Men's Ice Hockey | February 22, 2018

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THIS WEEK
Western Michigan wraps up its regular season home schedule hosting No. 9/11 Minnesota-Duluth on Friday and Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. Both games can be seen live on NCHC.tv and heard live on the Bronco Radio Network. Prior to puck drop on Saturday, the team will take time to honor its senior class of Paul Stoykewych, Aidan Muir, Neal Goff and Scott Moldenhauer. 

LAST WEEK
WMU hosted No. 2/3 St. Cloud State and came away with one point after a 5-5 tie and 4-2 loss to the Huskies. 

After going down early in Friday's game, the Broncos took a 2-1 lead after goals by Aidan Muir and Paul Stoykewych. But the lead, one of three on the night, was short lived. WMU also led the game 3-2, 4-3 and 5-4 but were unable to fend off the Huskies. SCSU tied the game at 5-5 with an extra-attacker goal with 49 seconds left in regulation. Neither team took advantage of the first five minutes of overtime, but Jimmy Schuldt scored just 35 seconds into the 3-on-3 overtime to give St. Cloud State the extra point.  

After a scoreless first period in Saturday's game, the Broncos tallied twice in the second period to take a 2-1 lead. Josh Passolt netted a short-handed goal to tie it up at 1-1 and Dawson DiPietro netted his second goal of the weekend to take a 2-1 lead. St. Cloud State held the Broncos to just one shot on goal in the third period and netted three, including an empty-net goal to finish off WMU. 

MINNESOTA-DULUTH || 16-13-3, 10-10-0-0
• THE SERIES: UMD holds the all-time series lead at 14-8-1, but since the creation of the NCHC it has been a much closer series, with the Bulldogs leading 10-8-1. 

The two teams met back in November at Duluth and each team came away with a shutout. Minnesota-Duluth opened the series by blanking the Broncos 3-0. The following night WMU got its revenge and shutout the Bulldogs, 5-0. 

• SCOUTING BULLDOGS, AGAIN: Minnesota-Duluth was one of the hottest teams in December and January, picking up seven wins in the two months. The Bulldogs come to Kalamazoo after sweeping Miami to end a three-game skid, with back-to-back shutouts of the RedHawks. 

The UMD attack is led by freshman defenseman Scott Perunovich and his 25 points on seven goals and a team-high 18 assists. Junior forward Peter Kreiger sits just behind him with 23 points on nine goals and 14 assists, while five of his nine goals have gone for game-winners. Sophomore forward and Dallas Stars' first round draft pick Riley Tuft leads the team in goals with 13. Tufte is the lone Bulldog with a double-digit goal tally, but UMD boasts six others with at least seven tallies on the season. 
 
Sophomore goalie Hunter Shepard has played the majority of the minutes in net this season for Minnesota-Duluth. Shepard has started in 29 of the 32 games this season, with a 16-11-1 record, a 2.15 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. His numbers dip a little in NCHC play to a 2.43 goals against average and a .911 save percentage. Backup Nick Deery has made three starts on the season, going 0-2-2 in five appearances. 

Minnesota-Duluth's power play is one of the best in the nation, ranking 10th at 22.7 percent (27-for-119). Junior forward Parker Mackay leads the team with four tallies on the man advantage, while Perunovich, Tufte, and Mikey Anderson each have three on the season. UMD's penalty kill is having a solid season, ranking 18th in the nation at 83.1 percent (113-for-136). 

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE SENIORS
Prior to puck drop on Saturday night, the Broncos will celebrate the careers of Paul Stoykewych, Aidan Muir, Neal Goff and Scott Moldenhauer. The group have combined to appear in 453 games in the Brown and Gold. The four have netted 36 goals and tallied 83 assists for 119 points. 

Stoykewych, Muir, Goff and Moldenhauer helped the Broncos to one of the biggest turnarounds in program history, going from eight wins during the 2015-16 season to 22 in 2016-17, including the program's sixth trip to the NCAA Tournament and second trip to the NCHC Semifinals.

The group has made an impact off the ice as well. All four are three-time NCHC All-Academic Team selections, earning the honors every season they have been eligible. Muir, Goff and Moldenhauer have all worn letters on their jerseys over the past two seasons. Moldenhauer was an assistant captain last season and wears the "C" this year. Muir was also an assistant captain last season. All four seniors are in positions of leadership this year. 

THE TAKEOVER
With Wade Allison and Colt Conrad missing time due to injuries, it was only a matter of time until sophomore forward Dawson DiPietro took the reins as WMU's leading scorer. DiPietro entered last weekend's series with 29 points, sitting one behind Allison's lead. The Medina, Ohio, native went on to score two goals and tally two assists against the Huskies to move into the lead with 33 points on 13 goals and 20 assists. DiPietro and teammate Hugh McGing's 20 assists are the most by a Bronco since Justin Kovacs finished the 2014-15 season with 20. 

Last season DiPietro had one assist in one game played.