Men's Ice Hockey | February 14, 2018

THIS WEEK
Western Michigan returns to Lawson Ice Arena for the first time since Jan. 20 to host No. 2/3 St. Cloud State on Friday and Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. The game can be watched live on NCHC.tv and heard live on the Bronco Radio Network. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos were off last week, but prior to that they went on the road and split at Miami. 

On Friday WMU fell to the RedHawks, 4-2. MU took a 2-0 lead with two goals in the first five minutes of the second period. Corey Schueneman cut the lead in half with a power play goal at 9:24 in the second. Grant Hutton netted the game-winner with 3:36 left in the second. Louie Belpedio added a late goal to push the lead to 4-1 in the third period before Ethen Frank set the final score at 4-2 after scoring a goal for the Broncos with 25 seconds remaining.

On Saturday the Broncos erased a 2-0 deficit in the second period to win 3-2. After giving up a late goal in the first period and another goal early in the second period, WMU responded with three straight. Frank scored the first of two at 3:41 in the second period after being set up by Austin Rueschhoff. Frank then scored again with 4:00 left in the period after firing a shot past Miami goalie Ryan Larkin to tie it up at 2-2. Just 1:24 later Lawton Courtnal beat Larkin in the same manner for the game-winner. Ben Blacker made 26 saves in the win. 

ST. CLOUD STATE || 19-6-3, 13-4-1-0
• THE SERIES: The Huskies lead the all-time series 11-4-3, with a 4-0-2 advantage in Kalamazoo. 

The two teams met up earlier this season, splitting in St. Cloud. WMU won the opening game of the series, 7-5, with Hugh McGing leading the way with two goals and an assist. The Huskies responded with a 4-3 win the following night. 

• SCOUTING THE HUSKIES, AGAIN: After sweeping at Miami last weekend, St. Cloud State sits alone at the top of the NCHC standings and the top of the Pairwise rankings. Coming into the weekend, SCSU holds a three-point lead over Denver in the league standings. 

The Huskies have the second-best offense in the nation, averaging 3.86 goals per game. In conference play, SCSU's offensive output moves up to 4.06 goals per game to lead the NCHC. Junior forward Robby Jackson has a team-high 31 points on the season with 17 assists and a team-best 14 goals. Junior forward Mikey Eyssimont is second on the team with 30 points on 12 goals and 18 assists. Junior defenseman Jimmy Schuldt is third on the team in scoring with 28 points on six goals and a team-high 22 assists. Freshman forward Easton Brodzinski is the only other player on the team with a double-digit goal total, at 10. 

Defensively the Huskies rank 12th in the nation, allowing 2.43 goals per game. St. Cloud State has been rotating its starting goalies this season. Junior Jeff Smith has started in 16 games, boasting an 11-2-3 record with a 2.47 against average and a .914 save percentage. Freshman David Hrenak, who was in net for SCSU's win over the Broncos this season, has an 8-4-0 record with a 1.95 goals against average and a .928 save percentage in 12 starts and 14 appearances. 

St. Cloud State's power play ranks up amongst the nation's best, sitting in 13th at 21.9 percent (28-for-128). Jackson, Eyssimont, Schuldt, Blake Winiecki and Jacob Benson are all tied for the team lead with four power play goals. SCSU's penalty kill comes in at 30th in the nation, killing off 81.2 percent (82-for-101) of the power plays it faces. 

FILL THE PANTRY
This weekend the Broncos are teaming up with Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes for a food drive. Bins will be at both entrances for fans to deposit food items. 

A list of acceptable items are:
• Proteins: Canned meats, hearty soups, beef stew
• Fruits: Canned (preferable without added sugar)
• 100 % fruit juice: canned or plastic
• Vegetables: Canned (preferably without salt)
Grains: Pasta, Rice, Oatmeal

ALL GOOD THINGS...
In Western Michigan's 3-2 win over Miami, the Broncos saw their eight-game power play goal scoring streak snapped after going 0-for-4. During the streak, WMU scored on 37.5 percent of its power plays (15-for-40). Austin Rueschhoff and Corey Schueneman each had three goals, while Dawson DiPietro and Hugh McGing had two. 

The run pushed the Broncos back up into the top 15 in the power play. Western Michigan now sits 12th at 22.2 percent (32-for-144). In NCHC play, WMU moved up to second in the conference at 23.8  percent (19-for-80).

BACK TO BACK 
Junior defenseman Corey Schueneman currently sits in fifth on the team in scoring with a career-high 23 points on four goals and 19 assists. Schueneman had 22 points last season, making him the first defenseman since Matt Tennyson (2010-11, 2011-12) to reach at least 20 points in back-to-back season. 

WAIT, THERE'S MORE
Sophomore defenseman Cam Lee sits just behind Schueneman in sixth place on the team in scoring with 20 points on five goals and 15 assists. It's the first time since the 2011-12 season that WMU has had two defenseman with at least 20 points.