KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Western Michigan will head out west to take on Arizona State for the first time as conference foes. The series opener is set for Feb. 21 at 9 PM EST. WMU has won 11 of its last 12 games.  

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos collected a weekend sweep of Omaha, tallying a 5-4 OT win on Friday before securing a dominant 6-1 victory on Saturday. Cam Knuble, Zach Nehring and Joona Väisänen all had three points in the series. 

ROAD WARRIORS
WMU has been exceptional on the road this season, continuing a trend that began when head coach Pat Ferschweiler took over in 2021-22. 

Since Ferschweiler took over, Western Michigan has produced 42 road victories, which is tied for the most in the conference with Denver. No other team has more than 35 road victories in that stretch. 

WMU is 8-3-0 (.727) away from home this season, which is the fourth highest road winning percentage in the country. All three of WMU's road losses are to teams that are currently ranked. In conference play, WMU is 7-1-0 on the road. That one road setback came in overtime. 

PENROSE PURSUIT
The Broncos are on the edge of making history, as the program has never won a regular season championship since elevating to Division 1 in 1975-76.

The Brown and Gold sit in first place with 45 total points and six games remaining. Arizona State is second with 40 points, while Omaha (38) and North Dakota (31) round out the top four. ASU and Omaha have just four games left to play. 

Western Michigan can clinch the outright title this weekend with two regulation wins. The Broncos can clinch at least a share of the Penrose Cup with a regulation win and overtime win this weekend. Anything less than five points this weekend would make next weekend's series against North Dakota the next opportunity to clinch the title. 

THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
The Broncos have been outstanding on both ends of the ice, resulting in the best scoring margin in the nation (1.96). Nationally, WMU ranks third in scoring defense (1.79) and fourth in scoring offense (3.75). The Broncos are the only team in the nation to be top four in both categories. 

Offensively, WMU's depth of scoring has played a large role. Thirteen different players are at 10 points or more, while six have reached 20-plus points. Alex Bump leads the way with 32. Western Michigan's power play has also been key, sitting at 26.8 percent. That is good for fifth in the nation. 

Defensively, WMU has gotten it done in a variety of ways. The Broncos block nearly 12 shots per game, leading to sixteen players having 10 or more blocks this season. Furthermore, the Brown and Gold are second in the nation on the PK with a mark of 91.3 percent. Outside of that, Western Michigan is allowing just 26 shots per game, which is top 15 in the country. 

BUMP IT UP
Sophomore Alex Bump has been WMU's best player throughout the season, entering the weekend with 32 points on 14 goals and 18 assists. He is just four points away from matching his career high from last year. 

The Prior Lake, Minn. native has taken his game to another level since the start of the new year. In 2025, Bump has recorded 20 points on nine goals and 11 assists in 12 games. That includes six multi-point efforts.

A Philadelphia Flyers draft pick, Bump is a Hobey Baker nominee and sits fourth in the NCHC in total points. Along with that, he is top five in the league in goals, game-winning goals and shots. 

SCOUTING THE SUN DEVILS
Arizona State has been strong over its last 10 games, holding a 6-3-1 record in that stretch. The Sun Devils sit in second place in the NCHC with 40 points. They trail Western Michigan by five points. 

The two teams have only met twice, with WMU holding a 1-0-1 edge in the all-time series. The Broncos and Sun Devils squared off in Kalamazoo on Feb. 3-4, 2017. 

ASU is lethal on offense, with four players having 30 points or more. Lukas Sillinger leads the way with 32 points on eight goals and 24 assists. Artem Shlaine has chipped in 31 points on 13 goals and 18 assists. 

In net, Luke Pavicich and Gibson Homer have split time. Pavicich has gotten most of the work lately, boasting an 11-7-0 record, 2.37 goals against average and .912 save percentage. Homer has produced a 6-4-2 record, 2.64 GAA and .913 save percentage. Homer has the only two shutouts of the season for the Sun Devils. 

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. WMU has made three straight NCAA Tournaments and currently sits at No. 3 in the nation. The Brown and Gold received 16 first-place votes in the latest USCHO poll. That was the most in program history. 

The Broncos have been ranked in the top 20 since Oct. 11, 2021.