The NIU hockey club will welcome non-conference opponent Northwestern University to the Carlson Ice Arena in Rockford this Friday for a game coach Bill Thorn hopes will end in a victory.

The team has learned a lot from its 5-4 loss to the University of Missouri St. Louis, Thorn said.

“The team realized penalties killed us,” Thorn said.

Since last week, the team has spent time working on fundamentals and getting a better feel for each other on the ice, Thorn said.

Thorn hopes the Huskies’ new knowledge will result in a victory against Northwestern.

The Huskies are going into Friday’s game much like they did against the University of Iowa earlier this season.

In the game against Iowa, NIU won on a forfeit because Iowa lacked a goalie, but Thorn doesn’t think that will happen again this weekend.

Like Iowa, this is the first year Northwestern has fielded a hockey team, and besides a few losses early in the season, Thorn doesn’t know much more about the Wildcats.

“We’re going in blind,” Thorn said. “[The team] learned from last week I hope … we’re going to do OK.”