KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The sixth-ranked Western Michigan hockey team continues non-conference play this weekend with a home-and-home series against Notre Dame. 

THIS WEEK
Western Michigan continues non-conference play this week with a home-and-home series against Notre Dame. The Broncos and Fighting Irish are slated to meet at Lawson Arena at 7 pm on Friday night and then will match up again at 6 pm on Saturday evening down in South Bend.

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos opened up the 2026-27 season with a sweep of Ferris State. Western Michigan blanked the Bulldogs to begin the Final Season at Lawson Arena, 6-0, on Thursday, and then rolled past FSU up in Big Rapids, 5-1, on Friday to complete the sweep.

Five different Broncos lit the lamp in Friday's victory, with Zaccharya Wisdom, Bobby Cowan, Joona Väisänen, Zach Nehring and William Whitelaw all putting one home. Freshman Adam Benák tallied four assists for his first collegiate points, and Quentin Miller made 21 saves to earn his second win.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK TRIO
Western Michigan's dominant first series of the season led to a trio of NCHC Player of the Week awards, with Joona Väisänen earning Defenseman of the Week, Quentin Miller being named Goaltender of the Week and Adam Benák claiming Rookie of the Week.

Väisänen scored in both games against Ferris State and tied for the team lead with four points in the series. He and Miller were also key cogs in Western Michigan's penalty kill, which went 10-for-11 (.909). Miller allowed just one goal on 48 shots to post a .979 save percentage for the week, and picked up a pair of victories in net while also posting his first WMU shutout. Benák had four assists in Friday's 5-1 win to tie Väisänen for the team lead in points.

IT'S MILLER TIME
With National Championship winning goalie Hampton Slukynsky gone to the professional ranks, Western Michigan has turned to another National Championship winning netminder in 2026-27. The Broncos grabbed Quentin Miller out of the transfer portal after the Montreal native played his freshman season at Denver.

Miller shined in his Bronco debut, stopping all 26 shots he faced on Thursday night against Ferris State to earn both his first win and first shutout for the Brown and Gold. The Montreal native followed that up by stopping 21 more shots on Friday in a 5-1 win. 

WELCOME BACK JOONA
After missing the majority of last season due to injury, junior defenseman Joona Väisänen made a splash in his return, tying his career high with three points on Opening Night against Ferris State. He scored in both games against FSU and totaled a team-high four points for the weekend. The Pittsburgh draft pick also logged big minutes on a WMU penalty kill which went 10-for-11 (.909) in the series.

KILLIN' IT
The Broncos have had great penalty killing units over the last three seasons, finishing top-10 nationally in all three. Western Michigan was eighth in the NCAA in 2025-26 (86.2%), fourth in 2024-25 (86.7%) and ninth in 2023-24 (84.1%). 

WMU picked up right where it left off in its season-opening series against Ferris State, killing off all eight FSU power play opportunities on Thursday. The Brown and Gold went 10-for-11 (.909) on the penalty kill over the two games.

FRESHMAN PHENOMS
Four true freshmen saw their first collegiate action during the season-opening series against Ferris State, with three collecting their first career points. Tommy Lafrenière and Nicholas Sykora each scored their first collegiate goal on Thursday, with Lafrenière also adding an assist to his ledger.

Adam Benák then assisted on four of WMU's five goals on Friday, becoming the first Bronco to have four points in a game since Alex Bump on Jan. 24, 2025, against Miami and the first to notch four assists in a game since Chad Hillebrand on Oct. 21, 2023, against Bowling Green. Benák is the only true freshman in the nation to have a four-point game so far this season.

SCOUTING THE FIGHTING IRISH
Notre Dame also opened up its 2026-27 season with a sweep, topping Niagara 3-1 and 4-0. Nicholas Kempf was strong in net, stopping 49 of the 50 shots he faced. Evan Werner netted a pair of goals to lead the Fighting Irish with three points.

Western Michigan is 46-39-12 all-time against Notre Dame, including a 28-12-9 record in Kalamazoo. The Broncos have won three consecutive meetings by a score of 4-0, including both ends of last year's home-and-home series.

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 made five straight NCAA Tournaments and entered 2026-27 at No. 8 in the national polls. The Broncos have been ranked in the top-20 since Oct. 11, 2021. 

WMU has taken things a step further over the last year and a half, ranking among the nation's top-10 since Nov. 18, 2024. Since that point, Western Michigan has gone 57-17-1 and won the 2025 NCAA Division I National Championship. The Broncos haven't been ranked lower than No. 9 since mid-November of 2024. 

FINAL SEASON AT LAWSON
The 2026-27 campaign marks the Final Season at historic Lawson Arena for Western Michigan hockey. Named after the founding father of the program, Harry W. Lawson, the arena has been home to Bronco hockey since the 1974-75 season. All throughout the 2026-27 season, WMU hockey will be celebrating its five-plus decades at Lawson Arena with special events, giveaways and promotions. Secure your tickets and help us celebrate the Final Season at Lawson Arena by going to wmubroncos.com/tickets.