Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey

Western Michigan Broncos
University	Western Michigan University
Conference	NCHC
Head coach	Andy Murray 6th year, 84–84–28 (.500)
Captain(s)	Sheldon Dries, Aaron Hadley, Scott Moldenhauer, Griffen Molino
Arena	Lawson Arena Capacity: 3,667 Surface: 200' x 85'
Location	Kalamazoo, Michigan
Colors	Brown and Gold[1]
NCAA Tournament Appearances
1986 1994 1996 2011 2012
Conference Tournament Champions
CCHA: 1986 2012
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.

Yearly results

Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
1973–74	Bill Neal	22–7–1	5–2–1	1st
1974–75	Bill Neal	19–8–0	8–0–0	1st
1975–76	Bill Neal	18–14–2	6–10–0	4th
1976–77	Bill Neal	17–19–1	5–11–0	4th
1977–78	Bill Neal	15–17–1	7–12–1	6th
1978–79	Glen Weller	17–19–0	8–16–0	6th
1979–80	Glen Weller	18–16–2	6–13–1	5th
1980–81	Glen Weller	15–19–2	8–13–1	5th
1981–82	Glen Weller	14–19–1	11–18–1	9th
1982–83	Bill Wilkinson	11–23–2	10–20–2	t-9th
1983–84	Bill Wilkinson	22–18–2	13–14–1	5th
1984–85	Bill Wilkinson	22–16–2	18–13–1	3rd
1985–86	Bill Wilkinson	32–12–0	23–9–0	t-2nd	NCAA Tournament first round
1986–87	Bill Wilkinson	23–20–0	16–16–0	5th
1987–88	Bill Wilkinson	22–17–3	17–12–3	4th
1988–89	Bill Wilkinson	14–23–6	9–17–6	6th
1989–90	Bill Wilkinson	14–24–2	12–18–2	t-5th
1990–91	Bill Wilkinson	22–17–3	16–14–2	4th
1991–92	Bill Wilkinson	16–14–6	14–12–6	4th
1992–93	Bill Wilkinson	20–16–2	17–11–2	5th
1993–94	Bill Wilkinson	24–13–3	18–10–2	4th	NCAA Tournament first round
1994–95	Bill Wilkinson	17–18–5	9–14–4	t-6th
1995–96	Bill Wilkinson	27–11–3	21–6–3	t-3rd	NCAA Tournament first round
1996–97	Bill Wilkinson	14–18–5	10–12–5	t-5th
1997–98	Bill Wilkinson	10–25–3	9–19–2	8th
1998–99	Bill Wilkinson	6–20–8	5–17–8	10th
1999–00	Bill Wilkinson / Jim Culhane	12–21–3	10–15–3	t-9th
2000–01	Jim Culhane	20–13–6	12–10–6	t-5th
2001–02	Jim Culhane	19–15–4	13–12–3	6th
2002–03	Jim Culhane	15–21–2	13–14–1	6th
2003–04	Jim Culhane	17–18–4	12–13–3	t-8th
2004–05	Jim Culhane	14–21–2	8–18–2	t-10th
2005–06	Jim Culhane	10–24–6	7–16–5	t-10th
2006–07	Jim Culhane	18–18–1	14–13–1	6th
2007–08	Jim Culhane	8–27–3	4–22–3	12th
2008–09	Jim Culhane	14–20–7	9–13–6	7th
2009–10	Jim Culhane	8–20–8	4–17–7	12th
2010–11	Jeff Blashill	19–13–10	10–9–9–5	4th	NCAA Tournament first round
2011–12	Andy Murray	21–14–6	14–10–4–4	t-2nd	NCAA Tournament first round
2012–13	Andy Murray	19–11–8	15–7–6–3	3rd
2013–14	Andy Murray	19–16–5	11–11–2–2	t-4th
2014–15	Andy Murray	14–18–5	6–13–5–3	7th
2015–16	Andy Murray	8–25–3	5–18–1-1	7th
Total:		725–758–149
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 2013–2014 season^[12]

Tenure	Coach	Years	Record	Pct.
2011–present	Andy Murray	5	81–84–27	.492
2010–2011	Jeff Blashill	1	19–13–10	.571
1999–2010	Jim Culhane	11	158–222–48	.425
1982–1999	Bill Wilkinson	17	313–301–53	.509
1978–1982	Glen Weller	4	64–73–5	.468
1973–1978	Bill Neal	5	91–65–5	.581
Totals	6 coaches	41 seasons	704–715–140	.496

Players

2016–17 roster

As of June 7, 2016.^[13]

