GAME 19
Western Michigan (7-8-3, vs. #3 Michigan (10-2-2)
All-Time series — UM leads 73-33-10
Dec. 27, 2013 // Comerica Park
Fri.: 7:05 p.m. // Detroit, Mich. // Fox Sports Detroit Plus
RADIO BROADCAST | LISTEN LIVE |
• Both of WMU's games at the GLI will be broadcast live on the Bronco Radio Network: 96.5 FM (Kalamazoo, Portage, Mattawan);
BROADCAST | FOX SPORTS DETROIT PLUS
• Friday's game will be televised live on Fox Sports Detroit Plus.
LAST TIME OUT
• The Broncos are fresh off a bye week after splitting at Minnesota-Duluth to finish off the first half of the regular season. WMU opened up the series with a 5-3 win off of two goals by Colton Hargrove and tallies by Chase Balisy, David Killip and Justin Kovacs. On Saturday WMU fought back from a 3-0 deficit on two goals by Josh Pitt and another tally from Kovacs to tie the game 3-3 but fell 4-3.
AT A GLANCE: THE MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
• THE SERIES: Michigan leads the all-time series 71-33-10 but the Broncos 6-4-0 in their last 10 against the Wolverines. Western Michigan also holds a 3-1-0 edge in neutral site contests.
• DEALING SOME DAMAGE: Chase Balisy leads all Broncos in scoring against Michigan with nine points in 12 games. Sophomore Colton Hargrove scored five of his nine goals last season against Michigan and leads the team with a +6 against the Wolverines. Five players on the roster have at least four points in their careers against the Maize and Blue.
• SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES: Michigan enters the Great Lakes Invitational ranked third in the country and tied for the fewest losses in the nation with just two. The Wolverines boast the sixth-ranked defense in the country, giving up just 2.07 goals per game in 14 games this season. A big reason for the defensive success has been the play of Zach Nagelvoort between the pipes. The freshman netminder has a 6-2-1 record with a .944 save percentage and a 1.67 goals against average through nine starts. Sophomore Steve Racine has also posted solid numbers in five starts with a 4-0-1 record, a .925 save percentage and a 2.77 goals against average.
Offensively the Wolverines have outscored opponents 45-29 so far this season and have been led by a balanced attack with five players posting at least 10 points and five players with at least five goals. Sophomore Andrew Copp is tied for the team lead in scoring with 14 points and also leads the squad in goals with nine but will be away with the United States team for the 2014 World Junior Championships. Freshman JT Compher also has 14 points and was on track to join Copp but had to leave USA's camp due to an injury. Fellow freshman Tyler Motte did earn a roster spot and will be unavailable for the Wolverines. Junior Alex Guptill is third on the squad with 12 points on six goals and six assists, while senior Luke Moffit leads the squad in power play goals with four. Freshman Michael Downing is the top scorer from the blue line with six points on one goal and five assists.
Michigan's power play ranks fifth in the nation, converting on 24.1 percent of its chances (13-for-54). After Moffat, four players have tallied at least two power play goals so far this season. The Wolverine penalty kill ranks 34th in the country at 80.6 percent (50-for-62).
BRONCO HOCKEY AT THE GLI
• ALL-TIME: This is Western Michigan's fourth trip to the Great Lakes Invitational. The Broncos have made the championship game twice (1986, 2012) and won the whole tournament in 1986. WMU's all-time GLI record is 2-3-1.
• #ThePoWerOfCold: WMU hosted a Hash Tag for Hockey Tix promotion and gave its fans a chance to come up with a hash tag that the team would use while at the Great Lakes Invitational. The winning tag, #ThePoWerOfCold, was submitted by Bronco hockey fan Christopher Jones (@jonesydesign). For his winning submission he received two tickets to Friday's game.
• FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME: Friday's game against Michigan will be the first outdoor game in WMU varsity hockey program history.
• THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM: The GLI is the third regular-season tournament the Broncos will be participating in. WMU made it to the finals of the Brice Alaska Goal Rush but fell to the host Nanooks in a shootout and then lost in the opening game of the Shillelagh Tournament to Northeastern, also in a shootout.
• RETURNING TO THE “D”: Western Michigan has six Detroit-area natives on the team. Shane Berschbach (Clawson), Sheldon Dries (Macomb), Will Kessel (Bloomfield Hills) Justin Kovacs (Grosse Point Woods), Jordan Oesterle (Dearborn Heights) and Matt Stewart (Brighton).
THROUGH THE FIRST 18
• WHO HAS STOOD OUT: Senior forward Shane Berschbach and junior forward Justin Kovacs are off to hot starts through the first half of the season. Berschbach leads the Broncos in scoring with 21 points on a team-best 14 assists and seven goals. It is the best start to a season he has had in his career at Western Michigan. His freshman season he had 12 points in his first 18 games, sophomore year he had 15 and last season he had nine.
Kovacs is second on the team with 18 points with 10 assists and a team-best eight goals. The Grosse Point Woods native has already established new career highs in all three categories. Berschbach, Kovacs and their centerman Josh Pitt have primarily done their damage during five-on-five action. Between the three of them just four of their 21 goals have come on the power play.
• FROM LAST YEAR TO THIS YEAR: Western Michigan's offense has been much improved through the first 18 games this season when compared to last season. The Broncos have scored 46 goals this season and have averaged 2.6 goals per game. Last Season WMU netted just 39 goals and averaged 2.2 goals per game during the first half of the season.
The defense has dipped though from last season's 2.1 goals allowed per game. This season WMU has given up six more goals total and averaged 2.4 allowed per game.
