Men's Ice Hockey | January 25, 2018

THIS WEEK
The Western Michigan hockey team heads back out on the road, traveling to No. 19 Omaha, for a pair of games on Friday and Saturday. Both games area slated for 8:07 p.m. and can be seen live on NCHC.tv and heard live on the Bronco Radio Network. 

LAST WEEK
Western Michigan split with Colorado College at Lawson Ice Arena. WMU opened the weekend with a 3-2 overtime win on Friday night, but fell 6-5 in overtime on Saturday. 

Scott Moldenhauer gave WMU a 1-0 lead on a power play goal late in the second period. Cam Lee helped set up the goal for his first of three assists on the night. The Tigers responded and took a 2-1 lead on goals by Trevor Gooch and Troy Conzo in the third period before Paul Stoykewych tied it up with 5:08 remaining in regulation. Junior forward Richard Zehnal netted his first collegiate goal just 35 seconds into overtime to give the Broncos a victory. 

On Saturday the Broncos jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first period on goals by Neal Goff, Josh Passolt and Lee. CC netted twice midway through the second period to tie it up at 3-3 before Paul Washe got the lead back for WMU. Conzo netted his second of the weekend just 33 seconds into the third period to tie it up at 4-4 before Jack Gates gave Colorado College a 5-4 lead with 7:24 left to go. Austin Rueschhoff forced the game into overtime on a goal with 1:25 left. With just 57 seconds remaining in overtime, CC's Nick Holloran scored off a faceoff to seal the win for the Tigers. 

OMAHA MAVERICKS || 12-11-1, 5-9-0-0
• THE SERIES: Omaha leads the all-time series at 22-17-6 and the Broncos are 1-3-0 at Baxter Arena. 

• PREVIOUSLY: WMU hosted UNO back on Nov. 17-18 and earned a sweep after 4-1 and 5-2 wins.

• SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS, AGAIN: After getting swept by Denver last weekend, Omaha sits tied for sixth place in the NCHC with 15 points. UNO is 3-3-0 in its last six conference games, including a split at North Dakota and a sweep of Miami. 

The Mavericks boast the seventh-best offense in the nation at 3.46 goals per game. The output shrinks to 2.86 per game in NCHC play. Senior forward David Pope leads the team in all scoring categories with 13 goals, 18 assists and 31 points. The Detroit Red Wings' draft pick also has a team-high 86 shots on goal. Fellow senior forward Tyler Vesel is second on the team with 19 points on eight goals and 11 assists. Senior Joel Messner is the top-scoring defenseman on the team with 14 points on four goals and 10 assists. 

Omaha ranks last in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 3.96 goals per game. Junior goalie Evan Weninger has made 18 starts on the season with a 10-8-0 record with a 3.62 goals against average and an .884 save percentage. Sophomore Kris Oldham has played in six games, making four starts. The Tampa Bay Lighting draft pick has a 1-2-1 record with a 4.12 goals against average and a .867 save percentage.

The Maverick power play is one of the best in the nation at 25.7 percent (29-or-109). Pope leads the team and is tied for the nation's best with eight power play goals. Vesel and Messer each have three, while five others have at least two tallies with the man advantage. Omaha's penalty kill ranks 45th at 79.3 percent (88-for-111).

TEAM EFFORT
In Western Michigan's split with Colorado College the team put up eight goals, despite missing two of its top goal scorers in Wade Allison and Colt Conrad. Scott Moldenhauer, Paul Stoykewych, Richard Zehnal, Neal Goff, Josh Passolt, Cam Lee, Paul Washe and Austin Rueschhoff all pitched in with goals. 

POWER PLAYERS
WMU netted two power play goals in each of the games against Colorado College. The Broncos have netted at least two power play goals in each of the last five games, going 11-for-22 during the stretch. The power play has jumped up in the national rankings to 11th at 23.0 percent (28-for-122). Sophomore Dawson DiPietro leads the team with five, while fellow sophomore Hugh McGing is one of three Broncos with four tallies with the man advantage. 

ROAD WARRIORS
Six of Western Michigan's final 10 games are away from Lawson Ice Arena. WMU travels to Miami next weekend and then closes the regular season out at Colorado College. The Broncos are 3-6-0 away from home this season and 2-4-0 in NCHC play. WMU has only suffered one sweep on the road this season, at North Dakota. 

SCORING MACHINE
Last season the Broncos averaged 3.33 goals per game, tallying 133 in 40 games. It was the most goals scored by WMU since the 2000-01 team that netted 149. This season the Broncos are averaging 3.67 despite the loss of 60 combined goals by Matheson Iacopelli, Griffen Molino, Colt Conrad and Frederick Tiffels. Last season WMU had five 10-plus goal scorers. This season WMU only has two so far this season in Wade Allison (15) and Dawson DiPietro (10). However, the Broncos have three players with at least eight goals and sixth with at least five.