KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Western Michigan opens the regular season against Ferris State on Thursday night at Lawson Arena. WMU will unveil its 2024-25 National Championship banner prior to the game. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos handled the USNTDP, winning by a final score of 7-0 on Oct. 4 at Lawson Arena. The Brown and Gold had six different goal scorers and 12 different players with at least one point. 

Grant Slukynsky led the way with four points, while Zach Nehring and Liam Valente each had three. Hampton Slukynsky recorded 11 saves in net to earn the shutout.  

BLAZING BRONCOS
WMU concluded last season as the hottest team in the nation, and the Broncos have a chance to make history early in the 2025-26 campaign. 

Western Michigan enters the season on a 10-game winning streak, which is just two games behind the longest win streak in program history. That mark was set back in the 1986.

The streak hasn't been easy, as the Brown and Gold have beaten six ranked teams in that stretch. That includes three top-10 victories. 

GOING STREAKING
Owen Michaels and Joona Väisänen were valuable pieces to last season's National Championship team, and they open the season with some extra motivation. 

Michaels is currently riding a five-game point streak, owning four goals and three assists during that stretch. Väisänen has recorded an assist in each of his last three outings. 

The duo combined for 62 points on 22 goals and 40 assists last season. Both were named to the Frozen Four All-Tournament Team. 

Joining the team this season, William Whitelaw and Zaccharya Wisdom have point streaks on the line. Whitelaw is currently on a four-game streak, while Wisdom holds a three-game streak. 

Finishing up his 2024-25 season at Michigan, Whitelaw had two goals and two assists over his last four games. Wisdom was able to tally one goal and four assists over his final three games at Colorado College. 

ON THE OFFENSIVE
Western Michigan was the top scoring team in the nation last season, and the Broncos will look to maintain that status with a wealth of offensive weapons returning. 

WMU returns nearly 60 percent of its scoring from last season, which is the most returning production under Ferschweiler. The Brown and Gold welcome back seven of the top 10 scorers from last year's squad. 

Leading the charge at forward will be Owen Michaels and Grant Slukynsky. Michaels is the team's leading returning goal scorer, ending the 2024-25 campaign with 18 goals and 18 assists. Slukynsky led the team in assists, concluding the championship season with 10 goals and 26 helpers. 

Defensively, Western Michigan's top-two defensemen are back. Sam Sjolund and Joona Väisänen return after combining to produce 55 points on eight goals and 47 assists. The two also added 71 blocked shots and a +43 rating. 

HAMMER TIME
Hampton Slukynsky returns to Kalamazoo after a terrific freshman season, which saw him collect a 19-5-1 record to go along with a 1.90 goals against average and .922 save percentage. His GAA was the top mark in the NCHC and broke the program's single-season record. 

The Los Angeles Kings draft pick won 10 straight games to end the season, producing a 1.80 GAA and .917 save percentage in that stretch. 

Slukynsky was even better throughout the NCAA Tournament, boasting a 1.26 GAA and .943 save percentage. He didn't allow more than two goals in a game throughout the entire national tournament. 

The Warroad, Minn. native racked up the awards throughout the season, earning College Hockey News All-Rookie Team, All-NCHC Second Team, NCHC All-Rookie Team, and NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team honors. 

SPECIAL TEAMS SUCCESS
The Broncos proved to be one of the best teams on the power play and penalty kill all of last season, finishing top-10 in the nation in both categories. 

The PK unit was able to kill penalties at an 86.7 percent clip, which was first in the NCHC and fourth in the nation. During the middle portion of last season, WMU killed 42 consecutive penalties. 

On the power play, Western Michigan was able to convert 25.7 percent of the time. That mark was good for fourth in the conference and sixth in the country. Liam Valente was the biggest weapon, scoring eight times on the man advantage. 

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Western Michigan named Owen Michaels as the team's captain for the 2025-26 season. The junior forward is fresh off of a career season where he totaled 36 points on 18 goals and 18 assists. He was the Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player, scoring four goals in St. Louis. 

Michaels will be joined by Cole Crusberg-Roseen, Samuel Sjolund and Grant Slukynsky. That trio will serve as assistant captains for the Brown and Gold. They combined to produce 77 points on 17 goals and 63 assists last season. 

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Ferris State is off to an 0-2-0 start, getting swept at Miami last weekend. The Bulldogs lost 6-4 on Friday night before dropping the Saturday finale by a final score of 3-1. 

The Broncos are 88-53-15 all-time against Ferris State, including a 51-21-7 record at home. WMU is unbeaten against the Bulldogs in the last 12 meetings. The Brown and Gold won both matchups last season (4-1, 5-1). 

Connor McGrath and Christopher Lie each had three points on opening weekend against the RedHawks, while Josh Zary produced two goals. The Bulldogs had eight players record at least one point during their opening weekend series at Miami (OH). 

In net, Hobie Hedquist and Noah Rupprecht split the weekend. Hedquist had the better of the two outings, saving 24 shots and allowing just two goals. Rupprecht let in five goals and made 35 total saves. 

CONSISTENCY IS KEY
Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Western Michigan has been consistently among the top teams in the nation, and the polls reflect that. The Broncos have now made four straight NCAA Tournaments and sit at No. 1 in the national polls. The Broncos have been ranked in the top 20 since Oct. 11, 2021.