Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey

Western Michigan Broncos
University Western Michigan University
Conference NCHC
Head coach Andy Murray
6th season, 103–97–32 (.513)
Captain(s) Scott Moldenhauer
Alternate captain(s) Neal Goff, Aidan Muir
Arena Lawson Arena
Capacity: 3,667
Surface: 200' x 85'
Location Kalamazoo, Michigan
Colors Brown and Gold[1]
         
NCAA Tournament appearances
Conference Tournament championships
Current uniform

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.[2]

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.[3] The 1986 season marked the program's first CCHA Tournament Championship and the program's first bid to the NCAA Tournament.[4] 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.[5]

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.[6]

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.[7]

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.[8]

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.[9] WMU finished tied for second in the CCHA and won the CCHA tournament, thereby receiving an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.[10] Western Michigan lost in the first round of the tournament 3–1 to No. 1 seed North Dakota.[11]

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 3rd 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.

Yearly results

Through 2016–17 season

Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
1973–74 Bill Neal 22–7–15–2–11st
1974–75 Bill Neal 19–8–08–0–01st
1975–76 Bill Neal 18–14–26–10–04th
1976–77 Bill Neal 17–19–15–11–04th
1977–78 Bill Neal 15–17–17–12–16th
1978–79 Glen Weller 17–19–08–16–06th
1979–80 Glen Weller 18–16–26–13–15th
1980–81 Glen Weller 15–19–28–13–15th
1981–82 Glen Weller 14–19–111–18–19th
1982–83 Bill Wilkinson 11–23–210–20–2t-9th
1983–84 Bill Wilkinson 22–18–213–14–15th
1984–85 Bill Wilkinson 22–16–218–13–13rd
1985–86 Bill Wilkinson 32–12–023–9–0t-2ndNCAA Tournament first round
1986–87 Bill Wilkinson 23–20–016–16–05th
1987–88 Bill Wilkinson 22–17–317–12–34th
1988–89 Bill Wilkinson 14–23–69–17–66th
1989–90 Bill Wilkinson 14–24–212–18–2t-5th
1990–91 Bill Wilkinson 22–17–316–14–24th
1991–92 Bill Wilkinson 16–14–614–12–64th
1992–93 Bill Wilkinson 20–16–217–11–25th
1993–94 Bill Wilkinson 24–13–318–10–24thNCAA Tournament first round
1994–95 Bill Wilkinson 17–18–59–14–4t-6th
1995–96 Bill Wilkinson 27–11–321–6–3t-3rdNCAA Tournament first round
1996–97 Bill Wilkinson 14–18–510–12–5t-5th
1997–98 Bill Wilkinson 10–25–39–19–28th
1998–99 Bill Wilkinson 6–20–85–17–810th
1999–00 Bill Wilkinson / Jim Culhane 12–21–310–15–3t-9th
2000–01 Jim Culhane 20–13–612–10–6t-5th
2001–02 Jim Culhane 19–15–413–12–36th
2002–03 Jim Culhane 15–21–213–14–16th
2003–04 Jim Culhane 17–18–412–13–3t-8th
2004–05 Jim Culhane 14–21–28–18–2t-10th
2005–06 Jim Culhane 10–24–67–16–5t-10th
2006–07 Jim Culhane 18–18–114–13–16th
2007–08 Jim Culhane 8–27–34–22–312th
2008–09 Jim Culhane 14–20–79–13–67th
2009–10 Jim Culhane 8–20–84–17–712th
2010–11 Jeff Blashill 19–13–1010–9–9–54thNCAA Tournament first round
2011–12 Andy Murray 21–14–614–10–4–4t-2ndNCAA Tournament first round
2012–13 Andy Murray 19–11–815–7–6–33rd
2013–14 Andy Murray 19–16–511–11–2–2t-4th
2014–15 Andy Murray 14–18–56–13–5–37th
2015–16 Andy Murray 8–25–35–18–1-17th
2016–17 Andy Murray 22–13–513–9–2–13rdNCAA Tournament first round
2017–18 Andy Murray 15–19–20–0–0–0
Total:747–771–154

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Coaching

The Broncos are coached by former Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues head coach Andy Murray. In his first season, he coached the Broncos to their second CCHA Tournament Championship in school history, as well as the school's fifth NCAA Tournament Bid.

All-time coaching records

Through 2016–17 season[12]

Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
2011–presentAndy Murray6103–97–32.513
2010–2011Jeff Blashill119–13–10.571
1999–2010Jim Culhane11 *158–222–48.425
1982–1999Bill Wilkinson17 *313–301–53.509
1978–1982Glen Weller464–73–5.468
1973–1978Bill Neal591–65–5.581
Totals 6 coaches 44 seasons 748–771–153 .493

* The 1998–99 season was coached by both Wilkinson and Culhane.

