# 2022–23 Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey season

The 2022–23 Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey season was the 49th season of play for the program and 10th in the NCHC. The Broncos represented Western Michigan University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, were coached by Pat Ferschweiler in his second season, and played their home games at the Lawson Arena.

## Season

After the best season in program history and winning its first-ever NCAA tournament game, Western Michigan was immediately met with the task of remaking the team. Gone were the top 5 scorers from the year before as were all three goaltenders. WMU lost 15 players from the '22 team and, while several regular did return, the team's performance was an open question. Cameron Rowe, who had toiled in the Wisconsin goal for two years, was one of six transfers brought in to help make up for the brain drain but the team got probably their biggest contribution from freshman Ryan McAllister. The undrafted center immediately gelled with team captain Jason Polin and the two would prove to be one of the top duos in the nation.
The Broncos opened their season by travelling up to Anchorage to take on the restarted Seawolves program. With Alaska Anchorage playing their first game in over two-and-a-half years, they were not expected to do much even with the turnover for Western. However, the Seawolves defied expectations and won the first game. The Broncos' offense woke up after that stunner and won the next four games to try and undo the damage. At the end of the month, Western took on in-state rival Michigan in a battle between two high-scoring programs. The Broncos ended up scoring 9 goals in the two games but it was not enough as the Wolverines edged them out by a single goal both nights.
When WMU began its conference schedule very little changed for the team as they continued to play .500 hockey. The Music City Hockey Classic, which was scheduled to take place in Nashville on November 25, had to be moved to the Ford Ice Center Bellevue in nearby Bellevue, Tennessee. The change in venue was caused by a water main break at the Bridgestone Arena. After taking down Northeastern, the team stumbled to the break and sat just inside the pools but well out of the tournament in the PairWise rankings.
Western opened the second half of its season with the Great Lakes Invitational and faced a strong Michigan Tech squad to start. The Broncos blew the Huskies out of the water, romping to an 8–1 win. They had a near repeat in the championship game, pasting Ferris State 8–2. Polin netted hat-tricks in both games and shot into the lead for goals, scoring 18 in just 22 games. The massive wins also saw WMU race up the rankings, a trend that continued by winning their next 5 games and 9 out of 10 as well.
By the time mid-February rolled around, the Broncos were firing on all cylinders and gotten into the top 10. When they met Denver at the end of the month, Western was in the top 5 and had an outside chance to win the conference title if they could sweep the Pioneers. Unfortunately, Denver proved to a be a bit too tall of a task for the Broncos and they lost both games. The team recovered with an east match to end the season and finished second in the conference standings, Western's best finish in nearly 50 years. The high position gave the team a good match in the conference tournament as WMU played host to Colorado College.
Western's high-powered offense was sluggish against the Tigers. They were only able to get a single goal on the power play in the first two periods; however, they still left them with a lead going into the third. Over the span of 59 seconds, CC scored three times, more than they had scored in a single game in almost two months. The stunned Broncos were unable to recover in the last 5 minutes and ended with a loss. Even after that upset, the WMU offense did not appear much better in the rematch. The Broncos were able to score twice in regulation but could not edge out Colorado College and the two needed overtime to settle the score. Both teams went on the offensive in the extra session but, to the dismay of the home crowd, CC proved victorious and swept Western out of the conference tournament.
