KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Western Michigan will return home for a series against St. Cloud State, beginning on Friday, Feb. 7. The weekend series will be the only meeting in the regular season between the two teams. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos won a series against Colorado College last weekend, taking four of the six possible points. Alex Bump had three points in the series, collecting a goal and two assists. Cameron Rowe improved to 13-1-0 on the season, earning a victory in Friday's game. 

POINT PROVEN
Alex Bump and Samuel Sjolund have been red hot over the last few weeks, with each carrying eight-game point streaks into the weekend series.

Bump is in the Hobey Baker conversation, sitting with 28 points on 12 goals and 16 assists this season. Over the last eight games, he has seven goals and nine assists. Five of those eight games have resulted in multiple points. 

The Philadelphia Flyers draft pick is on the longest point streak of his career and leads the team in scoring. He is eight points away from matching his career high. 

Sjolund has been just as good, producing career numbers in his junior season. The Swedish blue liner has 20 points on one goal and 19 assists this season. 

During his eight-game point streak, Sjolund has been able to record one goal and 11 assists. The streak is the longest of his career, and he is the team's leader in assists. 

HOME SWEET HOME
Western Michigan has been dominant at home this season, holding a 9-1-1 record at Lawson Arena. WMU is outscoring its opponents by a total of 42-18 at home. 

The Broncos haven't lost a game in regulation at home this season. The last time an opponent beat the Brown and Gold in regulation at Lawson Arena came back on Jan. 19, 2024. Minnesota Duluth split a series with WMU that weekend. 

Under head coach Pat Ferschweiler, Western Michigan is 40-20-2 at home. WMU leads the NCHC and is fourth in the nation in home winning percentage this season (.864). The Broncos are currently riding a four-game winning streak at Lawson Arena.  

KILLIN' IT
The Broncos haven't committed many penalties this season, but they've been able to kill the limited chances at an exceptional rate. WMU leads the NCAA in penalty kill percentage, entering the weekend at 93.1 percent. 

Western Michigan hasn't allowed a power-play goal in 15 straight games, with the last one coming back on Nov. 22, 2024 at Minnesota Duluth. WMU has allowed opponents to score just four goals on the man advantage all season. 

In total, the Broncos have killed off 38 consecutive penalties. In that stretch, Western Michigan has allowed opponents to get 36 shots. The Brown and Gold went 3-for-3 on the PK last weekend at Colorado College. 

PENROSE PURSUIT
The race for the Penrose Cup is heating up, as there are five weekends remaining in the regular season. Western Michigan and Arizona State are tied at the top of the conference with 34 points, while Omaha (31) and North Dakota (25) round out the top four. 

The Broncos have two games in hand on both ASU and Omaha. UND and WMU have played the same amount of conference games. Western Michigan has games against ASU, Omaha and UND down the stretch of the season. 

Looking at the history of the NCHC, the winner of the league has averaged 54.45 points. With 10 games remaining, Western Michigan can get as high as 64 points. That would be the highest point total in conference history. 

The Broncos have never won a regular season or tournament championship in the NCHC. WMU's highest point total and best finish came back in 2022-23. Western Michigan finished second with 44 points that season. 

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
St. Cloud State has struggled this season, holding an 11-14-1 overall record. The Huskies have gone winless in eight straight games and have just three victories over their last 15 contests. 

SCSU holds a 25-15-5 advantage all-time versus WMU. However, the Broncos are 6-2-0 against the Huskies in the last eight meetings in Kalamazoo. 

The Huskies are led by Austin Burnevik, who is the only player over 20 points. He has 11 goals and 10 assists this season. Aiding the attack have been Barrett Hall and Tyson Gross. That duo has combined for 35 points on 13 goals and 22 assists. 

In net, SCSU has played most of the season without star goaltender Isak Posch. He was injured in the first half of the season and hasn't played since Nov. 23. Gavin Enright has seen the bulk of the work in net during Posch's absence. He has a 2-7-0 record, 3.27 goals against average and .892 save percentage. James Gray has seen spot work, owning a 0-3-1 record, 3.43 GAA and .881 save percentage. 

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. 4 in the nation. 

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