Men's Ice Hockey | February 14, 2019

THIS WEEK
Western Michigan returns to the friendly confines of Lawson Ice Arena to host North Dakota on Friday and Saturday. Friday's game starts at 6:30 p.m. due to national television coverage by CBS Sports Network. Saturday's game starts at the normal time of 7:05 p.m. 

TRAFFIC ALERT
Due to an event at Miller Auditorium on Saturday, hockey fans are encouraged to arrive early to the game to avoid traffic issues outside of Lawson Ice Arena. Doors open an hour prior to puck drop. 

LAST TIME OUT
WMU is coming off a bye week but prior to that the team went to Omaha and split with the Mavericks. 

The Broncos opened the series with a 4-3 win. Western Michigan went down 2-0 after UNO scored in the first period and early in the second period. WMU answered with three straight goals by Luke Bafia, Dawson DiPietro and Ethen Frank to take a 3-2 lead into the third period. Omaha's Travis Kothenbeuetel leveled the score at 3-3 at 14:47 in the third period, but Frank netted the game-winner on a power play with 14 seconds remaining. 

The Mavericks jumped out to another 2-0 lead to start off Saturday's game before Austin Rueschhoff cut it in half before the end of the first period. UNO opened the second period with three straight goals to build a 5-1 advantage. Wade Allison and Colt Conrad both tallied in the final six minutes of the period but the Broncos were unable to break into the lead any further, with Omaha adding an empty-net goal in the third period. 

THE NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS
• THE SERIES: Western Michigan recorded the program's first road sweep of North Dakota back in November, taking down the Fighting Hawks 2-0 and 6-2. UND still leads the all-time series at 18-6-0 but the Broncos hold a 5-3-0 advantage in the last eight games.

Senior forward Colt Conrad leads all WMU players in scoring against North Dakota. Conrad has nine points on four goals and five assists in 12 career games. Senior defenseman Corey Schueneman has eight points on one goal and seven assists, while junior forward Wade Allison has averaged a point per game in his career against the Fighting Hawks. Allison has seven points on four goals and three assists in seven games. 

• THE LAST TIME: Western Michigan went up to Grand Forks and swept North Dakota, kicking off an unbeaten run of 10 games (9-0-1). The Fighting Hawks opened the series hammering WMU with shots. Senior goalie Trevor Gorsuch made 28 of his game-high 32 saves in the first two periods, but the Broncos wrestled control of the game in the third period. Josh Passolt gave Western Michigan a 1-0 lead with 7:36 remaining in the game and Colt Conrad added an empty-net goal with 1:37 to play. Gorsuch earned his second shutout of the season in the victory.

North Dakota struck first the following night but WMU responded with six straight goals. Conrad tied the game up midway through the first period. Corey Schueneman gave WMU a 2-1 lead before Wade Allison pushed it to 3-1 on a power play goal. Passolt wrapped up the scoring in the second period to extend the lead to 4-1 before netting his second of the night just 3:23 into the third period. Hugh McGing added a late power play goal before Rhett Gardner scored UND's second of the night with 11 seconds left. Conrad had four assists on the night and became the first Bronco to tally five points in a game since Justin Kovacs had five assists in a win over Union on Nov. 29, 2014.
 
• SCOUTING THE FIGHTING HAWKS, AGAIN: North Dakota (13-12-2, 7-8-1-0 NCHC) finds itself in unfamiliar territory, sitting outside the National Collegiate Hockey Conference's top four in fifth place. UND is 2-3-1 in its last six games and comes to Kalamazoo off a loss and tie at Denver,prior to a bye week. 

The Fighting Hawks rank 46th in the nation in scoring at 2.52 goals per game, but it's not for a lack of chances. UND has had a +260 total shot advantage on its opponents this season, averaging 32.3 per game and holding opponents to just 22.6. Sophomore forward Jordan Kawaguchi leads the team in scoring with 19 points on six goals and a team-high 13 assists. No North Dakota player has yet to reach 10 goals this season but senior forward Rhett Gardner is the closest at eight. UND has generated plenty of offense from its defensemen, with Jacob Bernard-Docker, Matt Kiersted, Colton Poolman and Gabe Best combining for 17 goals. 
Defensively, the Fighting Hawks rank 20th in the nation at 2.44 goals allowed per game. Freshman Adam Scheel has started 22 games this season, taking on the load after sophomore Peter Thome suffered a long-term injury. Scheel has a 12-9-1 record with a 2.03 goals against average, a .910 save percentage and one shutout. 

UND has struggled to score on the power play, ranking 48th in the nation at 15.2 percent (16-for-105). Gardner and Nick Jones are tied for the team-lead with three power play tallies. The penalty kill ranks 29th in the nation at 81.6 percent (84-for-103).

GETTING THE BAND BACK TOGETHER
Last season, before long-term injuries occurred, the line of Dawson DiPietro, Colt Conrad and Wade Allison was WMU's most productive. The three were finally reunited back on Jan. 25 against Denver and have been paired together for the past four games. The trio has combined for 12 points on four goals and eight assists.

Last season the group combined for 67 points on 30 goals and 37 assists when on a line together in 17 games. 

POWERING UP
After going through a couple of lulls, the WMU power play has heated back up in recent weeks. In Western Michigan's last four games the team is 5-for-17 (29.5 percent) on the power play. In two of the games, the Broncos tallied twice with the man advantage. WMU is 9-3-0 this season when scoring on the power play. Hugh McGing and Josh Passolt are tied for the team lead in power play goals with five each. 

HOME SWEET HOME
Western Michigan has been stellar this season in the friendly confines of Lawson Ice Arena. The Broncos have posted a 10-2-1 record. WMU is averaging 3.8 goals per game in those 13, with Josh Passolt lighting the lamp 10 times. The defense has also been strong, allowing just 2.4 goals per game. Senior goalie Trevor Gorsuch is 9-1-1 with a 1.81 goals against average and a .935 save percentage at Lawson this season. 

ON THE HORIZON
WMU heads back on the road in NCHC play next weekend, heading to Colorado College. Friday's game starts at 9:37 p.m. ET, while Saturday's starts at 6:37 p.m.