Luckily, the Broncos were high enough in the PairWise to be guaranteed a spot in the tournament and they had a week to try and get over the sudden ineptness of their offense. Once the tournament seeding was finalized, Western Michigan found itself with a 3 seed and set against Boston University. The very unfavorable draw resulted from the NCAA preventing inter-conference matches in the first round. In any event, Western was looking for its second tournament win and they started fast. WMU kept the pressure on BU for most of the first half of the period and were eventually able to scored the opening goal. However, while the team was celebrating, the referees were reviewing the tape and ended up taking the goal off the board due to goaltender interference. The change in momentum stalled Western Michigan and allowed the Terriers to go on the attack. A few minutes later BU score the first official goal of the game and then added 2 more by the midpoint of the second period. Jason Polin's 30th cut into the Terriers' lead but that was the only puck that the Broncos could get through the Boston University defense. For a team with the #5 offense in the nation, the sudden lack of scoring doomed the Broncos' season.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Alexandros Aslanidis | Goaltender | United States | Transferred to American International |
| Ronnie Attard | Defenseman | United States | Signed professional contract (Philadelphia Flyers) |
| Scooter Brickey | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Ohio State |
| Brandon Bussi | Goaltender | United States | Signed professional contract (Boston Bruins) |
| Ethen Frank | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Hershey Bears) |
| Ty Glover | Forward | United Kingdom | Signed professional contract (Pittsburgh Penguins) |
| Xan Gurney | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Long Island |
| Ross Hawryluk | Goaltender | Canada | Transferred to Manitoba |
| Michael Joyaux | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (signed with Toronto Marlies) |
| Jared Kucharek | Defenseman | United States | Graduate transfer to Lake Superior State |
| Josh Passolt | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Cincinnati Cyclones) |
| Matteo Pecchia | Forward | Canada | Transferred to Alaska |
| Nick Strom | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Rensselaer |
| Jarred White | Forward | Canada | Transferred to Alaska Anchorage |
| Drew Worrad | Forward | Canada | Graduation (signed with Grand Rapids Griffins) |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Carter Berger | Defenseman | Canada | 22 | North Vancouver, BC; transfer from Connecticut; selected 106th overall in 2019 |
| Barrett Brooks | Forward | United States | 20 | Stevens Point, WI |
| Cole Burtch | Forward | Canada | 21 | Markham, ON |
| Zak Galambos | Defenseman | United States | 25 | Walnut Creek, CA; transfer from American International |
| William Hambley | Goaltender | Canada | 20 | Cole Harbour, NS |
| Kirk Laursen | Goaltender | United States | 22 | Bloomfield Hills, MI; transfer from Miami |
| Oliver MacDonald | Forward | Canada | 21 | Grosse Pointe, MI; transfer from Massachusetts |
| Lucas Matta | Defenseman | Canada | 19 | Kleinburg, ON |
| Ryan McAllister | Forward | Canada | 20 | London, ON |
| Jack Perbix | Forward/Defenseman | United States | 25 | Elk River, MN; transfer from Minnesota; selected 116th overall in 2018 |
| Cameron Rowe | Goaltender | United States | 21 | Wilmette, IL; transfer from Wisconsin |
| Samuel Sjölund | Defenseman | Sweden | 21 | Stockholm, Sweden; selected 111th overall in 2019 |
| Theo Thrun | Forward | United States | 21 | Grand Rapids, MI |
| Ethan Wolthers | Forward | United States | 21 | Valencia, CA |

