Men's Ice Hockey | December 27, 2016

THIS WEEK
Western Michigan resumes action and heads to the 2016 Great Lakes Invitational on Thursday and Friday. The Broncos open up the tournament taking on Michigan State on Thursday at 7 p.m. WMU then plays Michigan Tech or Michigan on Friday with the time dependent on Thursday's results.

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan was last in action was on Dec. 9-10 against No. 8/9 North Dakota. WMU went up to Grand Forks and split with the Fighting Hawks. To open the weekend, the Broncos dropped a 5-1 decision with Scott Moldenhauer getting the lone goal for the team.

Western Michigan turned things around in the Saturday tilt, winning 3-1. Wade Allison netted two goals, including the game-winner, and assisted on Michael Rebry's empty-net goal. It was the first three-point game for the Philadelphia Flyers' draft pick in his brief career. Freshman Ben Blacker made a career-high 32 saves to earn his third win of the season.

AT A GLANCE: MICHIGAN STATE // 4-9-1
THE SERIES: The Spartans lead the all-time series 65-32-8 and holds a 3-2-0 lead in games at neutral sites. This is the first meeting between the two teams since a home-and-home series on Nov. 22-23, 2013. The Broncos swept Michigan State with a 2-0 win at Munn Ice Arena and then a 4-1 win at Lawson.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS: MSU has lost its last three games, getting swept by Minnesota and falling to Northeastern. The streak had ended a four-game unbeaten streak that featured wins at Ferris State and North Dakota, along with a tie against the Fighting Hawks and an exhibition win over the USNDTP U-18 team. The Spartans also have a win over Princeton and Michigan Tech.

Michigan State's offense ranks in at 47^th in the nation, averaging 2.36 goals per game. The Spartans are led by sophomore forward Mason Applegate and his 14 points on a team-high six goals and eight assists. Freshman Taro Hirose sits second on the team with three goals and seven assists for 10 points.  The top scoring defenseman on the team is sophomore Zach Osburn with two goals and five assists. The top goal scorer on the blue line is sophomore Jared Rosburg with three tallies on the season.

Defensively the Spartans rank 55^th in the nation, allowing 3.79 goals per game. Junior Ed Minney has played the majority of the time between the pipes for MSU. Minney has a 4-6-1 record in 11 starts with a 3.25 goals against average and a .887 save percentage.

Michigan State's power play ranks 46^th in the nation at 13.7 percent (10-for-73). Appleton is the top tallyman with the man advantage, leading the team with four power play goals. Senior forward Villiam Haag has scored all three of his goals this season on the power play and is the only other Spartan with more than one power play goal on the team. MSU's penalty kill ranks last in the nation at 71.6 percent (48-for-67).

SO LONG, FAREWELL
Joe Louis Arena has been a very important part of Western Michigan hockey history. Heading into the 2016 Great Lakes Invitational, the Broncos have played 20 games at The Joe with a 10-9-1 record. The program's first appearance came in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association Tournament Semifinals. That night, March 9, 1984, WMU beat Bowling Green 4-3 in double overtime to advance to the CCHA Finals. That BGSU team went on to win the 1984 National Championship, while the Broncos fell to Michigan State in the CCHA Finals.

Two years later Western Michigan returned, once again beating Bowling Green, but this time in triple overtime. WMU also avenged its loss to the Spartans, beating them 3-1 to win the program's first CCHA Tournament Championship. The Broncos also went on to claim the 2012 CCHA Tournament Championship, beating Michigan 3-2.

Western Michigan's most common opponent at The Joe has been Michigan State, playing the Spartans a total of five times with a 2-2-1 record. In GLI's played at The Joe, the Broncos are 2-1-1 with one championship back in 1986. The Broncos have also averaged 3.70 goals per game at Joe Louis Arena.

NOW THAT'S IMPROVEMENT
Western Michigan is 16 games into the season and has already matched its win total from the 2015-16 season, eight. Taylor Fleming (0-13-13) and Scott Moldenhauer (4-6-10) both already have more points than they did last season. Both the offense and the defense are much improved. Last season through 16 games the team averaged just 2.38 goals per game, ranking tied for 44^th in the nation. The defense was even lower in the rankings at 55^th, allowing 3.75 goals per game. Heading into the Great Lakes Invitational, WMU is tied for eighth in the country in scoring at 3.44 goals per game and 30^th in goals allowed at 3.07.

FANTASTIC FRESHMAN
Freshman forward Wade Allison heads to the Great Lakes Invitational with nine goals on the season, second-most on the team. When Allison scores his next goal it will be the third straight season a Bronco freshman has reached at least 10 goals. Last season, Griffen Molino finished with 11 to tie Sheldon Dries for the team lead. During the 2014-15 season Frederik Tiffels finished the season off with 11.