Western Michigan (7-14-3, 4-9-1-1)
vs. #2/2 North Dakota (20-3-3, 11-2-1-1)
All-Time Series — North Dakota Leads 11-1-0
Jan. 29-30 | Lawson Ice Arena (3,667 seated)
Fri. 7:00 p.m. | Sat. 8:00 p.m.
THIS WEEK
Western Michigan continues National Collegiate Hockey Conference play and returns home to host the University of North Dakota on Friday and Saturday.
Friday's game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start, while Saturday is at 8 p.m. to accommodate broadcast on America Sports Network and TSN2 across Canada.
LAST WEEK
WMU went on the road to complete the season series with St. Cloud State, falling to the Huskies both nights.
In Friday's game the Broncos trailed 1-0 heading into the second period but the Huskies scored four times to break the game open, 5-0. Western Michigan scored twice in the third period but didn't keep pace, falling 8-2.
On Saturday WMU's offense picked up but the team still trailed 6-3 heading into the third period. The lead could have been a small as 6-4 but a last-minute goal by Sheldon Dries at the end of the second period was disallowed after it was ruled it went off a Dries' high stick. SCSU added a goal in the third period to push the final score to 7-3.
AT A GLANCE: THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS
• THE SERIES: North Dakota holds an 11-1-0 lead in the all-time series, including a 6-0-0 lead in Kalamazoo. Three of WMU's last four losses at home to North Dakota have been by one goal, with all being 3-2 final scores.
• AGAINST THE FIGHTING HAWKS: Nolan LaPorte leads all scorers with three points on one goal and two assists in seven career games against North Dakota. Aidan Muir is the only other Bronco on the roster to have tallied against the Fighting Hawks. Lukas Hafner has a 1-3-0 record with a 2.00 goals against average and a .930 save percentage in five appearances against UND.
• PRO POTENTIAL: North Dakota's 11 NHL draft picks are the most on a team that Western Michigan will face this season. Amongst the 11 are two first-round draft picks in sophomore Nick Schmaltz and freshman Brock Boeser. Boeser's 15 goals are the second-most by a freshman in the NCAA so far this season.
• SCOUTING THE FIGHTING HAWKS: North Dakota (20-3-3, 11-2-1-1) heads into the weekend ranked No. 2 in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls. UND entered the season ranked fourth and has not fallen further than fifth all season.
The Fighting Hawks boast the second-best offense, ninth nationally, in the NCHC at 3.58 goals per game overall. Senior Drake Caggiula leads the team in scoring with 30 points on 15 goals and 15 assists. Freshman Brock Boeser, a first-round draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks, is tied with Caggiula for the team lead with 15 goals and also has 12 assists on the season. Sophomore forward Nick Schmaltz, a first-round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks, leads the team in assists with 24. Junior Troy Stetcher is the top scoring defenseman on the team with 19 points on five goals and 14 assists.
Defensively the Fighting Hawks have the third-best defense in the nation at 1.77 goals allowed per game. Sophomore Cam Johnson missed a significant portion of the start of the season due to injury but since his return has been one of the top goalies in the nation. Johnson has started in 15 games with a 1.42 goals against average, four shutouts, a .942 save percentage and an 11-1-1 record. Junior Matt Hrynkiw has a 9-2-2 record, a 2.18 goals against average and a .908 save percentage in 11 starts on the season.
UND's power play ranks 20th in the nation at 20-for-101 (19.8 percent) and is also second in the NCHC. Boeser leads the squad with four power play goals, while six others have tallied twice. North Dakota's penalty kill ranks 12th in the nation, killing off 86-of-101 power plays (85.1 percent). However, the Fighting Hawks are also the NCHC's most penalized team at 12.2 minutes in the box per game.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Broncos are home for just their second and third games in the month of January. Only three of their previous 13 games have been played at Lawson Ice Arena, where they are 6-2-1.
WMU's offense has been a key reason for its success at home this season, scoring 3.9 goals per game in front of the Lawson Lunatics. The power play also has been stellar, converting 8-of-32 chances (25 percent). A pair of freshmen in Griffen Molino and Colt Conrad have led the way offensively for the Broncos at home this season. Molino has 11 points on five goals and six assists, while Conrad has 10 points on four goals and six assists.
Including this weekend's series against North Dakota, Western Michigan has six of its final 10 games of the regular season at Lawson.
THANK YOU KEN
Prior to the start of Saturday's game the WMU hockey team and the Varsity “W” Club will honor long-time Bronco hockey supporter Ken Dickie as the 2016 Man of the Year.
Dickie began his association with the hockey program back in the 1960's when he first met Harry Lawson and Ed Edwards as a hockey referee in Ohio. Dickie's support continued when he became a faculty member at Western Michigan University. Since the 2011-12 season Dickie has worked as the Volunteer Alumni and Events Coordinator for the program. He writes and sends out the monthly alumni news letter, helps plan the annual Hockey Alumni and Friends golf outing, spearheads WMU's Ice Duchenne weekend, is Selection Committee Chair for the Bronco Hockey Ring of Honor, and takes part in helping coordinate many other activities involving the hockey program.
ICE DUCHENNE
With the upcoming home games the Broncos will be hosting their annual Ice Duchenne game on Saturday, Feb. 20 against Miami. Ice Duchenne began back during the 2011-12 season after former associate head coach Rob Facca's son Louie was diagnosed with the disease. Duchenne's muscular dystrophy is the most common fatal genetic disorder diagnosed during childhood, affecting approximately one in 3,500 boys worldwide. The disease results in the degeneration of muscle and affects the legs, heart, lungs and brain. While there is no cure, aggressive therapy and treatments have helped Louie and many boys around the world slow the effect of the disease.
Fans coming to the game will receive a free “No Bad Days” Ice Duchenne bracelet. A collection will also be taken and all proceeds will be going to the Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD).
CHALK TALK
Head coach Andy Murray will be hosting his second “Chalk Talk” of the season on Feb. 2 at 6:30 p.m. in the front lobby of Lawson Ice Arena. Coach Murray will discuss team strategies, upcoming opponents, past games, the challenges of Division I hockey and the life of a college hockey coach. The event is free to Blue Line Club members and $5.00 to the general public. Seating is limited so please RSVP to the WMU Hockey Office and Lynn Ross at 269-397-3049.
