Both hockey teams will hit the road and hope to perform well while the ultimate Frisbee team will host a tournament at home.

Hockey

The Div. II hockey team will play in the Robert Morris University Showcase this weekend.

The Huskies (8-6-1) will play three games in the showcase. The games will take place at noon Friday versus DePaul University, 3 p.m. Saturday versus Illinois State University and 5:30 p.m. Sunday versus Robert Morris University. All games will take place at the Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville.

“It’s going to be a big weekend for us,” said head coach Chuck Rinaldo. “Being able to play three teams that are ahead of us in the rankings sets the table nice for us to get some big wins. Not to mention … this is a great recruiting opportunity.”

NIU has confidence heading into the showcase after last weekend’s success when it earned two wins out of three games. The Huskies are ready for the challenge and realize how big an opportunity they have this weekend.

“Now with rankings where they are at, we are going to play three teams that are ahead of us,” said team captain Nick Remley. “We have a sense of urgency that we need to bring our A game to get where we want to be in the rankings. This is a great opportunity this weekend for us to knock off three teams that are ahead of us and a chance to get back on top against ISU.”

The Div. III team will also compete in its level’s RMU Showcase.

The Huskies will face off at 4:40 p.m. Friday versus RMU-Black, 8 p.m. Saturday versus RMU-Springfield and noon Sunday versus Indiana University. The three games will also take play at the Edge Ice Arena.

“Two of the teams we will play again this season,” said head coach Nick Madonia. “We have to show up for those games, especially because we want to set the tone for the rest of the season. Indiana is a team that we haven’t played against before, so I am not sure what to expect there, but if we come out and skate the way we should [then] we can skate with anyone.”

NIU has been playing with a short bench all season. This weekend will be no different, but playing three games instead of two will be an even tougher challenge.

“We just need everyone to show up with their head in the right place,” said team captain JC Weems. “We also need to be looking to make a big play. I think it is going to be exciting. It is nice to be close to home and playing a lot of hockey. Three games is a lot, and that short bench is probably going to catch up to us again, but all we can do is keep playing through it and keep having fun.”

Ultimate Frisbee

The ultimate Frisbee sport club will host an eight-team tournament this weekend.

The tournament will start at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Recreation Center. Saturday will consist of pool play and Sunday will be mostly bracket play.

“This is going to be a tournament for fun,” said ultimate Frisbee President Andrew Clos. “We don’t really care about results. It’s about just getting on the field, having fun and meeting people.”

NIU will have two teams in the tournament. It will allow the team to get used to playing together.

“We mostly want to gain chemistry and have fun,” Clos said. “It will be nice for everyone to play with each other outside of practice.”