KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan heads west to Denver for a two-game set with the Pioneers, beginning on Feb. 2 at 9 p.m. ET at Magness Arena. WMU grabbed four out of six points against Denver back in December. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos dropped an overtime game to Colorado College last Saturday night at Lawson Arena. Alex Bump provided the lone goal for the Broncos. WMU picked up two points in the conference standings during the two-game series. 

HOBEY BAKER HOPEFULS
Sam Colangelo, Luke Grainger and Dylan Wendt were announced as Hobey Baker nominees on Jan. 26, marking the second straight season WMU has had three players make the initial watch list. 

The Broncos have had four finalists for the award in program history. Jason Polin was the most recent, as he made the top-10 last season. Dan Dorion was honored twice as a finalist, including a runner-up finish in 1985-86. Wayne Gagne was the runner-up for the award in 1986-87. 

On the season, Grainger has totaled 35 points on eight goals and 27 assists. He leads the team in both points and assists and those marks are both top-five in the nation. 

Wendt has also been excellent for the Broncos, as he's posted 31 points on 19 goals and 12 assists in 24 games thus far. He leads the team in goals and is tied-for-third in the nation. 

Colangelo has been a well-rounded offensive contributor, scoring 15 goals and dishing out 13 assists so far this season. He's been lethal on the power play, netting six goals on the man advantage. Nationally, he is ranked 15th in goals.  

ROAD SWEET ROAD
Despite having one of the best home atmospheres in college hockey, Western Michigan has proven to be a tough out on the road this season. In 10 road games this season, the Broncos have produced a 7-2-1 record, with just one loss coming in regulation. 

The run extends beyond just this season, as WMU has been a solid road team for quite some time. Since Pat Ferschweiler took over as head coach in 2021-22, the Broncos have collected 31 road victories. 

That mark is the most in the NCHC over the last three seasons. Denver checks in at No. 2 in the league with 28 road wins in that stretch. Of the other six teams in the league, no one is over 24 road victories in the last three seasons. 

MILESTONE TRACKER
A few Broncos are inching closer to big milestones in their career, including Cameron Rowe, Luke Grainger, Zak Galambos and Sam Colangelo. 

Rowe is two wins away from 50 in his career. With a pair of victories this weekend, he'd be just the fourth active player in the NCAA with 50 or more wins. He'd be joining Michigan Tech's Blake Pietila, Michigan's Jake Barczewski and Minnesota's Justen Close. 

Grainger, Galambos and Colangelo are all nearing 100 career points, with Grainger being the closest at 90. Galambos sits at 85 and Colangelo has 82. Should all three reach that mark, they would become the 61st, 62nd and 63rd players in program history to reach 100 career points. Ethen Frank was the last Bronco to reach the century mark, tallying his 100th career point during the 2021-22 campaign. 

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Denver enters the weekend after getting swept by North Dakota in Grand Forks. The Pioneers are currently tied-for-third in the conference standings. Western Michigan grabbed four points from DU back in December. 

The Pios boast the top offense in the nation, scoring five goals per game. Leading the way offensively has been Massimo Rizzo, who has 42 points on 10 goals and 32 assists this season.

Jack Devine has also played a huge role, as he leads the nation in goals with 21. He has 40 total points in 26 games. 

Defensively, Zeev Buium and Shai Buium have been outstanding for Denver on the back end, combining for 55 points on 12 goals and 43 assists. Zeev Buium is the highest scoring defenseman in the NCHC. 

In net, the Pioneers have looked to Matt Davis and Freddie Halyk. Davis owns an 8-3-2 record, 2.79 goals against average and .895 save percentage. Halyk is 8-4-0 this season with a 2.91 goals against average and .883 save percentage. WMU scored five goals on Halyk in a 7-3 victory back on Dec. 8. 

50 YEARS OF BRONCO HOCKEY
Throughout the season, WMU has been celebrating the 50th anniversary of varsity hockey, which has included a 50th anniversary logo at center ice and tributes to former players and coaches. 

Last week, the program welcomed back a bunch of former players and coaches for alumni weekend at Lawson Arena. The weekend series began with a special recognition of former WMU captain Danny DeKeyser, who was recently inducted into the Bronco Athletic Hall of Fame. 

The Broncos also had a ceremonial puck drop with Rob Hodge and Bernie Saunders to go along with a special in-game tribute to welcome back all of the former players and coaches that came back to Kalamazoo for the weekend.

Prior to last weekend, Western Michigan has honored former coach Bill Wilkinson, former captains Brian Tulik and Brent Brekke, former NHLer Joe Corvo, former teammates Derek Roehl and Brett Beebe and former off-ice official Bill Saunders. 

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. 14 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.