## Roster

As of August 23, 2022.

## Standings

2022–23 National Collegiate Hockey Conference Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record |
| | GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #6 Denver † | 24 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 56 | 94 | 53 | 40 | 30 | 10 | 0 | 150 | 86 |
| #11 Western Michigan | 24 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 86 | 60 | 39 | 23 | 15 | 1 | 148 | 102 |
| #20 Omaha | 24 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 42 | 71 | 64 | 37 | 19 | 15 | 3 | 109 | 97 |
| #5 St. Cloud State * | 24 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 41 | 85 | 68 | 41 | 25 | 13 | 3 | 133 | 95 |
| Minnesota Duluth | 24 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 33 | 65 | 81 | 37 | 16 | 20 | 1 | 95 | 114 |
| #17 North Dakota | 24 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 33 | 75 | 70 | 39 | 18 | 15 | 6 | 127 | 110 |
| Colorado College | 24 | 6 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 37 | 60 | 38 | 13 | 22 | 3 | 79 | 99 |
| Miami | 24 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 39 | 96 | 36 | 8 | 24 | 4 | 73 | 137 |
| Championship: March 18, 2023 † indicates conference regular season champion (Penrose Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Frozen Faceoff Championship Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll |||||||||||||||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Rank$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 1 | 10:07 PM | at Alaska Anchorage* | #14 | Seawolf Sports Complex • Anchorage, Alaska | | Rowe | L 1–3 | 830 | 0–1–0 |
| October 2 | 9:07 PM | at Alaska Anchorage* | #14 | Seawolf Sports Complex • Anchorage, Alaska | | Laursen | W 4–1 | 821 | 1–1–0 |
| October 8 | 7:07 PM | at Ferris State* | #18 | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, Michigan | FloHockey | Rowe | W 6–4 | 1,604 | 2–1–0 |
| October 13 | 7:00 PM | Bowling Green* | #18 | Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan | | Rowe | W 4–1 | 2,912 | 3–1–0 |
| October 15 | 7:07 PM | at Bowling Green* | #18 | Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio | FloHockey | Rowe | W 8–2 | 2,816 | 4–1–0 |
| October 21 | 7:00 PM | at #13 Notre Dame* | #17 | Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana | | Rowe | L 0–2 | 5,096 | 4–2–0 |
| October 22 | 6:00 PM | #13 Notre Dame* | #17 | Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan | | Rowe | W 4–0 | 3,224 | 5–2–0 |
| October 28 | 7:00 PM | at #4 Michigan* | #17 | Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, Michigan | | Rowe | L 4–5 | 5,800 | 5–3–0 |
| October 29 | 6:00 PM | #4 Michigan* | #17 | Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan | | Rowe | L 5–6 $^{OT}$ | 4,090 | 5–4–0 |
| November 4 | 7:00 PM | Miami | #18 | Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan | | Rowe | W 7–1 | 3,053 | 6–4–0 (1–0–0) |
| November 5 | 6:00 PM | Miami | #18 | Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan | | Rowe | W 5–2 | 3,528 | 7–4–0 (2–0–0) |
| November 11 | 8:30 PM | at #4 St. Cloud State | #17 | Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota | FOX 9+ | Rowe | W 4–2 | 3,557 | 8–4–0 (3–0–0) |
| November 12 | 7:00 PM | at #4 St. Cloud State | #17 | Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota | FOX 9+ | Rowe | L 1–4 | 4,152 | 8–5–0 (3–1–0) |
| November 18 | 7:00 PM | Minnesota Duluth | #14 | Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan | | Rowe | L 4–5 | 2,753 | 8–6–0 (3–2–0) |
| November 19 | 6:00 PM | Minnesota Duluth | #14 | Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan | | Rowe | W 5–3 | 3,294 | 9–6–0 (4–2–0) |
| November 25 | 7:30 PM | vs. #18 Northeastern* | #15 | Ford Ice Center Bellevue • Bellevue, Tennessee (Music City Hockey Classic) | | Rowe | W 6–4 | 1,272 | 10–6–0 |
| December 2 | 8:07 PM | at Omaha | #14 | Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska | | Laursen | L 6–7 | 6,623 | 10–7–0 (4–3–0) |
| December 3 | 8:07 PM | at Omaha | #14 | Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska | | Rowe | L 1–3 | 6,766 | 10–8–0 (4–4–0) |
| December 9 | 7:00 PM | North Dakota | #17 | Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan | | Rowe | T 2–2 $^{SOL}$ | 3,239 | 10–8–1 (4–4–1) |
| December 10 | 6:00 PM | North Dakota | #17 | Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan | | Rowe | L 0–3 | 3,498 | 10–9–1 (4–5–1) |
| Great Lakes Invitational ||||||||||
| December 27 | 3:30 PM | vs. #17 Michigan Tech* | #18 | Van Andel Arena • Grand Rapids, Michigan (Great Lakes Invitational Semifinal) | | Rowe | W 8–1 | - | 11–9–1 |
| December 28 | 7:00 PM | vs. Ferris State* | #18 | Van Andel Arena • Grand Rapids, Michigan (Great Lakes Invitational Championship) | | Rowe | W 8–2 | 6,486 | 12–9–1 |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| January 13 | 8:07 PM | at North Dakota | #12 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Midco | Rowe | W 4–0 | 11,022 | 13–9–1 (5–5–1) |
| January 14 | 7:07 PM | at North Dakota | #12 | Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota | Midco | Rowe | W 7–6 | 11,664 | 14–9–1 (6–5–1) |
| January 20 | 9:30 PM | at Colorado College | #10 | Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | ATTRM | Rowe | W 4–1 | 3,408 | 15–9–1 (7–5–1) |
| January 21 | 8:00 PM | at Colorado College | #10 | Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Rowe | W 4–1 | 3,407 | 16–9–1 (8–5–1) |
