THIS WEEK
No. 3 Western Michigan resumes National Collegiate Hockey Conference play hosting No. 10 North Dakota on Friday and Saturday at 7:05 p.m.
LAST WEEK
Nothing
THE WEEK BEFORE THAT
Nothing
THE LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos have not taken the ice since the Dec. 29 win at Michigan State in the Great Lakes Invitational Showcase. WMU had series scheduled at Colorado State set for Jan. 14-15 but it was postponed due to COVID-19 issues within the Tigers' program.
Freshman Max Sasson and sophomore Chad Hillebrand scored in the first and second periods to give the Broncos a 2-0 lead before a Spartan power play goal cut the lead in half. WMU withstood an increased attack by MSU, with Cole Gallant sealing the victory with an empty-net goal with 43.3 seconds to play. Brand Bussi made 28 saves in the win.
PERFECT
With the win over the Spartans, Western Michigan finished its non-conference season with a perfect 7-0 record on the road. WMU defeated Ferris State, No. 1 Michigan, Colgate, St. Lawrence and Michigan State all on the road, including sweeps of the Raiders and the Saints.
FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME
Junior Brandon Bussi's performance in the GLI Showcase in the win over MSU helped earn him NCHC Goalie of the Month honors. The Broncos also had a road sweep at Miami and a home split with No. 14 Omaha in the month. Bussi posted a 4-1-0 record with a 2.02 goals against average and a .928 save percentage. In WMU's lone loss to the Mavericks he only allowed one goal.
Bussi is the first WMU goalie to ever earn the NCHC Goalie of the Month honors.
VOTE FRANK FOR HOBEY
WMU fifth-year senior Ethen Frank is the team's nomination for the Hobey Baker Award Fan Vote. Fans can vote daily for Frank at www.hobeybaker.com/vote.
Despite not playing in three weeks, Frank is still tied for the nation's lead in goals scored with 17 and has at least three fewer games played than Northern Michigan's AJ Vanderbeck and Boston College's Marc McLaughlin. Frank also has seven assists and sits second on the team with 24 points.
NO. 10 NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS | 13-8-0, 8-2-0 NCHC
- THE SERIES: North Dakota leads the all-time series at 25-7-0, including a 11-3-0 edge at Lawson Ice Arena. The Broncos went 0-2-0 against UND last season, with both meetings coming in "The Pod" in Omaha.
Josh Passolt leads all WMU players in points against the Fighting Hawks with six on four goals and two assists in 10 career games. Cole Gallant, Drew Worrad and Ronnie Attard all have three career points, with Attard putting up three assists in just four career games. Brandon Bussi is 0-3-0 with a 2.87 goals against average and a .898 save percentage.
- SCOUTING THE FIGHTING HAWKS: North Dakota was supposed to play Omaha last weekend but the series was postponed due to COVID-19 issues within UND's program. The last time the Fighting Hawks were in action they were swept at home by No. 14 Cornell 4-3 and 3-1 on Jan. 7-8. UND has only suffered two losses in NCHC play this season, a 4-1 loss to Minnesota Duluth and a 8-1 loss to St. Cloud State.
North Dakota ranks 19th in the nation in scoring, averaging 3.24 goals per game. Sophomore Riese Gaber leads the team in goals scored with nine and is tied with Olympic-bound defenseman Jake Sanderson for the lead in points with 22. Sanderson has six goals and a squad-best 16 assists from the blue line. Connor Ford is third on the team in scoring with 16 points on three goals and three assists, while Ashton Calder sits second on the team with eight goals.
Bemidji State transfer Zach Driscoll has started in 19 of the team's 21 games with a 12-7-0 record, a 2.66 goals against average and a .888 save percentage. The team has allowed 2.90 goals per game, ranking tied for 31st in the nation.
UND's power play is one of the best in the nation, coming in at ninth at 24.7 percent (19-for-77). Gaber has scored five of his nine goals with the man advantage, while Jake Schmaltz has the second-most on the team with three. The penalty kill ranks 34th at 80 percent (68-for-85).
ON THE HORIZON
Western Michigan is on the road for the next three weekends, traveling first to Minnesota-Duluth next Friday and Saturday for a pair of 8:07 p.m. puck drops. Both games can be seen live on NCHC.tv and heard live on the Bronco Media Network. WMU's next home game is Feb. 18-19 against No. 5 Denver. Tickets are available at www.wmubroncos.com/tickets.
