Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey explained

Team Name:Western Michigan Broncos
Current:2023–24 Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey season
University:Western Michigan University
Sex:men's
Conference:National Collegiate Hockey Conference
Conference Short:NCHC
Location:Kalamazoo, Michigan
Nicknames:America’s Team
Studentsection:Lawson Lunatics
Coach:Pat Ferschweiler
Coach Year:4th
Coach Wins:70
Coach Losses:43
Coach Ties:3
Arena:Lawson Arena
Capacity:3,667
Surface:200' x 85'
Ncaatourneys:1986, 1994, 1996, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2022, 2023, 2024
Conference Tournament:CCHA

1986, 2012

Uniform Image:CCHA-Uniform-WMU.png

The Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Western Michigan University. The Broncos are a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). They play at Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States.[1]

History

The Broncos program began in 1973 and joined the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) for the 1975–76 season. After ten seasons in the league Western Michigan won the 1986 CCHA Playoff Tournament and advanced to the school's first NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament in 1986.[2] The 1986 season marked the program's first CCHA Tournament Championship and the program's first bid to the NCAA Tournament.[3] The Broncos entered the tournament in the West Regional against Harvard and lost the two-game aggregate series, being outscored 11–4 by the Crimson.[4]

Western Michigan's next post season appearance came in 1994. Western Michigan received an at-large bid to the 1994 NCAA Division I Tournament and again fell in the first round with a 6–3 loss to Wisconsin.[5]

The Broncos rebounded in the 1995–96 season after a sub-.500 season in 1994–95. Western Michigan received the program's second at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Western Michigan lost again in the first round to Clarkson 6–1.[6]

Under first-year coach Jeff Blashill, Western Michigan received an at-large bid to the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, where they would lose their opening game 3–2 in double overtime to Denver. Denver scored two goals in the last 4:29 of the third period to force overtime.[7]

In 2011–12, for the second consecutive season, Western Michigan had a new head coach and reached the NCAA tournament. Longtime National Hockey League (NHL) coach Andy Murray was named as coach of the Broncos after Blashill left for the Detroit Red Wings.[8] WMU finished tied for second in the CCHA and won the CCHA tournament, thereby receiving an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.[9] Western Michigan lost in the first round of the tournament 3–1 to No. 1 seed North Dakota.[10]

The Broncos joined the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) starting in the 2013–14 season. The CCHA disbanded after the 2012–13 season, in part due to the addition of men's ice hockey to the Big Ten Conference.

Western Michigan won the 2013 four-team Great Lakes Invitational which was played outdoors at Comerica Park in Detroit. The Broncos defeated No. 3 Michigan 3–2 in overtime in the semifinals, and then claimed the championship by beating Michigan Tech 1–0, also in overtime. WMU won the 2014 Shillelagh Tournament with an 8–2 victory over No. 17 Union. The Broncos also defeated Ohio State in the first round of the tournament, 6–2.

In 2016–17, the Broncos followed up a disappointing 8-25-3 season with an impressive 22-13-5 and a third-place finish in the NCHC. Western Michigan was invited to the final Great Lakes Invitational at Joe Louis Arena, where they defeated Michigan Tech in the championship. WMU has been invited to the GLI 5 times dating back to 1977, winning it 3 of those times. The Broncos were defeated in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Division I tournament by Air Force.

In 2021-2022, Western Michigan had a legendary season for the program under Pat Ferschweiler as head coach. The broncos shared the 2021 Great Lakes Invitational championship by defeating Michigan State. The broncos managed to obtain 26 wins defeating teams the likes of No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 St. Cloud State, and defeated No. 10 North Dakota in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Semi-Finals to advance their first (NCHC) championship game. Western Michigan clinched their first-ever 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and would win their first-ever playoff game by defeating the Northeastern Huskies to advance to their first ever regional championship appearance. They would be defeated by Minnesota 3-0.

Season-by-season results

See main article: List of Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey seasons. Source:[11]

Coaching

All-time coaching records

As of the completion of 2023–24 season[12]

TenureCoachYearsRecordPct.
1973–1978 Bill Neal 5 91–65–5
1978–1982 Glen Weller 4 64–73–5
1982–1999 17† 313–301–53
1999–2010 11† 158–222–48
2010–2011 1 19–13–10
2011–2021 10 167–156–43
2021–Present 3 70–43–3
Totals7 coaches51 seasons882–873–167
† The 1998–99 season was coached by both Wilkinson and Culhane.

Statistical leaders

Source:[13]

Career points leaders

PlayerYears GP G APts PIM
1982–1986157115178293
1986–199016582189271
1983–198716242199241
1986–1990159109125234
1978–1982138100125225
1974–197812992106198
1983–198716210491195
1992–199614757127184
1983–198612281102183
1978–19811308295177

Career goaltending leaders

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Minimum 30 games played

PlayerYearsGPMinWLTGASOSV%GAA
2011–2015 94 6021 49 38 15 235 7 .909 2.34
2022–Present 76 4496 43 30 2 186 5 .904 2.48
1995–1996 36 2110 23 11 2 91 5 .910 2.59
2019–2022 77 4467 46 25 5 194 4 .912 2.61
2007–2011 63 3528 16 27 3 158 2 .912 2.69
Statistics current through the end of the 2023–2024 season.

