Season Stats
THIS WEEK: Western Michigan travels to Oxford, Ohio to battle the No. 5 Miami at the brand new Goggin Ice Center. The Broncos and the Redhawks will deul on Friday night at 7:35 and then at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday.
LAST WEEK: On Friday night the Broncos faced off against No. 8 Michigan State and fell 3-0 in Lansing. WMU goaltender Jerry Kuhn made 36 saves and kept WMU within one goal until the third period, but were unable to hold off MSU's attack. Bryan Lerg, Tim Kennedy and Chris Mueller each scored for the Spartans.
On Saturday WMU and MSU squared off on Fox Sports Net as part of Hockey Day in Michigan. The Broncos spotted the Spartans and early three-goal lead and tried to mount a rally but fell short. After two Bronco goals by Nathan Ansell and Patrick Galivan the Spartans added an empty net goal and the Brown & Gold dropped a 4-2 decision at home.
SERIES HISTORY: Western Michigan leads the all-time series with Miami 49-44-8 but trails 20-26-3 at Oxford. This will be the first trip to the brand new Goggin Ice Center and Steve Cady Arena for Western Michigan. Bronco head coach Jim Culhane held a 1-9-2 record at Miami's old Goggin Ice Arena. The Broncos and Redhawks split the season series last year in Kalamazoo, with each team winning a game 5-3. Western Michigan is 3-7-0 in the previous ten games with Miami and 0-5-0 in the last five, including a pair of games in the 2006 CCHA Quarterfinals.
SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS: Miami enters this weekend with a record of 26-5-1 (17-6-1 CCHA) and are currently the No. 5 team in the nation. Miami has the top offense in the CCHA, averaging 4.25 goals per game, and boasts the top ranked defense. The Redhawks come strong in the third period on both ends, scoring a league-high 59 goals in the third period and allowing a league-low 12.
Senior Ryan Jones leads Miami in scoring with 27 goals and 13 assists. His 27 goals puts him at the top of the CCHA in goals scored and his 40 points ranks fourth in the league. The Redhawks also boast the CCHA's top scoring freshman, Carter Camper. Camper has been named CCHA Rookie of the Week three times this season and is currently sixth in the league in scoring with 13 goals and 20 assists. Goalie Jeff Zatkoff leads the leage in goals against and is letting in just 1.81 goals per game.
Junior captain Jeff LoVecchio has scored four goals and added five assists in just six career games against Miami. Nathan Ansell and Chris Frank each have three assists in their careers against the Redhawks and Bronco goaltender Riley Gill has made one career starte, a 5-3 loss in which he made 31 saves.
ALL GOOD THINGS...: Two long-running streaks ended last weekend against Michigan State. The Broncos had not allowed a power play goal in their previous four games, holding opponents 0-15. That streak was ended midway through the third period of Friday night's game on a goal by MSU's Chris Mueller. The Spartans went 3-15 on the power play in the weekend series with the Broncos.
Freshman center Max Campbell's six-game scoring streak also ended on Friday night. Campbell had scored three goals and added four assists in his previous six games before the series with Michigan State. Campbell was held scoreless both games.
TOUGH FINISH: The Broncos squared off against No. 8 Michigan State last week, face No. 5 Miami this week and will finish the season with a pair of games against No. 9 Notre Dame. If the rankings hold firm, the Broncos will have played eight games against teams ranked in the Top 10. WMU is currently 0-6-0 against ranked teams this year.
CRAZY EIGHTS: Western Michigan has a three-player log jam for team leader in goals scored. Patrick Galivan, Jeff LoVecchio and Cam Watson all have eight goals each. Senior Jeff Pierce is just one goal away from joining the bunch at the top and freshman Max Campbell is two goals away.
The 2006-07 Broncos finished the season with five players with 10 or more goals, and four with 15 or more. Mark Letestu led the Broncos with 24 goals, the total you would get if you added Galivan, LoVecchio and Watson's production together.
