When Miami beat Western Michigan, 4-2 at Cady Arena on Feb. 2, 2018, the RedHawks improved to six games over .500 in the all-time series, having bested the Broncos 68 times since the teams began playing each other in 1979.
But six years later, WMU enters this weekend with an aggregate .568 winning percentage vs. Miami, have racked up 10 straight wins and gone 19-2-2 since that RedHawks home win six years ago.
That 2018 game also represented the last Miami win over Western Michigan in this building. The RedHawks are 0-10-2 since at Cady Arena and are still looking for their first home win over WMU under coach Chris Bergeron.
So Miami is due, right?
VFTG takes a look at the upcoming series:
WHO: No. 10 Western Michigan Broncos (13-4-1, 4-4 NCHC) at Miami RedHawks (6-10-2, 0-7-1).
WHERE: Cady Arena (3,049), Oxford, Ohio.
WHEN: Friday and Saturday — 7:05 p.m.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Western Michigan leads, 81-70-13.
WESTERN MICHIGAN RADIO: Both nights — WVFM-FM (106.5), Kalamazoo, Mich.
MIAMI RADIO: Both nights — WKBV-AM (1490), Richmond, Ind.
STREAMING: NCHC.tv ($).
NOTES: It’s tough to find a flaw in Western Michigan.
The Broncos are fourth in the NCAA in goals per game (4.09) and fourth in average goals allowed (2.11).
WMU is third in Division I on the power play (28.9 percent) and ninth on the penalty kill (85.9 percent), second only to St. Cloud State in the conference.
The Broncos average the third-most shots in college hockey and allow just 25.4, the second-best clip in the NCHC and eighth-lowest in D-1.
The only knock on WMU is that none of its 10 non-conference games were against teams remotely close to .500 (Ferris State, Bowling Green, Brent Brekke’s St. Lawrence, and… >), including four games vs. new Division I foe Lindenwood, which it outscored, 17-5.
Up front, Luke Grainger has taken Yeti-like steps each season, and the senior is currently tied for second in Division I with 30 points, including 23 assists.
Dylan Wendt has 16 goals, second-most in the NCAA, and 11 assists for 27 points, and Sam Colangelo is 13-8-21 and tied for seventh in college hockey in goals.
Wendt has six power play goals and Colangelo five, so more than ever, Miami needs to stay out of the penalty box.
Ethan Phillips (8-10-18), Matteo Constantini (3-14-17) and Chad Hillebrand (2-13-15) all are significant offensive threats as well.
Of those six, five are seniors or graduates.
Another WMU graduate forward veteran is Joey Cassetti, who has five goals and seven assists. Cassetti played his last three seasons at Miami, netting 10 goals in 2022-23.
Graduate Zak Galabos leads Broncos defensemen in points with 12, and fellow grad senior Carter Berger (1-8-9) and sophomore Samuel Sjolund (1-7-8) have also contributed offensive from the blue line.
Seniors Daniel Hilsendager and Cedric Fiedler are solid veteran shut-down D-men.
In net, Cameron Rowe has handled Western Michigan’s entire workload this season, going 13-4-1 with 2.11 goals-against average and an impressive .917 save percentage.
The senior has logged all but 117 of the Broncos’ minutes between the pipes since transferring from Wisconsin prior to 2022-23.
WMU has won nine of 10 entering this weekend, but four of those wins were against Lindenwood and two more were against St. Lawrence.
Regardless, the Broncos are outstanding by every metric, and Miami will need to play at least as well as it did in the finale at Niagara to eke out points this weekend.
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