From a conference standings perspective, this series is meaningless.
Western Michigan has already clinched the Penrose Cup, awarded to the league’s regular season champion, and Miami is locked into last place in the NCHC.
But the Broncos are still ranked fifth in the PairWise and are gunning for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and the RedHawks are trying to end the season on a proverbial high note while players are also auditioning for jobs, either with Miami next season or potential professional suitors.
Or maybe gigs with other colleges, should they enter the transfer portal.
VFG takes a look at the upcoming series:
WHO: No. 4 Western Michigan Broncos (24-7-1) at Miami RedHawks (3-26-3).
WHERE: Cady Arena (3,049), Oxford, Ohio.
WHEN: Both nights — 7:05 p.m.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Western Michigan leads, 86-71-13.
VIDEO STREAMING: NCHC.tv ($).
MIAMI RADIO: Friday–WBMV-AM (1490), Richmond, Ind.; Saturday–WMOH-AM (1450). Greg Waddell (PxP) and Drew Davis (color).
NOTES: Since the calendar flipped to 2025, Western Michigan is 13-3.
Granted, two of those wins were against Miami and, well, the team the RedHawks swept to get two of their three wins this season (Anchorage), but still: Quite a second-half run. The Broncos will be a serious threat to win their first-ever NCAA title next month.
WMU can score. The Broncos have netted three or more goals in all of their last eight games, averaging 4.53 tallies in that span.
For the season, Western Michigan’s offense is third in Division I, as they are scoring at a 3.83-goal clip, trailing only Minnesota and Denver.
The Broncos are also second in the conference on the power play at 26.2 percent. And they the put the puck on net — WMU averages 35.1 shots on goal, third-most in college hockey.
Three sophomores have been instrumental up front — Alex Bump, Owen Michaels and Grant Slukynsky.
Bump, a Philadelphia Flyers draftee, leads the team in points by nine, going 16-20-36, matching his freshman total, and has six power play goals.
In-state product Michaels scored just twice last season but leads the team with 14 goals and is tops among forwards with a plus-19 rating.
Slukynsky, a Warroad native who transferred from Northern Michigan, has six goals and 20 assists after recording just three helpers last season.
Four other WMU forwards have racked up at least 20 points: Tim Washe, Liam Valente, Zach Nehring and Iiro Hakkarainen.
Valente is tied with Bump for the team lead in PPGs with six, and Washe has netted six game-winners.
On defense, Swedish junior Samuel Sjolund (Dallas draftee) has three goals and a team-best 22 assists for 25 points, and freshman Joona Vaisanen (Pittsburgh selection) is 3-18-21.
And this hurts a little: Graduate Robby Drazner leads WMU in defenseman goals with five. Drazner played the past four seasons for Miami.
In net, graduate senior Cameron Rowe has a remarkable 15-2 record to accompany a 2.00 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage. He has 58 wins in three seasons with the Broncos.
But freshman Los Angeles Kings fourth-round pick Hampton Slukynsky — brother of Grant — has a slightly better GAA (1.97) and save percentage (.926).
Barring a Miami sweep, this will go down as the worst season in program history statistically.
The last NCHC team the RedHawks beat was Western Michigan in Oxford, on Jan. 13, 2024, but Miami is 0-36-2 (.026) since vs. conference opponents.
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