THIS WEEK
The fifth-ranked Western Michigan hockey team closes out a three-week road trip battling St. Cloud State on Friday at 8:30 p.m. and Saturday at 7 p.m. Both games can be streamed live on NCHC.tv and heard live on the Bronco Media Network.
 
LAST WEEK
The Broncos went up to Colorado College and turned out their second road sweep in conference play this season.
 
On Friday night WMU picked up a hat trick from junior defenseman Ronnie Attard, while Max Sasson had a four-point game on two goals and two assists and the Broncos picked up goals from Ty Glover, Jason Polin and Hugh Larkin in the 8-2 win. Aidan Fulp had four assists and Josh Passolt had three, while WMU's power play went 5-for-7 on the night.
 
Saturday's win was a back-and-forth affair with the Broncos pulling out the win, 5-4, thanks to a late goal by Ethen Frank. Jason Polin netted his first collegiate hat trick in the victory, scoring WMU's first, second and fourth goals of the game. WMU took an early lead thanks to a breakaway by Polin at 3:05 in the first period. CC answered with two straight goals late in the first and early in the second to take its first lead of the weekend. Polin's second and then an unassisted goal from the blue line by Passolt gave the Broncos a 3-2 lead heading into the third period. The Tigers' Danny Weight tied it up at 3-3 with a goal at 8:28 before Polin's hat-trick goal at 11:49 gave WMU the lead back. Hunter McKown tied it up at 14:10 before Frank scored with 3:16 to play.
 
EN FUEGO
The Western Michigan power play has been on fire as of late, scoring in each of the past four games. The Broncos have tallied nine goals, going 3-1-0, during the stretch, going 9-for-20 (45 percent) with the man advantage. This is the second stretch of at least four consecutive games with a power play goal this season, the highest being five from Nov. 26-Dec. 10.
 
WMU has jumped up to fifth in the nation on the power play at 28 percent (33-for-118) and first in the NCHC, at 28.4 percent (21-for-77). Fifth-year senior Ethen Frank leads the team and is tied for third in the nation with eight power play goals, while junior defenseman Ronnie Attard is second on the squad with six. Senior defenseman Michael Joyaux has a team-best 16 points with two goals and 14 assists with the man advantage.  The Broncos are 12-3 when scoring on the power play.
 
ONE WIN MORE
The Broncos are currently tied with the 1985-86 team for the most road wins in program history with 12. Western Michigan is 12-3-0 on the road so far this season and has four road games, including the two this weekend against St. Cloud State, left on the schedule.
 
WMU is averaging 4.60 goals per game on the road this season. Junior defenseman Ronnie Attard has 23 of his 29 points in road games this season with nine goals and 14 assists. Senior forward Drew Worrad has also had the majority of his points come on the road, 19 of his 30. The power play has also been strong on the road this season, scoring at 31 percent (22-for-71).
 
NO. 10 ST. CLOUD STATE HUSKIES (14-9-2, 6-7-2 NCHC, 5th)
- THE SERIES: After a sweep at Lawson Ice Arena back in November, the Broncos now trail the all-time series 12-18-4 and are 8-2-0 in the last 10 against the Huskies. Senior defenseman Michael Joyaux leads the team in scoring against SCSU with 14 points on six goals and eight assists in 12 career games. Senior forward Cole Gallant has one goal and 11 career assists against the Huskies, while Ethen Frank has seven goals and four assists in 14 career games. Brandon Bussi is 4-0 all-time with a .943 save percentage and a 1.61 goals against average in five career starts.
 
- SCOUTING THE HUSKIES, AGAIN: St. Cloud State is currently on a five-game winless streak, but has some momentum after erasing a 2-0 deficit against Minnesota-Duluth on Tuesday night and winning a shootout after a 2-2 tie. The team is without its head coach Brett Larson, along with top defenseman Nick Perbix and forward Sam Hentges. All three are with USA Hockey in Beijing, China at the 2022 Olympic Games. Former WMU associate head coach Dave Shyiak has taken over behind the bench in Larson's absence.
 
The Huskies are averaging 3.88 goals per game, fourth-best in the nation just behind the Broncos. Senior forward Kevin Fitzgerald leads the team with 29 points on 13 goals and 16 assists. Perbix is second on the team with 23 points on three goals and 20 assists. In Perbix's absence, freshman Jack Peart is the top-scoring blue-liner with 14 points on two goals and 12 assists. Junior forward Jami Krannila has 22 points on 12 goals and 10 assists, while senior forward Easton Brodzinski sits right behind him with 21 points on 11 goals and 10 assists.
 
SCSU allows 2.40 goals per game, 15th-best in the nation. That number rises to 3.00 in conference play. Fifth-year senior David Hrenak has seen the majority of the time between the pipes, making 22 starts with a 12-8-2 record, 2.24 goals against average and a .917 save percentage with two shutouts.
 
The Huskies boast the nation's top power play at 35 percent (35-for-100). Fitzgerald and Zach Okabe are tied for the team lead in power play tallies with six each. Kranilla has five and Brodzinski and sophomore forward Veeti Miettinen each have four. The penalty kill ranks 16th at 84 percent (79-for-94).
 
A RETURN TO LAWSON ICE ARENA
The Broncos finally return home next weekend to host No. 3 Denver on Friday and Saturday at 7:05 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.wmubroncos.com/tickets and by calling 1-888-4-WMUTIX.