Men's Ice Hockey | December 05, 2019

THIS WEEK
Western Michigan closes out 2019 hosting National Collegiate Hockey Conference leaders No. 3 North Dakota on Friday and Saturday at 7:05 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW
• FRIDAY/SATURDAY: Video: NCHC.tv | Audio: 96.5 FM/jackfm965.com

MILITARY APPRECIATION NIGHT
Saturday night's game will be Western Michigan's Military Appreciation Night. The Broncos will don special military-themed jerseys for the game. The game-worn jerseys will be auctioned directly after the game ends at www.wmubroncos.com. The auction will last until Friday, Dec. 13 at 11:59 p.m. Commemorative pucks will also be sold at the game. A portion of the proceeds from the auction and puck sales will go to the Western Michigan University Office of Military and Veteran Affairs.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos enter the weekend coming off a bye week but in prior action earned a split at No. 4 Denver.

In the series opener, freshman goalie Brandon Bussi made 35 saves and WMU picked up goals from Mattias Samuelsson and Ethen Frank to down the Pioneers. Samuelsson netted his first goal of the season just 2:21 into the first period to put the Broncos up 1-0. Frank scored at 10:57 in the first to push the lead to 2-0. Rhett Kingston and Hugh McGing each assisted on both goals for two-point nights. Bussi made 14 of his saves in the second period, allowing DU's lone goal at 10:14. Western Michigan then outshot the Pioneers 16-8 to limit their chances in the third period. The win was just the second in program history at Magness Arena.

Western Michigan dropped the Saturday game, 6-1. Denver scored once in the first period before Kingston tied it up at 3:51 in the second period. The Pioneers went on to score five unanswered goals to down the Broncos. 

NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS (12-1-2, 5-0-1-1)
• THE SERIES: North Dakota leads the all-time series at 19-7-0. The Broncos are 7-14-0 all-time against UND under head coach Andy Murray. WMU's success against the Fighting Hawks have come in the past three seasons, going a combined 6-4-0, including the program's first sweep in Grand Forks last season. 

Senior forward Wade Allison leads Western Michigan in scoring against North Dakota with eight points on four goals and four assists in nine games. Senior captain Hugh McGing has seven points on two goals and five assists in 10 games, while junior forward Josh Passolt has four goals and one assist for five points in six games. Ben Blacker is 3-2-0 in seven appearances with a 2.34 goals against average and a .924 save percentage. 

• SCOUTING THE FIGHTING HAWKS: North Dakota jumped up to third in both national polls after sweeping Minnesota on the road, 9-3 and 3-2, last weekend. The Fighting Hawks come to Kalamazoo riding the nation's longest unbeaten streak at 11 games, going 10-0-1 with the only blemish a 1-1 tie at then No. 1 Denver. UND has quickly ascended to the top of the NCHC standings, sitting in first place with a four-point lead on Minnesota-Duluth and a six-point lead on the Broncos. 

UND's offense ranks fourth in the nation at 4.13 goals per game. Junior Jordan Kawaguchi has been on fire and was recently named the NCHC Player of the Month. Kawaguchi leads the team in points with 22, goals with seven and assists with 15. He had 16 points in the month of November. Sophomore defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker is second on the team with 14 points on three goals and 11 assists, while junior forward Collin Adams is third on the team with 13 points on five goals and eight assists. In total, the Fighting Hawks have seven different players with at least five goals so far this season. 

North Dakota ranks third in the nation in goals allowed per game at just 1.67. Sophomore Adam Scheel has started in every game and played all but 2:35 in net this season. Scheel has a 12-1-2 record with a 1.64 goals against average and a .917 save percentage. UND has allowed opponents just 20.13 shots per game through 15 games. 

The Fighting Hawks' power play ranks 36th in the nation at 17.5 percent (10-for-57). Sophomore forward Jasper Weatherby leads the team with three power play goals, while Bernard-Docker has two and is the only other player with more than one. The penalty kill ranks seventh at 90.4 percent (47-for-52) and UND averages just 9.1 minutes in the penalty box. 

PAUL WASHE: KING OF THE DRAWS
Junior Forward Paul Washe sits alone as the best faceoff taker in the nation so far this season. Washe has a win percentage at 67.4 percent (176-85). Washe is tied for fourth in overall faceoff wins with 176.

Because of his prowess, the Broncos also rank first in the nation in faceoff win percentage at 56.4 (500-387).  Junior Austin Rueschhoff is second on the team at 53.1 percent (104-92) and senior Hugh McGing is third at 52 percent (104-96). 

TOTAL ECLIPSE
Three Broncos have already eclipsed previous season-best point totals through just the first 14 games this season. Junior Paul Washe has 14 points on a career-high seven goals and seven assists, with his previous season best at 11 in 2018-19. Sophomore forward Rhett Kingston had three points during his freshman season and is up to eight in just 11 games played this season with four goals and four assists. Sophomore defenseman Michael Joyaux had four points last season and has seven so far this season, all coming as assists. 

SUNDAY GAME AT LAWSON? SUNDAY GAME AT LAWSON!
The North Dakota series signals the end of 2019 for Western Michigan. The Broncos do not return to action until a home-and-home series against Notre Dame on Jan. 3 and 5.  WMU travels to UND on Friday, Jan. 3 and then gets a day off before hosting the Fighting Irish on Sunday, Jan. 5 at 5:05 p.m. The return game being on Friday gives the Lawson Lunatics a chance to return from the semester break and cheer on the Broncos before heading to class the next day. 

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.