Men's Ice Hockey | January 30, 2020

THIS WEEK
Western Michigan head on the road for National Collegiate Hockey Conference play, traveling to Omaha for a pair of games on Friday and Saturday. Friday's game, starting at 8:36 p.m., will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network. Saturday's game starts at 8:07 p.m. and can be streamed on NCHC.tv. The Bronco Radio Network will also provide coverage for both. 

LAST WEEK
WMU extended its winning streak to four games with a pair of 6-2 wins over St. Cloud State on Friday and Saturday. 

The Broncos opened Friday's game with three straight goals in the first period. Paul Washe gave WMU the initial lead at 7:59, followed by Jared Kucharek at 14:!1 and Hugh McGing at 15:16. The Huskies pegged one back on a goal by Jack Ahca at 19:48. Wade Allison scored on the power play 3:20 into the second period to push the lead to 4-1 before Luke Jaycox brought the lead back to two with a goal at 10:32 in the third. SCSU pulled its goalie for the extra-attacker, with Western Michigan taking advantage and Ronnie Attard scoring a 200-foot empty-net goal at 17:52. Brett Van Os added a goal with just over two seconds left in the game.

WMU jumped out to another 3-0 lead on Saturday, this time with Attard, Michael Joyaux and Allison all scoring on the power play. Jack Wahlin cut the lead to 3-1 but Dawson DiPietro sent the Broncos to the first intermission up 4-1 after a breakaway goal with 1:05 left. Easton Brodzinski got one back for St. Cloud State at 1:56 in the second period but Joyaux tallied his second of the game early in the third period and Josh Passolt sealed the win with his fourth goal of the season at 8:13 in the third period. 

THE OMAHA MAVERICKS | 11-10-5, 6-5-3-0, NCHC
• THE SERIES: Omaha leads the all-time series 27-20-6 and the Broncos are 12-13-0 under head coach Andy Murray. Senior captain Hugh McGing leads all WMU players in scoring against the Mavericks with 10 points on three goals and seven assists in 15 career games. Senior defenseman Cam Lee has nine points, all assists, in 15 games. Senior forward Dawson DiPietro has been the most prolific scorer against UNO, with nine points on four goals and five assists in just 10 games. 

• THE LAST TIME AROUND: The two teams met up once already back in November in Kalamazoo, with each team coming away with a win. 

The Broncos took the opener thanks to two goals by Paul Washe and a game-winning short-handed tally from Austin Rueschhoff. WMU held a 3-1 lead until a late goal by Taylor Ward with 34 seconds remaining after Omaha emptied its net. Freshman goalie Brandon Bussi had 30 saves in the win. 

The Mavericks took Saturday's game, 6-3, thanks to a four-point performance by Kevin Conley that featured a hat trick. After Omaha jumped out to a 3-1 lead, the Broncos battled back to tie it up on Ethen Frank's second goal of the night at 8:30 in the second period. Conley completed his hat trick at 15:52 and Ward scored with 6:30 remaining in the game to push the lead to 5-3 before Josh Boyer added an empty-net goal with 19 seconds remaining. 

• SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS, AGAIN: Omaha is unbeaten in its last four games, with two ties against Denver and a road sweep of Colorado College. The eight points over the four games helped move UNO into fifth place in the NCHC standings.   

The Mavericks are tied for eighth in the nation in scoring offense at 3.38 goals per game. Sophomore forward Taylor Ward leads the team with 22 points on a team-high 13 goals and nine assists. Junior forward Kevin Conley has 20 points on nine goals and 11 assists, while sophomore forward Taylor Weiss has 18 points with a team-high 14 assists in four goals. Zach Jordan is second on the team in goal scoring with 11., while freshman Joey Abate has nine. Freshman Brandon Scanlin is the top scoring defenseman on the team with 11 points on two goals and nine assists. 

Defensively, Omaha is tied for 39th in goals allowed at 2.96 per game. UNO's main goalie has been freshman Isaiah Saville, starting in 20 of the 26 games this season. The Vegas Golden Knights' draft pick has an 8-6-4 record with a 2.92 goals against average and a .899 save percentage. Fellow freshman Austin Roden has made six starts with a 3-4-1 record, a 2.70 goals against average and a .908 save percentage. 

Omaha's power play ranks 28th at 19.3 percent (21-of-109). Ward leads the team with four power play goals, while Conley has three. Chayse Primeau, Jordan, Teemu Pulkkinen and Scanlin each have two. The penalty kill ranks 27th at 81.7 percent (89-of-109) and are the sixth-most penalized team in the nation, averaging 14.5 minutes per game in the box.

INSIDE THE STREAK
Western Michigan's four-game winning streak is its longest of the season. The Bronco offense has averaged 5.8 goals per game during the stretch and it's the first time the team has scored five or more goals in four straight games since the 2003-04 season. 

Wade Allison and Hugh McGing have recorded points in each of the four games. Allison has seven points on four goals and three assists, while McGing has seven on three goals and four assists. Sophomore defenseman Michael Joyaux has six points on four assists and two goals. Freshman goalie Brandon Bussi has played every minute in net during the winning streak, posting a 2.00 goals against average and a .932 save percentage. WMU's power play has been on fire during the four games at 41.7 percent (5-of-12).

VOTE HUGH AND PAUL FOR HOBEY
Western Michigan senior captain Hugh McGing and Paul Washe have been nominated for the Hobey Baker Award. Fans can head to www.HobeyBaker.com/vote to vote for WMU's pair. McGing leads the Broncos with 17 points on four goals and three assists, while Washe has a career-high 16 points on a team-best eight goals and eight assists, 

When voting for the Hobey Baker Award, fans are asked to make sure to keep in mind the qualities that a nominee must display: Exhibit strength and character, both on and off the ice; Contribute to the integrity of the team; Display outstanding skills in all phases of the game; Show scholastic achievement and sportsmanship.

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.