Current roster

As of August 2, 2023.[14]

Awards and honors

All-Americans

AHCA First Team All-Americans

AHCA Second Team All-Americans

CCHA

Individual awards

Player of the Year

1986

1987

Best Defensive Forward

1992

2013

Best Defensive Defenseman

1994

2012, 2013

Rookie of the Year

1993

1996

1997

2002

2007

Coach of the Year

1984, 1986, 1996

Ilitch Humanitarian Award

2013

Most Valuable Player in Tournament

1986

2012

All-Conference teams

First Team All-CCHA

Second Team All-CCHA

CCHA All-Rookie Team

NCHC

Individual awards

Player of the Year

2023

Forward of the Year

2023

Offensive Defenseman of the Year

2021, 2022

Scholar-Athlete of the Year

2021

2022

2024Herb Brooks Coach of the Year

2017

2023

All-Conference teams

First Team All-NCHC

Second Team All-NCHC

NCHC All-Rookie Team

Western Michigan Broncos Hall of Fame

The following is a list of people associated with the Western Michigan men's ice hockey program who were elected into the Western Michigan University Athletic Hall of Fame.[15]

Broncos in the NHL

As of July 1, 2023

= NHL All-Star team= NHL All-Star[16] = NHL All-Star and NHL All-Star team= Hall of Famers
PlayerPositionTeam(s)YearsGames
Wade AllisonRight WingPHI2020–Present750
Bill ArmstrongLeft WingPHI1990–199110
Ronnie AttardDefensemanPHI2021–Present170
Chase BalisyCenterFLA2017–201880
Mike BishaiCenterEDM2003–2004140
Kevin ConnautonDefensemanDAL, CBJ, ARI, COL, FLA, PHI2013–20223600
Joe CorvoDefensemanLAK, OTT, CAR, WSH, BOS2002–20147080
Paul CotterCenter2021–Present621
Jim CulhaneDefensemanHFD1989–199060
Danny DeKeyserDefensemanDET2013–20225470
Dan DorionLeft WingNJD1985–198840
Sheldon DriesCenterCOL, VAN2018–Present1220
Patrick DwyerRight WingCAR2008–20154160
Mike EastwoodCenterTOR, WPG, PHO, NYR, STL, CHI, PIT1991–20047830
Ross FitzpatrickCenterPHI1982–1986200
Scott Foster‡GoaltenderCHI2017–201810
David GoveCenterCAR2005–200720
Ron HooverLeft WingBOS, STL1989–1992180
Glenn JohannesenLeft WingNYI1985–198620
Keith JonesRight WingWSH, COL, PHI1992–20014910
Mark LetestuCenterPIT, CBJ, EDM, WIN2009–20205670
Jamal MayersRight WingSTL, TOR, CGY, SJS, 1996–20139151
Hugh McGingLeft WingSTL2022–Present10
Griffen MolinoForwardVAN2016–201750
Jordan OesterleCenterEDM, CHI, ARI, DET2014–Present3490
Andy RymshaRight WingQUE1991–199260
Mattias SamuelssonDefensemanBUF2020–Present1090
Bernie SaundersRight WingQUE1979–1981100
Corey SchuenemanDefensemanMTL2021–Present310
Paul SzczechuraCenterTBL, BUF2008–2012920
Matt TennysonDefensemanSJS, CAR, BUF, NJD, NSH2013–20221730
Luke WitkowskiRight WingTBL, DET2014–20221320
‡Scott Foster played 14 minutes for the Blackhawks after being signed to a 1-day contract as an emergency backup due to injury.[17]

Source:[18]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Wmu Men's Hockey Team Page :: USCHO.com :: U.S. College Hockey Online . USCHO.com . June 11, 2013.
  2. Web site: Statistics :: USCHO.com :: U.S. College Hockey Online . USCHO.com . 2013-06-11.
  3. http://www.ccha.com/the_ccha/ccha_history_and_records.aspx CCHA history and records
  4. Web site: Official 2006 NCAA® Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Records Book . www.ncaa.org . https://web.archive.org/web/20080626105818/http://www.ncaa.org/library/records/ice_hockey/m_w_ice_hockey_records_book/2006/2006_m_w_ice_hockey_records.pdf . June 26, 2008.
  5. Web site: 1994 NCAA Tournament . Inside College Hockey . 2013-06-11.
  6. Web site: 1996 NCAA Tournament . Inside College Hockey . 2013-06-11.
  7. Web site: Holt. Adam. Late rally, Zucker's double-OT winner send Denver past Western Michigan. uscho.com. 16 January 2012.
  8. News: AP Staff . USA Today. Former NHL coach Andy Murray hired by Western Michigan. July 26, 2011. April 30, 2012.
  9. News: Drew. David. . Western Michigan is CCHA Tournament champ after 3-2 win over Michigan. March 17, 2012 . April 30, 2012.
  10. News: AP Staff. Detroit Free Press. North Dakota 3, Western Michigan 1: Broncos ousted in first round of NCAA hockey tournament. March 24, 2012. April 30, 2012.
  11. News: 2015-16 WMU HOCKEY RECORD BOOK. Western Michigan Broncos . December 8, 2019.
  12. News: 2015-16 WMU HOCKEY RECORD BOOK. Western Michigan Broncos . December 8, 2019.
  13. News: Hockey - Career/Season Point Leaders . Western Michigan Broncos . December 8, 2019.
  14. Web site: 2022–23 Men's Ice Hockey Roster . Western Michigan University Athletics . July 27, 2017.
  15. News: Hall of Fame . Western Michigan Broncos . December 8, 2019.
  16. Players are identified as an All-Star if they were selected for the All-Star game at any time in their career.
  17. News: Scott Foster: Accountant makes NHL debut in goal for Chicago Blackhawks . BBC Sport . March 30, 2018 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180330101503/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/ice-hockey/43594197 . March 30, 2018 . mdy-all .
  18. Web site: Hockey DB . Alumni report for Western Michigan University . December 8, 2019.

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