| January 27 | 7:00 PM | Omaha | #9 | Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan | | Rowe | W 6–1 | 3,872 | 17–9–1 (9–5–1) |
| January 28 | 6:00 PM | Omaha | #9 | Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan | | Rowe | L 0–2 | 3,924 | 17–10–1 (9–6–1) |
| February 3 | 8:00 PM | at Minnesota Duluth | #10 | AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota | MY9 | Rowe | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 6,316 | 18–10–1 (10–6–1) |
| February 4 | 7:00 PM | at Minnesota Duluth | #10 | AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota | MY9 | Rowe | W 4–1 | 6,391 | 19–10–1 (11–6–1) |
| February 17 | 7:00 PM | Colorado College | #8 | Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan | | Rowe | W 4–1 | 3,585 | 20–10–1 (12–6–1) |
| February 18 | 6:00 PM | Colorado College | #8 | Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan | | Rowe | W 2–1 | 3,761 | 21–10–1 (13–6–1) |
| February 24 | 7:00 PM | #3 Denver | #5 | Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan | CBSSN | Rowe | L 2–5 | 3,947 | 21–11–1 (13–7–1) |
| February 25 | 6:00 PM | #3 Denver | #5 | Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan | | Rowe | L 1–3 | 4,419 | 21–12–1 (13–8–1) |
| March 3 | 7:05 PM | at Miami | #8 | Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio | | Rowe | W 5–0 | 1,955 | 22–12–1 (14–8–1) |
| March 4 | 5:05 PM | at Miami | #8 | Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio | | Rowe | W 5–4 $^{OT}$ | 2,486 | 23–12–1 (15–8–1) |
| NCHC Tournament ||||||||||
| March 10 | 5:00 PM | Colorado College* | #7 | Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan (Quarterfinal Game 1) | | Rowe | L 1–3 | 3,218 | 23–13–1 |
| March 11 | 4:00 PM | Colorado College* | #7 | Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan (Quarterfinal Game 2) | | Rowe | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 3,557 | 23–14–1 |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||||||
| March 23 | 2:00 PM | vs. #5 Boston University* | #9 | SNHU Arena • Manchester, New Hampshire (East Regional Semifinal) | ESPNU | Rowe | L 1–5 | 3,631 | 23–15–1 |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Ryan McAllister | C | 39 | 13 | 36 | 49 | 14 |
| Jason Polin | RW | 39 | 30 | 17 | 47 | 13 |
| Max Sasson | C | 38 | 15 | 27 | 42 | 18 |
| Luke Grainger | F | 38 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 12 |
| Zak Galambos | D | 39 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 34 |
| Cole Gallant | RW | 39 | 6 | 18 | 24 | 4 |
| Carter Berger | D | 33 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 16 |
| Dylan Wendt | F | 39 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 4 |
| Jack Perbix | RW/D | 39 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 18 |
| Tim Washe | C | 39 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 54 |
| Jamie Rome | F | 30 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 8 |
| Chad Hillebrand | F | 32 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 37 |
| Aidan Fulp | D | 38 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 24 |
| Hugh Larkin | RW | 38 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 24 |
| Cédric Fiedler | D | 39 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 17 |
| Daniel Hilsendager | D | 39 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| Jacob Bauer | D | 38 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 10 |
| Ethan Wolthers | F | 13 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Oliver MacDonald | F | 19 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Wyatt Schingoethe | C | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Cam Knuble | F | 30 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Cameron Rowe | G | 38 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Trevor Bishop | F | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lucas Matta | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kirk Laursen | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | | | 148 | 254 | 402 | 333 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals against | Saves | Shut-outs | SV % | GAA |
| Cameron Rowe | 38 | 2210:15 | 22 | 14 | 1 | 92 | 884 | 3 | .906 | 2.50 |
| Kirk Laursen | 5 | 116:44 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 29 | 0 | .829 | 3.08 |
| Empty Net | - | 27:29 | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 39 | 2354:28 | 23 | 16 | 1 | 102 | 913 | 3 | .900 | 2.60 |

## Rankings

| Poll | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 (Final) |
| USCHO.com | 14 | - | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 18 | - | 13 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | - | 11 |
| USA Today | 12 | 12 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 12 |
Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award |
| Jason Polin | AHCA West All-American Second Team |
| Jason Polin | NCHC Player of the Year |
| Jason Polin | NCHC Forward of the Year |
| Pat Ferschweiler | Herb Brooks Coach of the Year |
| Jason Polin | NCHC First Team |
| Ryan McAllister | NCHC Rookie Team |

## Players drafted into the NHL
### 2023 NHL Entry Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NHL team |
| 3 | 82 | Zach Nehring $^†$ | Winnipeg Jets |
| 6 | 183 | Ty Henricks $^†$ | New York Rangers |
† incoming freshman