THIS WEEK
After a week off the Western Michigan hockey team is back in action, traveling back to the state of Minnesota to take on No. 4/5 St. Cloud State on Friday at 8:37 p.m. and Saturday at 7:37 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos had as scheduled bye week last weekend but prior to that they were swept up at Minnesota-Duluth.
 
In the series opener, WMU fell 5-1. The Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead in the first period. After a scoreless second, Drew Worrad netted his third goal of the season to cut the lead in half. Minutes later UMD made it 3-1 before tacking on two more goals to secure the win.
 
Minnesota-Duluth jumped out to a 3-0 lead with three goals in the first period on Saturday. Ty Glover scored to cut the lead to 3-1 at 2:22 in the second period but Noah Cates scored just 1:07 later to push it to 4-1. The Bulldogs held the Broncos off the scoreboard in the final 20 minutes.
 
THE REMARKABLE CONSISTENCY OF DREW WORRAD
Junior forward had a somewhat slow start to the season, with just one point in the first five games of the NCHC pod. After tallying two assists in a 5-2 win over Colorado College, the Birr, Ontario, native has tallied points in 12 of the last 13 games, including in each of the last six for his second six-game point streak of the season. The six game streaks are also a team-long this season.
 
Worrad leads the Broncos with 17 points on three goals and a team-high 14 assists. The 14 assists are a new career high and his point total matches his career-best output that he set last season. One of the biggest benefactors from Worrad's career season has been senior forward Ethen Frank. Worrad has assisted on eight of Frank's team-high 10 goals this season.
 
TURNING THE CORNER
Although the Bronco penalty kill had its struggles early on in the season, the group has flipped the script in recent weeks. WMU did give up two power play goals to UMD in the series sweep but finished 8-for-10 on the weekend. The PK unit has gone 13-for-15 in its last five games, good for 86.7 percent, well above the 74.2 percent average on the season.
 
HOME STRETCH
After this weekend Western Michigan will play three of its final four regular season games at Lawson Ice Arena, beginning with a series against Minnesota-Duluth next Friday and Saturday. The Broncos then have a home-and-home series with Miami. The RedHawks come to Lawson on Friday, Feb. 26, while the Broncos head down to Oxford on Sunday for a 2 p.m. start televised on CBS Sports Network.
 
VOTE FOR HOBEY
The Hobey Baker Fan Vote is now live at www.hobeybaker.com/vote. Fans can vote once daily for senior forward Ethen Frank or sophomore defenseman Ronnie Attard.
 
Frank leads the Broncos and is third in the NCHCwith 10 goals in 17 games played this season. He also has four assists and is tied for second on the team with 14 points. Frank has been lethal on the power play, with five is his goals coming with the man advantage. The Papillion, Neb., native also serves as an assistant captain for WMU.
 
Attard is Western Michigan's top-scoring defenseman with 12 points on four goals and eight assists this season. The Philadelphia Flyers' draft pick is currently tied for third in the NCHC in scoring among defenseman.
 
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
- After being swept by the Broncos, St. Cloud State responded by sweeping Miami at home with wins of 3-2 and 8-2 last weekend.
 
Freshman and reigning NCHC and NCAA Rookie of the Month Veeti Miettinen still leads the team in scoring with 18 points on nine goals and nine assists. Junior defenseman Nick Perbix is second on the team in scoring with 17 points on five goals and a team-high 12 assists. Perbix is tied with North Dakota's Matt Kiersted or top scorers among defensemen in the NCHC. The Huskies have seven players with at least five goals on the season, led by Miettinen's nine. Nolan Walker has seven, Sam Hentges has six, while Perbix, Jami Krannila, Easton Brodzinski and Kevin Fitzgerald each have five. SCSU has been averaging 3.18 goals per game, 18th-best in the nation.
 
Defensively, St. Cloud State ranks 20th in the nation and allows 2.65 goals per game. Senior David Hrenak has started in 13 of the 17 games this season, including both losses in Kalamazoo. He holds a 2.57 goals against average and a .911 save percentage. Sophomores Jaxon Castor and Joey Lamoreaux have each started two games on the season. Castor is 3-0-0 with a 2.00 goals against average and a .903 save percentage. Castor started in last week's 3-2 win over the RedHawks.
 
SCSU is tied at 10th nationally with the Broncos on the power play at 23.5 percent (12-for-51). Miettinen has five of the team's power play goals, while Brodzinski has three. St. Cloud State's penalty kill also ranks 10th in the nation at 86.9 percent (53-for-61).