THIS WEEK
It's playoff hockey time! Western Michigan welcomes Omaha for a best-of-three National Collegiate Hockey Conference Quarterfinals series at Lawson Ice Arena this Friday, Saturday and Sunday (if necessary). All three puck drops are set for 7:05 p.m. The series will also be streamed live on NCHC.tv and heard live on the Bronco Media Network.
 
LAST WEEK
The Broncos wrapped up third place in the NCHC after finishing off the regular season with a sweep over Miami.
 
WMU downed MU 5-3 on Friday with goals from Ethen Frank, Michael Joyaux, Daniel Hilsendager and Ronnie Attard. The RedHawks took an early 1-0 lead on a goal by Thomas Daskas just 6:25 into the first period. Frank tied it up on the power play at 9:17 in the period but Miami opened the second period with a power play goal to take the lead back. WMU responded with three straight goals in the second and third period to take a 4-2 lead. Miami pulled its goalie for the extra attacker with under three minutes to play and scored with 2:30 left before Attard added an empty-net goal with 2.9 seconds left to play.
 
On Saturday Brandon Bussi made 32 saves and the Broncos picked up goals from Drew Worrad, Frank and Jason Polin for the 3-0 win. Worrad gave WMU the lead with a goal at 5:41 in the first period. Frank pushed the lead to 2-0 at 14:05 in the second period before Polin sealed the victory with a goal at 15:57 in the third.
 
25
Fifth-year senior Ethen Frank's pair of goals against Miami pushed his nation-leading total to 25 on the season. It has been 17 seasons since a Bronco has reached 25 goals, with Frank matching Brent Walton's total from the 2005-06 season. The last Bronco to reach 26 was Jeff Campbell during the 2000-01 season.
 
14
Saturday's win over the RedHawks was WMU's 14th conference win of the season, setting a new program best for conference wins since the Broncos joined the NCHC. The previous best of 13 was reached in 2016-17 and 2018-19.
 
4
In last Saturday's win over Miami the Broncos and junior goalie Brandon Bussi recorded the team's fourth shutout of the season. Bussi tied WMU alums Frank Slubowski (2012-13) and Riley Gill (2006-07) for the second-most shutouts in a season. As a team, WMU had not recorded four shutouts in a season since 2013-14.
 
THE OMAHA MAVERICKS | 21-15-0, 11-13-0 NCHC, 6^th
- THE SERIES: The teams split earlier in the season in Kalamazoo, with Omaha retaining the all-time lead at 32-22-6. The two teams have met before in the NCHC Quarterfinals back in 2017. The Broncos took the series, 2-1, with Michael Rebry scoring the series-clinching goal just 34 seconds into overtime. Ethen Frank leads all Broncos in scoring against the Mavericks with 11 points on nine goals and two assists in 16 career games. Drew Worrad has eight points in 10 games on one goal and seven assists. Brandon Bussi is 3-3-0 all-time against Omaha with a 2.55 goals against average and a .908 save percentage.
 
- SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS: Omaha finished the season 4-2-0 in its final six games, all at home, with a sweep of St. Cloud State and splits with Denver and North Dakota. The Mavericks have struggled on the road this year, posting a 7-9-0 record.
 
Omaha averages 3.25 goals per game this season and is led by senior Taylor Ward, nephew of former Bronco great Colin Ward. Ward has 38 points in 36 games on 18 goals and 20 assists. Junior defenseman Brandon Scanlin is the top point producer form the blue line and is one of three players tied with 31 points. Scanlin has six goals and a team-high 25 assists. While Ward is the only double-digit goal-scorer on the team, UNO has four skaters with nine goals and another four with eight.
 
Junior Isaiah Saville has made 28 starts in net on the season, posting a 16-12-0 record with a 2.42 goals against average and a .910 save percentage. Saville made 41 saves in a 1-0 shutout of the Broncos back in December. Junior Austin Roden has made eight starts on the year with a 5-3-0 record, a 2.53 goals against average and a .918 save percentage.
 
UNO's power play has been lethal on the season at 25.1 percent (45-for-179). Ward has 12 of his 18 goals with the man advantage, while Scanlin and fifth-year senior Kevin Conley are tied for second on the team with five. The penalty kill comes in at 81.7 percent (143-for-175).
 
ON THE HORIZON
The winner of the series advances to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Semifinals next Friday. The Broncos are also a lock for the NCAA Tournament with the selection show set for Sunday, March 13.