Northern Michigan, Lake Superior State, and Ferris State have all enjoyed degrees of success this past decade: Ferris with three trips to the NCAAs (including a competitive NCAA title game in 2012); Northern Michigan with a return to 20-win seasons under Grant Potulny; and Lake Superior waking its echoes of dominance with a Great Lakes Invitational title and a 23-win season in 2019. 

On a Thursday night in early October, a couple of 60-something hockey lifers coached against each other for the 16th time. Don Vaughan of Colgate traveled 600 miles to play Bob Daniels’ Ferris State Bulldogs for a single game on a school night. It was a game that hardly moved the meter in terms of national rankings, but the contest was huge in terms of nostalgia and the human element.