Men's Ice Hockey | October 31, 2019

THIS WEEK
Western Michigan heads on the road to open National Collegiate Hockey Conference play at Colorado College on Friday and Saturday. Friday's game is slated for a 9:37 p.m. puck drop, with Saturday's at 8:07 p.m. Both games can be streamed live with a NCHC.tv subscription. Radio coverage will be provided by the Bronco Radio Network on 96.5 FM in the Kalamazoo area and at jack965fm.com

LAST WEEK
The Broncos battled the University of Michigan in a home-and-home series, with each team winning its home game. 

WMU opened the series at Michigan, falling 4-0. The Wolverines jumped to an early lead thanks to two goals in the first eight minutes of the first period. Michigan pushed the lead to 3-0 on a power play goal just 39 seconds into the second period and added a fourth goal just 16 seconds into the third period. 

The Broncos rebounded on Saturday to take down U of M, 4-1, at Lawson Ice Arena. Flipping the script from Friday, it was WMU that jumped out to the early 2-0 lead. 

Drew Worrad redirected a shot by Luke Bafia past Michigan's Strauss Mann and into the net to put the Broncos up 1-0 just 1:04 into the first period. Western Michigan pushed ahead to 2-0 at 3:01 on Kale Bennett's first career goal at 3:01. Freshman forward Jason Polin landed a back-hand shot on net and the rebound bounced out to Bennett at the top of the right circle. The senior defenseman spun and fired it into the net. The assist was the first of Polin's career, while Brett Van Os picked up his first assist of the season. Michigan scored early in the second period before Paul Washe responded at 5:00 with the first of his two power play goals on the night. WMU led 3-1 until the final minute, when Washe scored again with nine second left. Freshman goalie Brandon Bussi made 25 saves on the night to pick up his second career win. 

COLORADO COLLEGE TIGERS | 2-2-0
• THE SERIES: Western Michigan holds a 12-8-4 lead in the all-time series. Since the creation of the NCHC the Broncos have managed to earn points on every trip to Colorado Springs and are 3-4-3 since 2013 at World Arena. Junior forward Josh Passolt leads all Broncos in scoring against the Tigers with 12 points on two goals and 10 assists in nine games. Classmate, and often linemate, Austin Rueshhoff has nine points in nine career games on seven goals and two assists. Ben Blacker has seen the most action against CC, posting a 4-1-1 record, a 2.42 goals against average and a .892 save percentage in seven career games. 

• SCOUTING THE TIGERS: Colorado College has split two home series so far this season, having yet to leave the friendly confines of World Arena. CC opened the season with a split against Minnesota, winning 3-2 and losing 4-3. Last weekend the team opened with a 3-1 win over Michigan State before losing 5-1 to the Spartans on Saturday. 

The Tigers are tied for 29th in the nation in scoring, averaging 2.50 goals per game heading into NCHC play. CC lost its top three scorers from last season in Trey Bradley, Westin Michaud and Mason Bergh. Senior Nick Halloran would have been up near the top if not suffering a season-ending injury. Halloran is healthy and sits second on the team in scoring with five points in three games played, leading the team with five assists. Senior forward Chris Wilkie leads the team in points with six on three goals and six assists. Last season defenseman Brian Yoon finished fourth on the team in scoring with 26 points on three goals a team-high 23 assists.  The NCHC All-Rookie Team selection has four points so far this season, all assists. 

Goalie Alex Leclerc departed the program after signing a pro contract after his junior season. Senior Ryan Ruck and freshman Matt Vernon have split starts this season. Each have a 1-1-0 record but Ruck has played in over a 100 minute more than Vernon. Ruck has a 2.80 goals against average and a .909 goals against average. CC's defense ranks tied for 36th at 3.00 goals allowed per game.

The Tiger power play is tied for 24th in the nation at 16.7 percent (3-for-18). Wilkie, Ben Copeland and Grant Cruikshank have each tallied with the man advantage this season. The penalty kill is tied for 45th in the nation at 75 percent (9-for-12), but Colorado College has averaged just 6.5 penalty minutes per game through its first four games. 

ENDING THE DROUGHT
WMU's four goals in Saturday's win over Michigan snapped a streak of three straight games with one goal or fewer, with the team losing all three. The two goals in three games was the fewest since a run of the same in 2018. WMU was shutout by Minnesota-Duluth and then held to a goal in losses. The Broncos then went to Colorado College to fall 2-1 before snapping the drought with an 8-2 win over the Tigers. 

POWERING UP
A big reason the Broncos got off the slide was the power play. WMU went 2- for-6 on the night, with junior forward Paul Washe netting both goals. Prior to Washe's two, the last power play goal scored by a Bronco came in WMU's 5-2 win over Bowling Green on Oct. 12. Western Michigan had gone 0-for-14 until Saturday's win over the Wolverines. 

ON THE HORIZON
WMU takes a break from NCHC play and battles state rival Ferris State next Friday and Saturday. The Broncos host the Bulldogs on Friday at 7:05 p.m. before traveling to Big Rapids on Saturday for an 8:07 p.m. start.

SEASON NOTES
• LEAGUE LEADERS
Western Michigan returns the most goals and total points in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. The Broncos return 112 goals, 22 more than Minnesota-Duluth's 90. Combined, WMU also returns 271 total points, once again just head of the Bulldogs, who return 265. 

Western Michigan did lose its leading point scorer in Colt Conrad, who wrapped up his career with a 38 points season on 11 goals and 27 assists. From there, WMU returns its next six top scorers, including senior captain Hugh McGing and junior forward Josh Passolt, who tied for the team lead with 16 goals each. The Broncos also return double-digit goal scorers in junior forward Austin Rueschhoff (13) and junior forward Ethen Frank (15). Senior defenseman Cam Lee is the top returning assist man after dishing out a career-high 19 last season. 

• SUPER SENIORS
WMU has nine seniors this season, the most ever by an Andy Murray coached team and the most in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. The class is tied for fifth nationally with Michigan, Michigan State, Dartmouth, and Yale. Boston College leads the nation with 11 seniors, followed by Penn State, American International and Alaska Fairbanks each with 10. 

• 47 & 46
Western Michigan begins its 47th season of college hockey, with senior forward Hugh McGing being named the 46th captain in program history. McGing will be assisted by senior defenseman Luke Bafia, senior forward Wade Allison, junior forward Josh Passolt and sophomore defenseman Mattias Samuelsson.