Players

2018–19 roster

As of August 31, 2018.[13]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Ontario Austin Cain Sophomore G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1996-09-12 Ottawa, Ontario Whitby (OJHL) —
2 Missouri Kale Bennett Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1995-11-30 St. Louis, Missouri Nanaimo (BCHL) —
3 Illinois Michael Joyaux Freshman D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 1997-02-13 Bloomingdale, Illinois Youngstown (USHL) —
4 Florida Luke Bafia Junior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 1996-01-19 Parrish, Florida Green Bay (USHL) —
6 Michigan Corey Schueneman (C) Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1995-09-02 Brighton, Michigan Muskegon (USHL) —
7 Arizona Carson Vance Sophomore D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1996-01-10 Tempe, Arizona Sioux City (USHL) —
9 Ohio Dawson DiPietro Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1995-11-15 Medina, Ohio Janesville (NAHL) —
10 California Lawton Courtnall Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1996-03-07 Westlake Village, California Sioux Falls (USHL) —
11 Alberta Rhett Kingston Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1997-11-04 Okotoks, Alberta Salmon Arm (BCHL) —
12 Florida Cole Gallant Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-03-14 Dover, Florida Omaha (USHL) —
13 Ontario Drew Worrad Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 186 lb (84 kg) 1997-06-30 Denfield, Ontario Steinbach (MJHL) —
14 British Columbia Jade McMullen Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1995-04-21 Fort St. John, British Columbia Olds (AJHL) —
15 Michigan Paul Cotter Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1999-01-16 Canton, Michigan Lincoln (USHL) VGK, 115th overall 2018
16 Illinois Hugh McGing (A) Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1998-07-11 Chicago, Illinois Cedar Rapids (USHL) STL, 138th overall 2018
17 Manitoba Wade Allison (A) Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1997-10-14 Myrtle, Manitoba Tri-City (USHL) PHI, 52nd overall 2016
18 Alberta Brett Van Os Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 206 lb (93 kg) 1996-02-21 St. Albert, Alberta Calgary Canucks (AJHL) —
19 New Jersey Lukas Samuelsson Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1996-10-08 Voorhees, New Jersey Toronto (GMHL) —
20 Alberta Jamie Rome Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 211 lb (96 kg) 1998-10-03 Cochrane, Alberta Victoria (BCHL) —
21 Wisconsin Josh Passolt Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1996-09-13 Hayward, Wisconsin Sioux Falls (USHL) —
22 Missouri Austin Rueschhoff Sophomore F 6' 7" (2.01 m) 228 lb (103 kg) 1997-09-07 Wentzville, Missouri Dubuque (USHL) —
23 Michigan Paul Washe Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-11-27 Clarkston, Michigan Fargo (USHL) —
24 New Jersey Mattias Samuelsson Freshman D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 221 lb (100 kg) 2000-03-14 Voorhees, New Jersey USNTDP (USHL) BUF, 32nd overall 2018
25 Michigan Jared Kucharek Freshman D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 1998-05-23 Royal Oak, Michigan Madison (USHL) —
26 Nebraska Ethen Frank Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 1998-02-05 Papillion, Nebraska Lincoln (USHL) —
27 Michigan Cam Orchard Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 1998-06-27 Middleville, Michigan Des Moines (USHL) —
28 Nova Scotia Cam Lee Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997-02-18 Ferguson's Cove, Nova Scotia Green Bay (USHL) —
29 Manitoba Colt Conrad (A) Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1997-04-27 Saint Alphonse, Manitoba Shattuck-St. Mary's (Midget AAA) —
31 New York (state) Will Massey Senior G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1994-06-25 Penfield, New York Islanders (USPHL) —
33 Ontario Ben Blacker Junior G 5' 10" (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1997-04-23 Oakville, Ontario Cedar Rapids (USHL) —
35 Missouri Trevor Gorsuch Senior G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 211 lb (96 kg) 1994-07-11 St. Charles, Missouri Chicago (USHL) —

Alumni

The Western Michigan Broncos have advanced a number of players to professional hockey, including a number of alumni that played and are currently playing in the NHL.[14] Several alumni are also known for their contributions as front office members and broadcasters.

* Did not play in the NHL.

Records

Through 2011–12 season

Career leaders

See also

References

  1. ↑ WMU Official Athletics Style Guide (PDF). August 22, 2016. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Wmu Men's Hockey Team Page :: USCHO.com :: U.S. College Hockey Online". USCHO.com. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Statistics :: USCHO.com :: U.S. College Hockey Online". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  4. ↑ http://www.ccha.com/the_ccha/ccha_history_and_records.aspx
  5. ↑ Archived June 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ "1994 NCAA Tournament". Inside College Hockey. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  7. ↑ "1996 NCAA Tournament". Inside College Hockey. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  8. ↑ Holt, Adam. "Late rally, Zucker's double-OT winner send Denver past Western Michigan". uscho.com. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  9. ↑ AP Staff (July 26, 2011). "Former NHL coach Andy Murray hired by Western Michigan". USA Today. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  10. ↑ Drew, David (March 17, 2012). "Western Michigan is CCHA Tournament champ after 3-2 win over Michigan". Kalamazoo Gazette. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  11. ↑ AP Staff (March 24, 2012). "North Dakota 3, Western Michigan 1: Broncos ousted in first round of NCAA hockey tournament". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  12. ↑ USCHO Western Michigan Men's Hockey: Year-By-Year
  13. ↑ "WMU Hockey – 2018–19 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Western Michigan University Athletics. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Western Michigan University Hockey Alumni Report at". Hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
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