Northern Michigan's CJ Ludwig Out for Season

Northern Michigan was dealt a huge blow heading into their series this weekend against Minnesota State when head coach Walt Kyle announced on Tuesday that senior defenseman CJ Ludwig had been ruled out for the season, following an MRI on his knee. Ludwig suffered the knee injury late in last Friday's loss to Ferris State.

Ludwig is a senior and a captain for the Wildcats, and was in the midst of an outstanding season. Ludwig was second on the Wildcats in scoring with 5 goals and 7 assists for 12 points through 13 games. His 12 points also tied him for second in the WCHA in scoring by defensemen. He was also a key component of the Wildcats' power play, leading the league with 9 points scored with the man advantage.

Ludwig had played in Northern Michigan's first 13 games of the season, and with the Wildcats having 36 regular season games, that would seem to put him over the 30% threshold for a medical redshirt. However, playoff games also seem to count in a team's games played total, and if the Wildcats were to play in five or more postseason games, Ludwig would barely crack the baseline the NCAA has set.