Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey

Western Michigan Broncos
University Western Michigan University
Conference CCHA
Head coach Andy Murray
1st year, 5–0–3
Captain(s) Ian Slater
Arena Lawson Arena
Capacity: 3,667
Location Kalamazoo, Michigan
Colors Brown and Gold

             
NCAA Tournament Appearances
1986, 1994, 1996, 2011
Conference Tournament Champions
1986

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 Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). They play at Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo, Michigan.[1]

Contents

History

The Broncos program began in 1973 and joined the 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.[2] The 1986 season marked the program's first and only CCHA Tournament Championship and the program's first bid to the NCAA Tournament.[3] The Broncos entered the Tournament in the West Regional against Harvard and lost 0 game to 2, WMU was outscored 11–4 by the Crimson.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6] The 1996 post season appearance would be WMU's last NCAA Tournament appearance to date.[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.

Yearly results

Season Team 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
Total: 645–674–121

      National champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference tournament champion
      Conference regular season & conference tournament champion       Conference division champion

Coaching

The Broncos are coached by former L.A. Kings and St. Louis Blues head coach Andy Murray. He is in his first season as head coach.

All-time coaching records

As of completion of 2009–10 season[8]

Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
2011–present Andy Murray 1 5–0–3 .813
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 5 coaches 39 seasons 645–674–121 .490

Players

Current roster

As of August 5, 2011. [9]

Goaltenders
# State Player Catches Year Hometown Previous Team
1 Frank Slubowski L Freshman Prince Rupert, British Columbia Alberni Valley (BCHL)
33 Nick Pisellini L Junior (RS) Itasca, Illinois Quinnipiac (ECACHL)
Defensemen
# State Player Shoots Year Hometown Previous Team
4 Colten Hayes R Freshman Surrey, British Columbia Okotoks (AJHL)
5 Dan DeKeyser L Sophomore Clay Township, Michigan Sioux City (USHL)
6 Matt Stewart L Freshman Brighton, Michigan Green Bay (USHL)
7 Matt Tennyson R Junior Pleasanton, California Cedar Rapids (USHL)
11 Dennis Brown R Sophomore Cypress, California Omaha (USHL)
15 Jordan Oesterle L Freshman Dearborn Heights, Michigan Sioux Falls (USHL)
28 Luke Witkowski R Junior Holland, Michigan Fargo (USHL)
Forwards
# State Player Shoots Year Hometown Previous Team
2 Mike Leone L Junior (RS) Dearborn Heights, Michigan Lindenwood (ACHA DI)
8 Robert Francis L Freshman San Diego, California Green Bay (USHL)
9 Brett Beebe R Junior Redondo Beach, California Chicago (USHL)
10 J. J. Crew R Senior Placentia, California Lincoln (USHL)
12 Ben Miller R Junior Oakland Township, Michigan Waterloo (USHL)
14 Ian Slater R Senior Satellite Beach, Florida Cedar Rapids (USHL)
16 Chase Balisy L Sophomore Rancho Santa Margarita, California US NTDP (USHL)
18 David Killip R Freshman Kelowna, British Columbia Salmon Arm (BCHL)
19 Kyle O'Kane R Senior St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis (NAHL)
20 Alex Carpenter L Freshman Portage, Michigan Tri-City (USHL)
21 Trevor Elias L Junior Calgary, Alberta Langley (BCHL)
22 Derek Roehl L Senior Clinton Township, Michigan Ohio (USHL)
23 Dane Walters R Junior St. Paul, Minnesota Sioux Falls (USHL)
24 Shane Berschbach L Sophomore Clawson, Michigan Indiana (USHL)
26 Greg Squires R Senior White Plains, New York Indiana (USHL)
27 Ben Warda L Junior (RS) Lake Orion, Michigan Michigan State (NCAA DI)
# William Kessel R Freshman Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Green Bay (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:[10] Several alumni are also known for their contributions as front office members and broadcasters.

Records

Through 2009–10 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

References

  1. ^ http://www.uscho.com/m/western-michigan-broncos/mens-college-hockey/team,wmu.html
  2. ^ http://www.uscho.com/stats/teamYxY.php/western-michigan-broncos/mens-college-hockey/team,wmu/season,20102011/gender,m.html
  3. ^ http://www.ccha.com/the_ccha/ccha_history_and_records.aspx
  4. ^ http://www.ncaa.org/library/records/ice_hockey/m_w_ice_hockey_records_book/2006/2006_m_w_ice_hockey_records.pdf
  5. ^ http://insidecollegehockey.com/6History/ncaa_94.htm
  6. ^ http://insidecollegehockey.com/6History/ncaa_96.htm
  7. ^ http://www.uscho.com/stats/teamYxY.php/western-michigan-broncos/mens-college-hockey/team,wmu/season,20102011/gender,m.html
  8. ^ [1] USCHO Western Michigan Men's Hockey: Year-By-Year
  9. ^ WMU Broncos men's ice hockey roster
  10. ^ http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/alumni.php?tmi=8932

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