KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Old rivals collide, as Western Michigan and Miami will meet on the ice for a pair of games this weekend. The series opener is set for Friday at 7 PM at Lawson Arena.
LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos were upended by Denver, 6-3, on Nov. 8 at Lawson Arena.
Grady Gallatin,
Ty Henricks and
Liam Valente lit the lamp in the setback, while
Hampton Slukynsky made 28 saves in net.
Samuel Sjolund added a pair of assists for his second multi-point game of the season.
MILESTONE MOMENTS
Grady Gallatin and
Ryan Kusler were thrust into more prominent roles this past weekend, and they made the most of their opportunities.
Playing in just his second career game, Gallatin sparked the Bronco offense by ripping a shot into the back of the net against No. 9 Denver on Nov. 8. The goal was the first of his career, and the White Bear Lake, Minn. native finished the game with two shots and a +1 rating.
Kusler made his college debut on Nov. 7, going 6-for-7 in the faceoff circle. He followed that up with a strong performance the next night, earning his first career assist on Gallatin's goal. Kusler was also +1 in the game.
SWEDISH SUPERSTARS
The Broncos have dipped into the international talent pool over the last few seasons, finding some strong talent in Sweden.
Samuel Sjolund has proven to be WMU's most reliable blue liner, entering the weekend with eight points on three goals and five assists. The Stockholm, Sweden native has at least one point in four of his last five games, posting two goals and three assists in that stretch.
Valente has been red hot to start the 2025-26 season, taking seven points on six goals and one assist into this weekend's series. The Märsta, Sweden product has taken his game to another level over the last few weeks. Valente has found the back of the net four times in his last five games. He has scored at least once in every series so far this season.
A HELPING HAND
Grant Slukynsky has been pivotal to WMU's offensive success this season, scoring or assisting on 12 of the team's 32 goals. He has two goals and 10 assists heading into Friday's game.
The Warroad, Minn. native is first in the NCHC and fourth in the nation in assists per game (1.00). Additionally, he is fifth in the conference and 10th in the nation in total assists (10).
Slukynsky has at least one assist in every series this season, and he's picked up an assist in four of his last five outings. The veteran center has three multi-assist games this year.
DOMINATING IN THE DOT
Western Michigan junior captain
Owen Michaels has been outstanding in the faceoff circle to open the 2025-26 season. He is third in the NCHC and sixth in the nation with 129 total wins. Additionally, he ranks second in the conference with a 61.4 percent win rate.
Outside of him,
Ryan Kusler and
Grant Slukynsky have been strong as well. Kusler sits at just under 60 percent, while Slukynsky is a touch over 51 percent in the dot.
Under
Pat Ferschweiler, the Broncos have consistently won draws at a high rate. WMU has had the NCHC faceoff percentage leader each of the last three seasons.
BITTEN BY THE INJURY BUG
After a season full of health in 2024-25, the Brown and Gold have struggled to stay healthy this season.
Every eligible skater on the roster has played in at least one game, with the defense seeing the most turnover. Joona Väisänen suffered a lower-body injury at St. Cloud State, sidelining him long term. Outside of that,
Zack Sharp missed both games at St. Cloud State with a lower-body injury and
Zach Bookman missed WMU's Nov. 8 game against Denver with an upper-body injury.
Offensively,
Iiro Hakkarainen missed a game at UMass Lowell due to injury and
Owen Michaels was forced to leave the series opener against the Riverhawks with an injury.
In total, 24 skaters have seen the ice this season with just 11 of those players skating in all 10 games.
SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
Miami is off to a terrific start this season, winning seven of its first eight games. The RedHawks dropped their first game of the season a couple weeks ago, losing to Arizona State on Oct. 31.
WMU is 88-71-13 all-time against Miami, including a 48-27-7 record in Kalamazoo. The Brown and Gold have won 17 of the last 18 meetings in the series. The Broncos haven't dropped a game to the RedHawks at Lawson Arena since the 2020-21 campaign.
Kocha Delic and Matteo Giampa have been offensive weapons early in the season, combining for 21 points. Delic has five goals and six assists, while Giampa enters the weekend with three goals and seven assists.
In net, Matteo Drobac has started all eight games, boasting a 7-1-0 record, 2.61 goals against average and .911 save percentage. He has 214 total saves and one shutout this season.
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. 8 in the national polls. The Broncos have been ranked in the top 20 since Oct. 11, 2021.
