THIS WEEK
Western Michigan heads on the road for the first time in National Collegiate Hockey Conference play, heading to No. 4 St. Cloud State to take on the Huskies on Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. on Saturday. Both games will be live on NCHC.tv and heard live on the Bronco Media Network.
 
LAST WEEK
WMU opened NCHC play with a home sweep of Miami, winning 7-1 and 5-2. Senior captain Jason Polin had back-to-back hat tricks as the Broncos earned six points.
 
In Friday's win the Broncos jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a power play goal by Jamie Rome and Polin's first of the night. After MU cut into the lead midway through the second period, Polin, Carter Berger and Jack Perbix all scored goals in the final five minutes of the period. Berger and Perbix's goals came on a major power play. Poling completed his hat trick with a short-handed goal at 3:43 in the third period to push the lead to 6-1 before Zak Galambos added a power play goal on another major power play.
 
Polin got the Broncos started on Saturday with a goal at 14:05 in the first period to take a 1-0 lead. Red Savage tied things up with a goal at 2:23 in the second period, but just over five minutes later Polin had scored twice to complete his hat trick, giving WMU a 3-1 lead. Daniel Hilsendager netted his first goal of the season at 8:35 in the third period to push the lead to 4-1 before a power play goal by Alex Kumlin cut the lead to two. Polin had a chance for a fourth goal after creating an opportunity with an empty Miami net but passed it off to Max Sasson for the easy tap-in.
 
AND THAT MAKES THREE
Freshman forward Ryan McAllister has been named the KJ Branding NCHC Rookie of the Week in three of the last four weeks. His first honors came after a five-point weekend in the sweep of Bowling Green. He then had five points in the two one-goal losses against Michigan. Last week he had six points in the sweep of the RedHawks, assisting on three goals each night.
 
McAllister, who was named the NCHC Rookie of the Month for October, leads the team with 19 points on five goals and 14 assists. His 14 helpers leads the nation and he is currently second in the nation in scoring behind Michigan freshman Adam Fantilli.
 
THE PRODUCTION LINE
Western Michigan's top line of Ryan McAllister, Max Sasson and Jason Polin have created problems for opposing teams all season long. The trio have been on the same line for all 11 games this season, producing 19 goals and 38 assists for 57 points. McAllister has a 5-14-19 score line so far this season, with Polin at 9-7-16 and Sasson at 5-10-15.
 
+11
On average, Western Michigan has outshot its opponent by 11 shots per game this season. WMU averages 34.82 per game and allows just 23.0 per game. The 23.0 shots allowed per game ranks WMU fourth in the nation, tied with Bemidji State.

No. 4 ST. CLOUD STATE HUSKIES | 8-2-0, 1-1-0 NCHC
THE SERIES: The Broncos went 2-1-1 against St. Cloud State last season, cutting SCSU's lead in the all-time series lead to 18-13-5.
 
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES: St. Cloud State had been one of the few remaining unbeaten teams in the country until a split against Bemidji State back on Oct. 28 and 29. Last week, SCSU opened NCHC play with a split at No. 2 Denver, opening the weekend with a 4-3 overtime-win before falling on Saturday, 3-2.
 
SCSU averages 3.2 goals per game this season and is led by transfer Grant Cruikshank with 13 points on eight goals and five assists. Cruikshank began his career with Colorado College before transferring to Minnesota last season and then on to St. Cloud State for this year. Union transfer Dylan Anhorn is the top-scoring defenseman on the team with 12 points on two goals and 10 assists. Zach Okabe has five goals and five assists, while Jami Krannila has 10 points on four goals and six assists.
 
The Huskies allow just 1.80 goals per game so far this season, tied for fourth-best in the nation. Dominic Basse and Jaxon Caster have split games in net, with each starting in five games. Basse has a 4-1-0 record with a 1.61 goals against average and a .937 save percentage. Castor also has a 4-1-0 record with a 1.79 goals against average and a .927 save percentage.
 
ON THE HORIZON
Western Michigan returns home to host Minnesota-Duluth next Friday at 7 p.m. and on Saturday at 6 p.m. Tickets are available at www.wmubroncos.com/tickets.