Men's Ice Hockey | December 29, 2016
Joe Louis Arena has been an integral part of the history of the Western Michigan hockey team. The Broncos are at the 2016 Great Lakes Invitational in the final year of hockey at The Joe, where they will play their 21st and 22nd and final games at the historic arena before the Detroit Red Wings and the GLI move to the brand new Little Caesars Arena.
The program's first appearance at Joe Louis Arena came in the 1984 Central Collegiate Hockey Association Semifinals and Finals. It was there that WMU defeated the eventual national championship Bowling Green team, 4-3, in double overtime to advance to the CCHA Finals. The Broncos lost in the finals to Michigan State, 5-0. But that first trip prepared them for the next one, two years later. Â
"That first time through we were just excited to be there," said former head coach Bill Wilkinson. "It was my second year coaching and it was just an incredible feeling to be there. It was an exciting time for us."
Western Michigan had plenty of early success under Wilkinson, the program's winningest coach, but it was the 1985-86 team that put the program on the map. A team that the players aptly nicknamed Team Chaos.
"There was always something that we screwed up," said Wilkinson about the team. "We started calling ourselves Team Chaos and it really loosened them up. It was a good aspect and they were a good group."
One notable screw up was forgetting to pack the jerseys for the CCHA Semifinals and Finals. Wayne Pushie, then the manager of Lawson Ice Arena, had to drive the team's jerseys to Joe Louis Arena the day of the semifinal game against Bowling Green.
The Broncos took a veteran squad to The Joe that postseason, but it was 18-year old goalie Bill Horn that stole the show.
"The Road to the Joe was paved by and for our senior class," said Horn. "I was very excited to get to play in those games. The big time NHL venue and college playoff hockey was an inspiration."
Horn made 41 saves as the Broncos defeated Bowling Green, 4-3, in a triple-overtime thriller. Captain Chris MacDonald scored the game-winning goal just 58 seconds into the third overtime. The next night WMU took care of business and rivals Michigan State, 3-1, to win the program's first CCHA Tournament Championship. Horn was named the MVP.
"The goal was to get to The Joe," added Wilkinson. "If you got there you knew you were one of the top four teams in the league. Playing in a NHL rink in front of 15,000 fans was always exciting."
Horn echoed his former coach, "Getting to The Joe was on my mind every day I practice and every game I played at WMU. Becoming a champion there as well as reliving those moments are highlights of my hockey career. I lived my dream while playing with and against many of the greats of college hockey."
A year later Horn earned his second MVP at Joe Louis Arena after helping Western Michigan to the program's first Great Lakes Invitational title.
