KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan opens postseason play looking to defend its Frozen Faceoff title from a season ago. WMU will host Colorado College in the opening round of the tournament, beginning on Friday at 7 PM at Lawson Arena. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos collected a series split against North Dakota, claiming a 4-3 victory in Saturday's series finale. 

Zach Bookman and William Whitelaw each had a goal and two assists in the series, while Liam Valente lit the lamp in both games. Hampton Slukynsky was strong in net, making 40 saves between the two games. 

AMONG THE NCHC'S BEST
With another regular season in the books, the NCHC has announced its finalists for major awards. WMU is well represented, having finalists for Goaltender of the Year, Defensive Forward of the Year, the Three Stars Award and the Sportsmanship Award. 

Hampton Slukynsky is up for the Goaltender of the Year honor for the second consecutive season, while also being in the voting for the Three Stars Award. The Warroad, Minn. native has been the best goaltender in the NCHC all season long, leading the NCAA in wins (24), while boasting a 2.32 GAA and .913 save percentage. 

Slukynsky led all conference netminders with five NCHC Goaltender of the Week honors and was named the first star in four games this season. 

Owen Michaels is looking to become the second consecutive Bronco to win the Defensive Forward of the Year award, as Tim Washe was last year's honoree. Michaels is one of the best 200-foot players in the league, winning 60.1 percent of his faceoffs while adding 24 points on offense. 

Grant Slukynsky is a finalist for the Sportsmanship Award, thanks to his stellar play this season. The Warroad, Minn. native has been assessed just three penalties all season, and he serves as an assistant captain for the Brown and Gold. On offense, he leads the team with 37 points on eight goals and 29 assists. 

KILLIN' IT
The Brown and Gold have been red hot on the penalty kill, entering the weekend with a streak of 37 consecutive penalties killed. WMU went 4-for-4 against North Dakota last weekend. 

With that, Western Michigan finished 30-for-30 on the PK in the month of February, improving its season percentage to 86.6 percent. That is good for second in the NCHC and sixth in the nation. 

The Broncos have held some of the top power play units in the nation scoreless, including UND, Boston College, Wisconsin and Arizona State. All four rank in the top 15 in the nation in power-play percentage this season. 

OVERPOWERING OFFENSE
The Broncos have been known for having a high-powered offense under head coach Pat Ferschweiler, and nothing has changed throughout the 2025-26 campaign. 

Western Michigan is fifth in the nation in goals per game (3.74), having 20 players with at least one goal and four players with double-digit goals. Liam Valente leads the way with 19 tallies this season, while William Whitelaw (18), Zaccharya Wisdom (16) and Owen Michaels (11) aren't far behind.

Points wise, Grant Slukynsky paces the team with 37 on eight goals and 29 assists. Valente (32) and Whitelaw (32) are right behind him. The Broncos have 26 players with at least one point this season, including goaltender Hampton Slukynsky (0-2-2). As a team, WMU ranks third in the nation with 357 total points. 

HOME SWEET HOME
Lawson Arena is arguably the best home-ice advantage in college hockey, as WMU rarely loses in its home barn. The Broncos haven't had a losing record at home in more than a decade. 

Western Michigan is 56-27-2 in Kalamazoo under Pat Ferschweiler, including a program record 16 home wins last season. The Broncos are on the brink of reaching double digit wins at Lawson Arena this season, needing just one more to hit 10 victories. 

Despite having a capacity of 3,667, the Brown and Gold have an average attendance of 3,738 this season. More than 56,000 fans have entered Lawson Arena in 2025-26, and Western Michigan produced 10 sellouts in 15 regular season games. 

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Colorado College finished sixth in the NCHC, earning a 7-11-6 record in league play. CC is 2-1-2 in its last five games. 

WMU is 26-15-8 all-time against the Tigers, including a 14-7-2 record at Lawson Arena. The two teams didn't play in Kalamazoo this season, but the Brown and Gold took five points in Colorado Springs back on Feb. 20-21. 

Klavs Veinbergs leads the offense with 22 points on 10 goals and 12 assists. Owen Beckner has also been solid, entering Friday's tilt with 21 points in 28 games. 

In net, Kaidan Mbereko has been the go-to option. He holds a 12-12-4 record, 2.48 goals against average and .915 save percentage. He was named the NCHC Goaltender of the Week on Monday afternoon. Jackson Unger has been used as a change-of-pace option, entering the series with a 1-3-2 record, 2.60 GAA and .909 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. The Broncos have now made four straight NCAA Tournaments and sit at No. 4 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 52-15-1 and won the 2025 NCAA Division I National Championship. The Broncos haven't been ranked lower than No. 9 since mid November of 2024.