Men's Ice Hockey | January 19, 2017

THIS WEEK
Western Michigan continues National Collegiate Hockey Conference play hosting Colorado College on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. 

LAST WEEK
The Broncos split with No. 1 Denver in a series at Lawson Ice Arena. WMU claimed Friday's contest, shutting out the Pioneers 3-0. DU got the best of Western Michigan on Saturday in a 7-2 win. 

In the Broncos' win freshman goalie Ben Blacker made 24 saves to earn his second straight shutout, while Frederik Tiffels netted the game-winning goal early in the third period. Chris Dienes and Sheldon Dries added empty-net goals to seal the win. 

On Saturday Denver used a three-goal second period to pull away and create an insurmountable lead in WMU's loss. The Pioneers went 3-for-8 on the power play, while Wade Allison and Matheson Iacopelli both scored for the Broncos. 

AT A GLANCE: COLORADO COLLEGE /// 6-14-2, 2-8-2-0 NCHC
• THE SERIES: Western Michigan holds the all-time series lead at 5-4-3. At Lawson Ice Arena the Broncos are 5-0-1 against the Tigers. Last season the teams met in Kalamazoo with WMU sweeping CC and Griffen Molino scoring seven points (3-4-7) in the series.  This is the first of two matchups between the two squads, with Western Michigan making the trip to Colorado Springs for a pair of games on Feb. 24 and 25.

• SCOUTING THE TIGERS: Until getting swept by Omaha last weekend, Colorado College had been on a roll. The Tigers went into last weekend on a four-game unbeaten streak, going 3-0-1 with wins over Merrimack, Cornell and Minnesota-Duluth. CC has earned all of its points in NCHC play on the road this season, going 2-3-2.

Offensively Colorado College is led by sophomore Mason Bergh. Berg, a sophomore forward, has a team-high 11 goals to go with four assists for 15 points. Senior Luc Gerdes has a team-high eight assists with four goals to total 12 points and is the only other player besides Bergh to reach double-digit points. Freshmen Nick Halloran and Alex Berardinelli each have nine points. Nashville Predators draft pick Teemu Kivihalme is the top scoring threat from the blue line with two goals and six assists. 

Defense was a big reason for CC's recent unbeaten spell. During the four games they allowed four total goals and shutout Merrimack, 3-0. Freshman Alex Leclerc was in net for that run and has seen the majority of the action between the pipes the season. Leclerc has a 4-11-2 record, a 3.25 goals against average and a .892 save percentage. Senior Derek Shatzer has been the primary backup, appearing in five games with a 1-1-0 record, a 2.54 goals against average and a .908 save percentage. 

The Tigers' power play ranks 55th in the nation at 11.9 percent (14-for-118) and Bergh leads the team with four tallies with the man advantage. Halloran has scored three of his five goals this season on the power play. The penalty kill ranks 48th at (87-for-110) at 79.1 percent, but CC averages the third-fewest penalty minutes per game in the conference at 12.3. 

INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
With his 24 save performance against No. 1 Denver's 3-0 win, freshman goalie Ben Blacker became just the second goalie in school history to record back-to-back shutouts. In his previous game Blacker recorded 23 saves in a 1-0 overtime win against Michigan Tech in the Great Lakes Invitational Championship game. Blacker joins WMU alum Riley Gill, who recorded back-to-back shutouts on Feb. 6 and Feb. 13 in 2009. 

FANTASTIC FRESHMEN
Freshman Wade Allison scored his 10th goal of the season in Saturday's loss. This is the third straight season in which a Bronco freshman has scored at least 10 goals. Allison joins Griffen Molino (11, 2015-16) and Frederik Tiffels (11, 2014-15) to reach double digits. 

PICK 6
After this weekend the Broncos have six of their remaining 10 games at Lawson Ice Arena. Fans can take advantage with the "Pick 6" plan by getting a ticket to six games for $108. For more information call 1-888-4-WMUTIX or visit wmubroncos.com/tickets. 

ON THE RADAR
Western Michigan hosts Arizona State on Saturday Feb. 4. The WMU Hockey team is joining forces with Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes for food drive. More information will be made avaialble soon, including a list of preferred items.