Men's Ice Hockey | March 09, 2018
THIS WEEK
The Western Michigan hockey team heads on the road to No. 8/7 Minnesota-Duluth for the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Quarterfinals on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (if necessary). All three games are slated for 8:07 p.m. puck drops and can be seen live on NCHC.tv and heard live on the Bronco Radio Network.
LAST WEEK
The Broncos wrapped up the 2017-18 regular with a split on the road at Colorado College.
WMU opened the weekend with 2-1 loss against CC. Austin Rueschhoff gave the Brown & Gold an early 1-0 lead with his 10th goal of the season just 8:13 into the first period. The Tigers tied it up on a goal by Mason Bergh at 9:42 in the third period and then scored the game-winner with 2:50 remaining on a tally by Cole McCaskill.
On Saturday it was the Tigers that jumped out to the early 1-0. Christiano Versich scored just 1:44 into the game but WMU responded late in the first period with goals from Corey Schueneman and Brett Van Os to take a 2-1 lead. CC responded with a goal by Trey Bradley just 2:59 into the second period to tie it up at 2-2, but it was all Western Michigan from there. The Broncos scored six goals in the second period. Josh Passolt netted the game-winner at 9:12. Paul Stoykewych gave the Broncos a 4-2 lead, followed by Cam Orchard, Ethen Frank, Van Os and then Frank again to close out the period. Neither team scored in the third period and Austin Cain made 25 total saves in the 8-2 win.
MINNESOTA-DULUTH || 19-14-3, 13-11-0-0 NCHC
- HOW THEY GOT HERE: UMD split with Omaha in the final weekend of the regular season to finish in third place and earn home ice advantage.
- HOW WE GOT HERE: The Broncos split with the Tigers resulted in a tie with the Maverick for fifth place. UNO held the tie-breaker over WMU, resulting in the Broncos picking up the sixth seed and traveling to UMD.
- PREVIOUSLY: Minnesota-Duluth won the regular season series 3-1-0, including a sweep of Western Michigan in Kalamazoo. The Broncos and the Bulldogs split up in Duluth, with each team earning a shutout.
- THE SERIES: UMD leads the all-time series at 16-8-1, with a 12-8-1 edge since the creation of the NCHC. WMU is 2-1 all-time in the NCHC Playoffs against the Bulldogs. In the inaugural season of the league, the Broncos went on the road and swept Minnesota-Duluth in the NCHC Quarterfinals. Last year the teams met up in the NCHC Semifinals, with the Bulldogs winning 5-2.
- SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS, AGAIN: Minnesota-Duluth wrapped up winning five of its last six games, including three shutouts. The strong finish helped secure home ice for the NCHC Playoffs.
UMD's offense is led by First Team All-NCHC selection and NCHC Rookie of the Year finalist Scott Perunovich. The defenseman has 31 points on nine goals and a team-high 22 assists. Sophomore forward and Dallas Stars' first round draft pick Riley Tufte leads the team in goals scored with 15, while Karson Kuhlman sits just behind him with 11. Peter Kreiger is second on the team in scoring with 10 goals and 18 assists, while Joey Anderson also has 10 goals to go with his 13 assists. The team has averaged 3.17 goals against average during the regular season.
Sophomore Hunter Shepard has emerged as one of the top goaltenders in the NCHC, going 19-12-1 in 33 starts with a .923 save percentage, a 2.04 goals against average and six shutouts. As a result, the Bulldogs have allowed just 2.22 goals per game this season.
Minnesota-Duluth's power play is one in the best in the nation at 24.1 percent (33-for-137). The Bulldogs rank sixth in college hockey, with Tufte, Joey Anderson and Parker Mackay leading the team with four power play tallies. Perunovich, Nick Swaney and Mikey Anderson each have three. UMD's penalty kill ranks 12th in the nation at 83.8 percent (129-for-154).
YOUNG GUNS
WMU's freshmen class shined in its split at Colorado College. The youngsters combined to score seven of the team's nine goals on the weekend, led by Ethen Frank and Brett Van Os' two goals. Josh Passolt, Cam Orchard and Austin Rueschhoff also netted a goal each. Goalie Austin Cain also had two of his best performances on the year, finishing the weekend with a 2.04 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. Passolt added two assists for a three-point weekend and was named NCHC Rookie of the Week. The class has combined for 35 of the team's 115 goals this season.
IN THE POSTSEASON
Junior forward Colt Conrad leads all Broncos in scoring in the postseason. Conrad has eight points on four goals and four assists in eight games played. Sophomore forward Hugh McGing sits just behind him with five points on two goals and three assists. Sophomore goalie Ben Blacker has the most postseason experience between the pipes. Blacker has a 2-4-0 record in six starts with a 2.84 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.
WMU is 9-13 all-time in the postseason under head coach Andy Murray and 2-2 in NCHC Quarterfinal series.
