KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan heads to Minnesota for a two-game series with St. Cloud State. The series opener is set for Friday, Feb. 23 at 8 PM ET on CBS Sports Network. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos were on bye last week but the squad grabbed a series victory over Omaha back on Feb. 9-10. After taking four of a possible six points from the Mavericks during that weekend, Sam Colangelo (Forward of the Week), Alex Bump (Rookie of the Week) and Cameron Rowe (Goaltender of the Week) each earned NCHC weekly awards. 

COLANGELO'S RED HOT RUN
Senior Sam Colangelo has been one of the Broncos' best players all season, and that hasn't changed since the calendar turned to 2024. 

In the new year, the Anaheim Ducks draft pick has played in 12 games totaling 16 points on eight goals and eight assists. That includes four goals over his last three games. 

On the season, Colangelo has tallied 35 points on 19 goals and 16 assists. All three of those marks are new career highs and are top-15 in the NCHC. 

He's currently on a three-game point streak where he's posted seven points on four goals and three assists. 

GALAMBOS CALLS GAME
Graduate Student defenseman Zak Galambos has had a knack for showing up in the big moments over the course of his career, and nothing has changed this season. 

In his career, Galambos has seven game-winning goals, including four this season. His four game winners this season ranks ninth in the country and third in the conference. 

More than half of the Walnut Creek, Calif. natives goals this season have been game winners, as he has seven total tallies in 28 games. 

He had back-to-back game winners against Colorado College and St. Lawrence in November before grabbing the winning tallies against Lindenwood and Miami (OH)  in January. 

Galambos has been the most productive defenseman of the team, collecting 17 points on seven goals and 10 assists so far this season.  

DON'T YOU KNOW, BUMP IT UP
Freshman Alex Bump has blossomed into one of the nation's best players, as evidence by his inclusion on the Tim Taylor Award watch list. The award is given annually to the best first-year player in the country. 

The Philadelphia Flyers draft picks is currently riding a career-high seven game point streak, where he has totaled nine points on four goals and five assists. 

On the season, Bump is fourth on the team in points with 24. He has nine goals and 15 assists. He is top-20 in the league in all of those categories. 

GRAINGER'S QUEST FOR 100 POINTS
Senior captain Luke Grainger is nearing the century mark for points in his career, as he currently sits at 95. Forty of those points have come this season, as he's put together a career-best senior campaign. 

Should Grainger reach 100 points for his career, he'd be the 61st player in program history to reach the milestone and the first since Ethen Frank in 2021-22. Frank now has a professional contract with the Washington Capitals. 

Grainger has improved each year on campus, tallying eight points as a freshman, 15 as a sophomore, 32 as a junior and now 40 so far in his senior season. 

Now in his fourth season with the Broncos, Grainger has turned into a Hobey Baker nominee and leads the team in points and assists. He has 11 goals and 29 helpers in 28 games this year. 

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
St. Cloud State enters the weekend in second place in the conference and just one point behind league leader North Dakota. The Huskies are 3-1-1 in their last five games. 

Defenseman Dylan Anhorn has led the way in the points column, tallying 26 in 28 games. He has six goals and 20 assists so far this season. 

Aiding the attack has been Kyler Kupka, who has scored 25 points on 11 goals and 14 assists. Veeti Miettinen leads the team in goals with 13. 

In net, Dominic Basse has been the go-to player between the pipes. On the season, Basse has produced a 12-9-2 record, .901 save percentage and 2.62 goals against average. 

Isak Posch has played sparingly, posting a 2-0-2 record, 1.70 goals against average and .940 save percentage. 

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. 

On Jan. 26-27, 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.

Throughout the season, Western Michigan has honored former coach Bill Wilkinson, former captains Ryan Mahrle, 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.