#	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1		Olson, CollinCollin Olson	Senior	G	6' 4" (1.93 m)	216 lb (98 kg)	1994-04-04	Apple Valley, Minnesota	Sioux City (USHL)	CAR, 159th overall 2012
2		Bennett, KaleKale Bennett	Freshman	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1995-11-30	St. Louis, Missouri	Nanaimo (BCHL)	—
4		Bafia, LukeLuke Bafia	Freshman	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	201 lb (91 kg)	1996-01-19	Parrish, Florida	Green Bay (USHL)	—
6		Schueneman, CoreyCorey Schueneman	Sophomore	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1995-09-02	Milford, Michigan	Muskegon (USHL)	—
7		Iacopelli, MathesonMatheson Iacopelli	Sophomore	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	206 lb (93 kg)	1994-05-15	Brownstown, Michigan	Muskegon (USHL)	CHI, 83rd overall 2014
8		Dries, SheldonSheldon Dries (C)	Senior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	1994-04-23	Macomb, Michigan	Green Bay (USHL)	—
9		Dienes, ChrisChris Dienes	Senior	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1993-05-11	Traverse City, Michigan	Fargo (USHL)	—
10		Courtnall, LawtonLawton Courtnall	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1996-03-07	Westlake Village, California	Sioux Falls (USHL)	—
11		DiPietro, DawsonDawson DiPietro	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1995-11-15	Medina, Ohio	Janesville (NAHL)	—
12		Muir, AidanAidan Muir	Junior	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	212 lb (96 kg)	1995-08-21	Brampton, Ontario	Indiana (USHL)	EDM, 113th overall 2013
13		Goff, NealNeal Goff	Junior	D	6' 5" (1.96 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1993-09-15	Stillwater, Minnesota	Fargo (USHL)	—
14		McMullen, JadeJade McMullen	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	1995-04-21	Edmonton, Alberta	Olds (AJHL)	—
15		Moldenhauer, ScottScott Moldenhauer (A)	Junior	D	6' 4" (1.93 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1994-05-09	Oak Ridge, North Carolina	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	—
16		McGing, HughHugh McGing	Freshman	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1998-07-11	Park Ridge, Illinois	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	—
17		Molino, GriffenGriffen Molino (A)	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1994-01-21	Trenton, Michigan	Muskegon (USHL)	—
19		Tiffels, FrederikFrederik Tiffels	Junior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	206 lb (93 kg)	1995-05-20	Cologne, Germany	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	PIT, 167th overall 2015
20		Fleming, TaylorTaylor Fleming	Senior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1993-02-17	Waconia, Minnesota	Fargo (USHL)	—
21		Novak, KyleKyle Novak	Senior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	188 lb (85 kg)	1992-10-13	O'Fallon, Missouri	Green Bay (USHL)	—
22		McKee, MikeMike McKee	Senior	F	6' 5" (1.96 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	1993-08-17	Newmarket, Ontario	Lincoln (USHL)	DET, 140th overall 2012
23		Hadley, AaronAaron Hadley (A)	Senior	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1993-07-22	Castlegar, British Columbia	Vernon (BCHL)	—
24		Stoykewych, PaulPaul Stoykewych	Junior	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	1995-03-09	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Penticton (BCHL)	—
25		Zehnal, RichardRichard Zehnal	Sophomore	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1994-08-22	Pardubice, Czech Republic	Coulee Region (NAHL)	—
26		Rebry, MichaelMichael Rebry	Senior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1993-10-15	Clear Creek, Ontario	Penticton (BCHL)	—
27		Allison, WadeWade Allison	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1997-10-14	Myrtle, Manitoba	Tri-City (USHL)	PHI, 52nd overall 2016
28		Lee, CamCam Lee	Freshman	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1997-02-18	Ferguson's Cove, Nova Scotia	Green Bay (USHL)	—
29		Conrad, ColtColt Conrad	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	1997-04-27	Saint Alphonse, Manitoba	Shattuck-St. Mary's (Midget AAA)	—
31		Massey, WillWill Massey	Sophomore	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1994-06-25	Penfield, New York	Islanders (USPHL)	—
33		Blacker, BenBen Blacker	Freshman	G	5' 10" (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1997-04-23	Oakville, Ontario	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	—
35		Gorsuch, TrevorTrevor Gorsuch	Sophomore	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.

Bill Armstrong Mike Bishai Kevin Connauton Joe Corvo Jim Culhane Danny DeKeyser Dan Dorion Patrick Dwyer

Mike Eastwood Ross Fitzpatrick David Gove Glenn Healy Ron Hoover Glenn Johannesen Keith Jones Mark Letestu

Jamal Mayers Andy Rymsha Bernie Saunders John Saunders * Neil Smith * Paul Szczechura Matt Tennyson Luke Witkowski

* Did not play in the NHL.

Records

Through 2011–12 season

Career leaders

Goals Rank Goals Player Years 1 115 Dan Dorion 1982–86 2 109 Jeff Green 1986–90 3 104 Rob Bryden 1983–87 4 102 Stuart Burnie 1982–86 5 100 Ross Fitzpatrick 1978–82 Assists Rank Assists Player Years 1 199 Wayne Gagne 1983–87 2 189 Paul Polillo 1986–90 3 178 Dan Dorion 1982–86 4 131 Mike Posma 1986–90 5 127 Chris Brooks 1992–96

Points Rank Points Player Years 1 293 Dan Dorion 1982–86 2 271 Paul Polillo 1986–90 3 241 Wayne Gagne 1983–87 4 234 Jeff Green 1986–90 5 225 Ross Fitzpatrick 1978–82 Games Rank Games Player Years 1 168 Brian Tulik 1987–92 2 166 Tom Auge 1987–91 3 165 Paul Polillo 1986–90 4 164 Mike Eastwood 1987–91 5 162 Rob Bryden 1983–87 5 162 Jim Culhane 1983–87 5 162 Wayne Gagne 1983–87 5 162 Pat Ryan 1983–87

See also

• Western Michigan Broncos

References

1. "WMU Official Athletics Style Guide" (PDF). 2016-08-22. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
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 – 2015–16 Roster & Bios". Western Michigan University Athletics. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
14. "Western Michigan University Hockey Alumni Report at". Hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2013-06-11.

External links

• Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey