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NCAA DI Men's Hockey

How Western Michigan Has Risen Up College Hockey Rankings

How Western Michigan Has Risen Up College Hockey Rankings

The Broncos faced some questions coming into this season, yet they enter the holiday break at 10-3-1 and currently sit atop the NCHC standings.

Dec 13, 2024 by Jordan McAlpine
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No matter which poll or what stat you’re looking at, there are likely going to be some repetitive names at the top: Minnesota, Michigan State, Boston College, Denver – the list goes on.

It’s a list of perennial contenders and they’re off to strong starts once again. Year in and year out their lineups are loaded with talent and NHL draft picks, and as the college hockey season nears its midway point, this year is no different.

However, there’s another team that’s been firmly in that mix this season, and if the first three months are any indication, they look to be a serious contender themselves… The Western Michigan Broncos.

Pat Ferschweiler’s club took four points in its series against Denver last weekend to wrap up the first half, winning the opener, 3-2, and suffering a 3-2 loss of its own (overtime) in the finale. WMU held a 2-1 lead for nearly half of the third period in that contest too.

While it’s a sour way to head into the Christmas break, it concludes an impressive first half in Kalamazoo.

Western Michigan (10-3-1, 6-1-1) was voted sixth in the NCHC’s preseason poll and spent the first three weeks at No. 17 in the USCHO Poll. Although the Broncos have made three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and enjoyed plenty of recent success, they lost a ton and could’ve easily been ticketed for a step back.

Ferschweiler’s roster featured several question marks, especially offensively. Alex Bump (PHI) and Matteo Costantini (BUF) returned, but WMU lost seven of its top 10 point producers from last season, who combined for 225 points and 182 games played.

WMU brought in one of the nation’s top freshmen classes to hopefully ease the blow, but there were no guarantees that would translate to immediate success. And its blue line wasn’t exactly loaded coming into this season, although freshman Joona Vaisanen (PIT) brought plenty of intrigue.

However, the Broncos are currently ranked sixth in the country and sit atop the NCHC standings with 19 points, four clear of second-place Arizona State and six ahead of third-place St. Cloud State – although the Huskies have two games left at North Dakota this weekend.

WMU is also a perfect 4-0-0 on the road in conference play and continues to blend its speed, size and skill together, and their resume features a non-conference win over Michigan. WMU nearly beat Boston College in late October too but surrendered a trio of third-period goals, two of which came in the final minute.

So how have the Broncos done it?

It starts between the pipes as graduate Cameron Rowe and freshman Hampton Slukynsky (LAK) have formed one of the nation’s top tandems. Rowe is 7-0-0 with a .941 save percentage and 1.56 GAA, while Slukynsky is 3-3-1 with a .941 and 1.84. Both rank among the NCAA’s goalie leaders and WMU also has the nation’s second-highest team save percentage at .939.

It’s been a team effort in front of them too as the Broncos are limiting their opponents to 1.8 goals per game, which is tied with Minnesota for the nation’s fifth-best mark. WMU also is finding plenty of success on the faceoff dots, where its .545 win percentage ranks sixth in the country, and its penalty kill (90%) is tied for fifth.

They’ve seen a number of players take steps offensively too.

Sophomore Owen Michaels had seven points (2-5-7) through 38 games last season but is currently second on the team with six goals and continues to play a solid 200-foot game. Graduate forward Tim Washe has been on a roll and has a team-leading seven goals and 14 points. And Northern Michigan transfer Grant Slukynsky has 12 points (3-9-12) and provided WMU with another dependable center.

As for Bump, the sophomore continues to make plays on WMU’s top line and the power play, and he has five goals and 11 points through 14 games.

Yes, WMU’s schedule was rather light out of the gate with series against Bowling Green and Ferris State, along with a pair of exhibition contests. Frankly those games likely helped pad a few stats too, such as WMU’s plus-21 (46-25) goal differential.

Yet they’ve continued to play at a high level against Colorado College and Denver, a pair of the NCHC’s top teams, and Michigan and Boston College, two of the nation’s most explosive clubs. And they’re not showing any signs of slowing down.

Whatever is happening in Kalamazoo this season is working so far and the Broncos are ranked inside the top 10 for a reason.

If they can replicate their play in the second half, don’t sleep on the Broncos.

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