SEASON STATS
THIS WEEK
Western Michigan hosts No. 4 Miami for a pair of games on Saturday and Sunday in Central Collegiate Hockey Association action. Saturday's game begins at 7:35 p.m. and Sunday's puck drops at 4:05 p.m. to accommodate coverage by ESPNU. Season ticket holders are to use their tickets for the original Friday Dec. 5, game for admission to Sunday's game.
LAST WEEK
On Friday, Western Michigan surrendered four power play goals and fell to No. 2 Notre Dame, 4-1. Sophomore Max Campbell netted the lone goal for the Broncos.
Western Michigan responded on Saturday, scoring three consecutive goals to come from behind and give WMU the lead 3-2. Patrick Galivan, Tyler Ludwig and Campbell each netted goals but Notre Dame tied the game up late to force overtime. The two teams skated to a 3-3 tie before Notre Dame went on to win the shootout 2-1.
TEDDY BEAR TOSS
Bronco athletics announces the first ever Teddy Bear Toss at Lawson
Arena. The Teddy Bear Toss will be held during the first intermission
of Sunday's game with Miami. The teddy bears will be donated to The
Children's Hospital at Bronson on behalf of Bronco Hockey, WMU
athletics, its fans and the CCHA. Fans are asked to bring NEW teddy
bears to toss onto the ice. Build-A-Bear will also be on location
during Saturday's game for fans to purchase for Sunday's toss.
SERIES HISTORY
Western Michigan holds a slim edge on the all-time series, 49-46-8 but have gone 28-18-5 in Kalamazoo. Western Michigan is 5-3-0 at home against Miami under head coach Jim Culhane. The Broncos dropped the most recent meeting, losing a pair of games at Miami last season 2-0 and 8-1.
SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
Miami enters Saturday's game at the top of the CCHA and near the top of most statistical categories in the league. Miami sports the third best offense and second best defense, scoring three goals a game and only giving up an average of 1.71 goals per game. The RedHawks are at the top of the league and top of the nation on the penalty kill, killing off an impressive 95.5 percent of power plays.
Pat Cannone and Carter Camper are pair of sophomores that lead Miami in scoring. Camper is tops on the team in scoring with seven goals while Cannone is tops on the team with 10 assists. The RedHawks have five players in double digits in points scored and their top scoring defenseman is freshman Chris Wideman, who has 10 points on 10 assists.
Miami has split time in net between two freshmen goalies, but the results have been similar. Connor Knapp and Cody Reichard have both started seven games this season with Knapp posting a 5-1-1 record with Reichard going 3-2-2. Knapp has a goals against average of 1.70 while Reichard just barely edges him with a 1.69.
PROLONGING THE STREAK
With Saturday's tie at Notre Dame, the Broncos have picked up at least one point in each CCHA series they have played this season. Only Alaska, Lake Superior State, Miami and Western Michigan have pulled in points every week. The Broncos have a chance to pull in another point this weekend to extend their streak to six weeks with at least one point earned in the standings.
MURDERERS ROW
The Broncos are in the middle of a tough stretch. With Miami ranked fourth, the Broncos will have faced a ranked team four of the past five weeks and a team ranked in the Top 10 in the past three weeks. Michigan State was ranked 11th when the Broncos played them, Michigan was eighth and Notre Dame was second. The schedule doesn't get any easier as WMU will head to face No. 20 Alaska in two weeks and will battle No. 6 Northeastern at the Dodge Classic in Minnesota over New Years.
EXTENSION!
Western Michigan had beaten or tied Notre Dame at least once per season since 2000, going 9-13-2 in the stretch. The last win over the Irish came in the final home game of the 2007-08 season. Cam Watson, Patrick Nagorsen and Jeff LoVecchio each netted goals and Riley Gill made 42 saves in the 3-0 Bronco victory. WMU successfully extend the streak by tying Notre Dame on Saturday, 3-3.
“CHEWY” MAKES THE SHOW
Former Bronco Paul Szczechura made his NHL debut with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday evening. Szczechura was on the ice for 15:16 and fired off three shots. In four years at WMU the Brantford, Ontario, native 44 goals and tallied 86 assists in 153 games.
