Men's Ice Hockey | January 17, 2019

THIS WEEK
No. 10/11 Western Michigan heads on the road to take on No. 2/2 St. Cloud State on Friday and Saturday. Friday's game is slated for 8:07 p.m. and Saturday's puck drop will be at 7:07 p.m. Both games can be seen on Fox Sports North Plus and NCHC.tv. The games can also be heard live on the Bronco Radio Network. 

WATCH PARTY
The WMU Hockey Blue Line Club is hosting a watch party for Saturday night's game at Niskers Char-Grill Burgers & Slap Shot Hockey Bar on the corner of Drake Road and W. Main Street in Kalamazoo. 

LAST WEEK
Western Michigan hosted National Collegiate Conference rival Miami, sweeping the RedHawks after wins of 4-3 and 3-2.

In the series opener the WMU took a 3-1 lead into the third period thanks to goals by Colt Conrad, Ethen Frank and Hugh McGing. Miami cut the lead to 3-2 on Gordie Green's second goal of the game but Josh Passolt netted the game-winner with 8:17 to go. Brian Hawkson made the contest closer with a late goal and the RedHawks pulled their goalie but the Broncos held them off. 

On Saturday the teams traded goals in both the first and second period. Passolt gave WMU a very early lead on his 13th goal of the season. MU's Derek Dashke tied it up at 14:17. Passolt scored again, this time at 13:09 in the second period to give WMU a 2-1 lead before Jonathan Gruden tied it up at 18:34. Freshman defenseman Mattias Samuelsson fired a shot through traffic and into the net for the game-winning goal at 5:25 in the third period. The RedHawks again pulled their goalie but the Broncos closed the game down for the sweep.

ST. CLOUD STATE HUSKIES || 15-3-2, 7-1-2 NCHC
• UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT: There is a new bench boss for St. Cloud State. Brett Larson, formerly an assistant at Minnesota-Duluth, takes over for the departed Bob Motzko. Motzko left to take the head coaching job at the University of Minnesota. 

• THE SERIES: St. Cloud State leads the all-time series at 12-4-4, with an 8-4-1 advantage in St. Cloud. All of WMU's wins in the series have come at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. 

• SCOUTING THE HUSKIES: St. Cloud State has spent a significant time at the top of both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Magazine polls but dropped to No. 2 after splitting with Minnesota-Duluth last weekend. The Huskies went 13-1-2 during the 2018 portion of their season but are just 2-2-0 since the start of 2019. 

St. Cloud State boasts the second-best offense in the nation, averaging 3.90 goals per game, while posting 3.50 per game in conference play.  Seniors hold the top three scoring spots, led by forward Patrick Newell. Newell has a team-high 23 points on 11 goals and 12 assists. Robby Jackson sits just behind him with 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points. Jimmy Schuldt is third on the team with 18 points on six goals and 12 assists and is the top-scorer from the blue line. Junior defenseman Jack Ahcan has a team-high 16 assists to go with his two goals for 18 points, Forward Nolan Walker is the top-scoring freshman on the team, also with 18 points on five goals and 13 assists. 

Defensively the Huskies rank 11th nation, allowing 2.15 goals per game overall and 2.20 in conference play. Sophomore Dávid Hrenák has started 14 of the 20 games in net this season, posting an 11-2-1 record with two shutouts, a 2.26 goals against average and a .902 save percentage. Hrenák has started nine of the 10 NCHC games this season. Senior Jeff Smith has started six games overall with a 4-1-1 record, two shutouts, a 1.89 goals against average and a .922 save percentage. 

St. Cloud State's special teams also rank among the nation's best. The power play sits ninth at 25 percent (19-for-76). Sophomore Ethan Brodzinski leads the team with four of his nine goals coming with the man advantage. Newell and Schuldt each have three tallies on the power play, as well. SCSU's penalty kill ranks fourth in the nation at 88.1 percent (59-for-67) and its 67 power plays is the fewest in the nation among non-Ivy League schools, who have played fewer total games so far this season.

AND THE STREAK ROLLS ON
Thanks to a loss by Providence, Western Michigan now holds the current longest unbeaten streak in the nation at 10 games, going 9-0-1 during the stretch. WMU is 5-0-1 in NCHC play and 4-0-0 away from Lawson Ice Arena. 

The team has outscored opponents 38-17 and has allowed more than two goals in a game just twice. Senior Trevor Gorsuch has started every game during the streak, posting a 1.69 goals against average and a .941 save percentage. 

Sophomore forward Josh Passolt has scored 10 of the team's 38 goals during the streak, which has catapulted him to the top of the NCHC scoring race with 12 points on seven goals and five assists in 10 total conference games. Senior forward Colt Conrad has nine assists to go with four goals during streak for 13 points. Hugh McGing has been equal parts scorer and distributor with six goals and six assists, while Austin Rueschhoff has eight assists during the streak, pushing his career-high helper total to 10. 

VOTE FOR COLT, AND JOSH…. AND HUGH
The Hobey Baker Fan Vote has begun. Colt Conrad, Josh Passolt and Hugh McGing have been nominated for the prestigious award. Fans can vote daily at www.hobeybaker.com/vote

TRENDING UPWARD
Despite going unbeaten in the last 10 games the WMU penalty kill has lagged behind this season. The Broncos are coming off one of their best efforts on the penalty kill this season, going a combined 6-for-6 against Miami in their sweep of the RedHawks. Not only was it the first time WMU has held opponents scoreless on the power play in a weekend, it's the first time it has held opponents scoreless in back-to-back games. 

ON THE HORIZON
The NCHC meat grinder continues next weekend with the Broncos welcoming No. 3 Denver to Lawson Ice Arena. Both games are at 7:05 p.m. and can be seen live on NCHC.tv. Tickets are available by calling 1-888-4-WMUTIX and online at www.wmubroncos.com/tickets.