HALIFAX, Nova Scotia – Western Michigan head hockey coach Pat Ferschweiler wrapped up his stint as assistant coach with USA Hockey at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship on Thursday, winning a bronze medal after a thrilling 8-7 overtime victory over Sweden. 

Ferschweiler joins WMU Hockey alum and current Buffalo Sabre defenseman Mattias Samuelsson as Broncos that have won medals at the prestigious U-20 tournament. Samuelsson won silver medals in both of his appearances. Ferschweiler is also the first head coach in program history to win a medal at the tournament.  

The Stars and Stripes went 3-1-0 during group play with wins over Latvia, Switzerland and Finland to advance to the knockout round. USA then throttled Germany, 11-1, before falling to Canada in the Semifinals. In the bronze medal game, USA led 1-0 after the first 20 minutes before a wild second period that resulted in a 5-5 tie heading into the third. Both teams notched two more goals to head to overtime before Chaz Lucious won the game early in overtime.  

Ferschweiler rejoins the Broncos as they resume play next weekend at North Dakota on Friday at Saturday. Both games will be live on NCHC.tv and can be heard live on the Bronco Media Network.