KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan will host Miami for the final regular season series of the 2023-24 campaign. The series opener is set for Friday, March 8 at 7 p.m. The Broncos and RedHawks split a series in Oxford, Ohio back in January.
LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos were swept by North Dakota last weekend, dropping the opening game of the series, 5-3. They then fell 3-0 the following night.
Matteo Costantini led the Broncos in points on the weekend, getting one goal and one assist.
GETTING IT DONE ON BOTH ENDS
Western Michigan is one of just four teams in the country to have a top-10 scoring offense and defense this season.
The Broncos are scoring 3.56 goals per game, while allowing just 2.44. Their 1.12 scoring margin is also ranked inside the nation's top 10.
Boston College, Boston University and Quinnipiac are the other three teams to have top-10 numbers in each category. That puts the Brown and Gold in good company, as BC and BU are No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation, while Quinnipiac is the defending national champion.
KILLIN' IT
Western Michigan's penalty killing unit has been one of the best in the country so far this season and sits at the top of the conference with just two games remaining in the regular season.
In 32 games, the Broncos have killed off penalties at an 83.8 percent clip, which is tied-for-12th in the country. They also lead the NCHC by more than 1.5 percent in that category.
WMU has killed off its last seven penalties and 26 of its last 30. North Dakota entered last weekend's series having a top-10 power play in the country. WMU held the Fighting Hawks scoreless on the man advantage and limited them to just two shots in four tries.
SENIOR DAY CEREMONY
The Broncos will honor 15 seniors this weekend for their contributions to the program. Nine of those seniors have been with the program throughout their entire careers.
Jacob Bauer,
Carter Berger,
Trevor Bishop,
Joe Cassetti,
Sam Colangelo,
Cedric Fiedler,
Luke Grainger,
Chad Hillebrand,
Daniel Hilsendager,
Cam Knuble,
Hugh Larkin,
Oliver MacDonald,
Ethan Phillips,
Cameron Rowe and
Tim Washe are the WMU seniors this season.
Over the last four seasons, WMU has collected 77 victories and made the NCAA Tournament twice. In 2021-22, WMU earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and posted the program's first ever tournament victory with a win over Northeastern.
FIGURING OUT THE NCHC QUARTERFINALS
WMU will be on the road for its opening series in the NCHC Quarterfinals, but the opponent is still to be determined.
The only spots locked in heading into Friday's action are North Dakota at No. 1, Minnesota Duluth at No. 7 and Miami at No. 8. The Broncos can claim either the fifth or sixth seed this weekend.
In the top half of the standings, Denver holds a two-point edge over St. Cloud State for the No. 2 seed. Colorado College isn't far behind either, trailing SCSU by two points and Denver by four points. DU and CC play this weekend.
WMU trails Omaha by three points in the standings entering the weekend. However, if the two teams tie, the Broncos would earn the higher seed. Western Michigan won the season series against the Mavericks by claiming two regulation wins compared to Omaha's two overtime victories.
As it stands right now, the matchups would be No. 8 Miami at No. 1 UND, No. 7 UMD at No. 2 DU, No. 6 WMU at No. 3 SCSU and No. 5 Omaha at No. 4 CC.
SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
Miami hasn't won a game since January 13 when it defeated WMU 4-3 in Oxford. The RedHawks have lost three in a row and 11 of 12. The only non loss is a tie at Denver on Feb. 23.
Miami is locked into the No. 8 seed in the NCHC Tournament and will travel to North Dakota next weekend for the opening round.
The RedHawks have been led all season by Matthew Barbolini. He leads the team in points (25), goals (11) and assists (14).
PJ Fletcher and John Waldron have been strong as well, however. The two have combined for 45 points on 20 goals and 25 assists.
In net, Logan Neaton and Bruno Bruveris have split time. Neaton has started 19 games, while Bruveris has gotten the start in 13 contests. Neaton holds a 6-11-2 record to go along with a 3.01 goals against average and .902 save percentage.
Bruveris carries a 1-11-1 record, 3.90 goals against average and .873 save percentage into the weekend.
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.
JERSEY AUCTION
The Western Michigan hockey program has started auctioning off authentic 50th Anniversary game jerseys. Bids start at $375 and go up by $25 increments. The auction runs through Saturday, March 9 and eight jerseys are available to bid on. All jerseys are customizable with name and number. To make a bid, visit WMUBroncos.com/Auctions.
