KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Western Michigan returns home for a series against St. Lawrence on Nov. 24 and Nov. 25. WMU leads the all-time series, 7-5-1.  

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos had a dominant showing this past weekend, completing a sweep of Colorado College. On Saturday, Nov. 18, Cameron Rowe earned a shutout in a 4-0 victory, while Dylan Wendt tallied two goals. Luke Grainger added four points in the victory. 

50 YEARS OF BRONCO HOCKEY
WMU will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of varsity hockey this season, which will be commemorated in a variety of ways. Along with a 50th anniversary logo at center ice, there will be special in-game tributes to former players and teams and an alumni weekend for the Colorado College series on January 26 and 27. 

Throughout the season, WMU will welcome back former captains and key players from the last 50 years to participate in a One Last Lap promotion, along with other events. Former captain Brian Tulik, former NHLer Joe Corvo and former teammates Derek Roehl and Brett Beebe have joined the festivities thus far, and more players are scheduled to join for upcoming games. 

GRAINGER, ROWE NAB NCHC WEEKLY AWARDS
After a sweep of Colorado College, Western Michigan collected a few NCHC weekly awards, nabbing Forward of the Week and Goalie of the Week. 

Captain Luke Grainger was awarded NCHC Forward of the Week honors, after he contributed on every goal in the sweep of CC last weekend. He tallied two goals and five assists. Grainger scored three points in Friday's win and followed that up with four points the next night. 

Thanks to an excellent weekend between the pipes, Cameron Rowe earned the league's Goalie of the Week Award. He finished the weekend sweep with a 0.50 GAA, .980 save percentage, and 48 saves. He also collected his first shutout of the season. 

Rowe had 25 saves in Friday's victory and followed that up with a 23-save shutout on Saturday. 

AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
Luke Grainger and Dylan Wendt have solidified themselves as two of the top players in the country, with each sitting among the nation's best in multiple statistical categories. 

Through 10 games this season, Grainger has 19 points on six goals and 13 assists. He is first in assists per game (1.30), third in points per game (1.90), tied for fourth in assists (13) and tied for fifth in points (19). 

Wendt has been strong as well, tallying 15 points on nine goals and six assists. Nationally, he is fifth in goals per game (0.90), tied for sixth in points per game (1.50), tied for seventh in goals (9) and tied for 15th in points (15) and power play goals (3). The two have played the entire season together on the first line and lead the team in nearly every offensive category.  

SPECIAL TEAMS SUCCESS
Western Michigan has been excellent on the power play and penalty kill throughout the season. The WMU power play is currently sitting at 23.3 percent, which is good for third in the NCHC and 12th in the nation. The Broncos have scored seven times in 30 chances. 

On the penalty kill, WMU has been able to shut teams down, holding a mark of 87.8 percent. Teams have scored just five times on 41 attempts. With that, the Broncos rank first in the NCHC and 11th in the nation. 

Western Michigan scored twice on the power play this past weekend and held Colorado College to 0-for-10 on the man advantage, including a 0-for-8 night in Saturday's 4-0 victory. 

WELCOME BACK, BREKKE
When Western Michigan and St. Lawrence take the ice this weekend, Saints coach Brent Brekke will be in familiar territory, as he suited up for the Broncos from 1990-94. He was the assistant captain in 1992-93 and served as the team's captain for the 1993-94 season. 

Over the course of his career, Brekke played in 154 games totaling 54 points on nine goals and 45 assists. He piled up the accolades as well, earning CCHA Best Defensive Defenseman and CCHA All-Rookie Team honors, among other things. Additionally, the WMU hockey program added him to the Ring of Honor in 2015. 

Along with his personal achievements, Brekke was able to help WMU make the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history in 1993-94. The Broncos ended that season with a 24-13-3 record. 

SCOUTING THE SAINTS
St. Lawrence enters having lost four of its last five games and currently holds a 3-8-1 overall record. 

The Saints are averaging 2.33 goals per game and give up 3.33 through 12 games this season. St. Lawrence has been solid at getting pucks on net, averaging just under 30 shots per game. However, the Saints have struggled to block shooting lanes, getting under 10 blocked shots per game. 

Leading the way so far this season has been Felikss Gavars and Tomas Mazura. Both have 10 points, with Gavars tallying seven goals and three assists. Mazura has three goals and seven assists. 

In net, Ben Kraws has started 10 games, boasting a 2.80 goals against average and .906 save percentage. Grant Adams has also seen action in two games, holding a 4.12 goals against average and .844 save percentage. 

CONSISTENCY IS KEY
Since early in the 2021-22 season Western Michigan has been consistently among the top teams in the nation, and the polls reflect that. WMU has made back-to-back NCAA Tournaments and cracked the top-five of the USCHO poll each of the last two seasons. 

The Broncos have been ranked in the top-20 since Oct. 11, 2021 and currently sit at No. 15 in nation. 

A CHANCE AT HISTORY
The 2023-24 Broncos will have a chance to make history, as the program has never reached the NCAA Tournament in three consecutive seasons. WMU has made back-to-back appearances on two separate occasions (2011 & 2012, 2022 & 2023). 

In 2022, the Brown and Gold earned a No. 1 seed in the tournament and picked up the first NCAA Tournament win in program history. The Broncos upended Northeastern, 2-1, in overtime.