Men's Ice Hockey | October 12, 2016

THIS WEEK
The Western Michigan hockey team continues non-conference action with a home-and-home series against former Central Collegiate Hockey Association rivals Bowling Green on Friday and Saturday. The Broncos travel to BGSU on Friday for a 7 p.m. puck drop and then host the Falcons on Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets for Saturday's game are available at wmubroncos.com or by calling 1-888-4-WMUTIX.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Both games can be heard live on the Bronco Radio Network. Friday's game can be streamed live on WCHA.tv and Saturday's on NCHC.tv. Subscriptions are required for both. All WMU home hockey games not broadcast on national television are available on NCHC.tv.

LAST WEEK
The Broncos opened the 2016-17 season with a sweep of No. 20 Ferris State. Last Thursday WMU went up to Big Rapids and earned a 5-3 win, with five different players tallying goals. On Friday, Western Michigan prevailed at Lawson Ice Arena in a tight contest, 2-1. 

Corey Schueneman, Frederik Tiffels, Wade Allison, Lawton Courtnall, and Sheldon Dries all scored their first goals of the season in Friday's win. Ben Blacker made 31 saves in his collegiate debut and helped hold the Bulldog power play to just one goal on seven opportunities. The teams were deadlocked at 3-3 heading into the third period but Courtnall netted his first career goal at 11:31 to break the stalemate. Dries added an insurance goal with just 3:37 remaining to seal the win. 

On Saturday the Broncos held FSU to 18 shots on goal and allowed only a power play goal. Blacker made 17 saves, while Matheson Iacopelli and Scott Moldenhauer both scored in the second period to erase the 1-0 Ferris State lead. 

AT A GLANCE: BOWLING GREEN // 0-2-0
- THE SERIES: Bowling Green holds the all-time series lead 74-54-6. Last season WMU swept the series, with a 4-1 win at Lawson Ice Arena and a 1-0 win at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio (a Bowling Green home game).

Griffen Molino leads all Broncos against the Falcons with two goals and an assist for three points in two games. 

- SCOUTING THE FALCONS: BGSU is the second-straight matchup against a team from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association for WMU. Bowling Green was voted the favorites to win the WCHA by both the media and the league's coaches in the preseason polls. The Falcons opened up the 2016-17 season last weekend at Bemidji State, falling 2-1 and 4-1 against the Beavers. 

Bowling Green returns nine of its top-10 scorers from a team last season that went 22-14-6, including junior forward Brandon Hawkins. Hawkins finished 2016-17 with 28 points on 13 goals and 15 assists and was named to the Preseason All-WCHA team. Kevin Dufour is the team's top returning goal-scorer after tallying 14 times last season. Philadelphia Flyers draft pick Mark Friedman, now a junior, returns as the top scoring threat from the blue line with six goals and 17 assists for 23 points.

Junior goaltender Chris Nell is back after a stellar sophomore campaign. Last season he posted an 18-11-6 record with four shutouts, a 1.91 goals against average and a .930 save percentage. 

DOMINANCE AGAINST THE WCHA
Since joining the National Collegiate Hockey Conference in 2013, Western Michigan has posted an 9-1-2 record against schools from the WCHA. WMU is 2-0-0 against the Falcons, 3-0-1 against Ferris State, 1-1-1 against Alaska Fairbanks, 1-0-0 against Alaska Anchorage, 1-0-0 against Alabama-Huntsville and 1-0-0 against Michigan Tech. 

LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN
In WMU's sweep over No. 20 Ferris State, seven different Broncos scored goals. Corey Schueneman, Frederik Tiffels, Wade Allison, Lawton Courtnall, and Sheldon Dries scored in Friday's win. Matheson Iacopelli and Scott Moldenhauer both scored on Friday. Allison and Courtnall tallied their first collegiate goals, while Scheuneman and Iacopelli both equaled their goal totals from last season. 

NOT SO FAR FROM HOME
Friday's trip to Bowling Green is the lone non-conference game outside the state of Michigan for the Broncos. WMU has already played a home-and-home series against Ferris State, hosts Air Force (Nov. 18-19) and Arizona State (Feb. 4-5). Western Michigan also takes part in the Great Lakes Invitational (Dec. 29-30) at Joe Louis Arena against Michigan State and either Michigan or Michigan Tech. 

GOING HOME
The Broncos have one Ohio native on the roster. Freshman forward Dawson DiPietro hails from Medina, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. WMU hockey athletic trainer David Florea is also an Ohio native. Florea is from Toledo and is also a Bowling Green alum.