Aurora have a unique history against one another. Over the course of their seven regular season contests each team has three victories to go along with one tie and they each average four goals a game, making Marquette one of only two teams Aurora does not have a winning record against. Diving deeper into their history you see that neither team has won on their home ice, all victories have gone to the road team. The three games played in Naperville have seen Marquette average 5.33 goals a game while Aurora averaged 2.67 and then in Brookfield, over four games, it basically flips to 5 goals a game for Aurora to 3 goals a game for Marquette.
During their only meeting last season Marquette won 6-3 to even the overall series at three wins apiece. As they hit the ice for this season’s series, Marquette and Aurora are on the opposite ends of the spectrum after last weekend’s results. Marquette was swept by DePaul University while Aurora swept UW Milwaukee. If the fortunes of the road team are to come to an end Marquette will have the first shot at breaking the steak with their hosting game one.
Northern Michigan University heads south to St. Norbert College:
Northern Michigan University heads south to take on St. Norbert College in this week’s only Orange Division clash. This matchup will also be the second divisional series for each team. To this point neither team has tasted victory, however, NMU did pull out a tie against UW Oshkosh which earned them one point.
During their series last season, also played down in DePere, WI, NMU and SNC split the series. NMU took game one by a score of 5-2 and SNC squeaked out a 5-4 overtime victory in game two.
SNC comes into this series looking to rebound from their series sweep last weekend at the hands of Roosevelt University. NMU on the other hand had the luxury of a week off, having last hit the ice two weeks ago against Lake Superior State University. That series saw NMU also get swept. So, both teams will want to put W’s next to their name and make a run for the top of the division.
Non-Conference Games:
DePaul University at Drury University
Marian University v. Florida Gulf Coast University, Lindenwood University, and Sault College (10/14-16)
Lewis University v. McKendree University
UW Oshkosh v./at Milwaukee School of Engineering
UW Milwaukee at University of Iowa
Idle:
Concordia University WI
Roosevelt University
