2020–21 Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2020–21 Western Michigan Broncos
men's ice hockey season
Western Michigan Athletics wordmark.svg
Conference6th NCHC
Home iceLawson Arena
Rankings
USCHO.comNR
USA Today/
US Hockey Magazine		NR
Record
Overall10–12–3
Conference10–11–3–1–0–1
Home5–2–0
Road3–3–1
Neutral2–7–2
Coaches and Captains
Head CoachAndy Murray
Assistant CoachesPat Ferschweiler

Captain(s)Paul Washe
Alternate captain(s)Kale Bennett
Ethen Frank
Josh Passolt
Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey seasons
« 2019–20 2021–22 »

The 2020–21 Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey season was the 47th season of play for the program and the 8th in the NCHC conference. The Broncos represented Western Michigan University and were coached by Andy Murray, in his 10th season.

Season[]

As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the entire college ice hockey season was delayed. Because the NCAA had previously announced that all winter sports athletes would retain whatever eligibility they possessed through at least the following year, none of Western Michigan's players would lose a season of play.[1] However, the NCAA also approved a change in its transfer regulations that would allow players to transfer and play immediately rather than having to sit out a season, as the rules previously required.[2]

Western Michigan began the season playing a series of games in Omaha, Nebraska, along with the rest of the NCHC. Before the team could even finish its first game, the Broncos were hamstrung by an injury to their starting netminder, Brandon Bussi.[3] The team turned to senior Austin Cain and, after a very rough start, he settled into the starting role. Cain played well at times but the team's compact schedule of games gave WMU few favors and by Christmas the team sat near the bottom of the conference with a 2–6–2 record. After getting swept by Miami at the beginning of January, freshman Alex Aslanidis was put in net and the team began to show signs of life. After nearly returning the favor to Miami, the Broncos swept #4 St. Cloud State and turned their season around virtually overnight. Aslanidis' performance, paired with the stellar play of Ronnie Attard, allowed Western Michigan to sweep another #4 team a few weeks later (Minnesota Duluth). In their final weekend of the regular season Bussi returned from his injury and swept Miami to put the team within one game of a .500 record.

Despite the teams vastly improved performance in the second half of the season, their record meant that the team had no real chance of making the NCAA Tournament without winning the NCHC Championship. The team had to get through Minnesota Duluth in the quarterfinals and the Broncos gave everything they had, taking a lead into the third period and then tying the game with less than a minute to play. WMU nearly matched UMD shot-for-shot but the final goal came from the Bulldogs and Western Michigan's season was over.

Jacob Bauer, Rhett Kingston and Jared Kucharek sat out the season.

Departures[]

Player Position Nationality Cause
Wade Allison Forward  Canada Graduation (Signed with Philadelphia Flyers)
Luke Bafia Defenseman  United States Graduation (Signed with Kansas City Mavericks)
Ben Blacker Goaltender  Canada Graduation
Lawton Courtnall Forward  United States Graduation (Signed with Wheeling Nailers)
Dawson DiPietro Forward  United States Graduation (Signed with Buffalo Sabres)
Cam Lee Defenseman  Canada Graduation (Signed with Pittsburgh Penguins)
Will Massey Goaltender  United States Graduation (Retired)
Hugh McGing Forward  United States Graduation (Signed with St. Louis Blues)
Cameron Orchard Forward  United States Left program
Austin Rueschhoff Forward  United States Signed professional contract (New York Rangers)
Mattias Samuelsson Defenseman  United States Signed professional contract (Buffalo Sabres)

Recruiting[]

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Alex Aslanidis Goaltender  United States 19 Moorestown, NJ
Jacob Bauer Defenseman  United States 18 Detroit, MI
Trevor Bishop Forward  United States 21 Rochester Hills, MI
Cédric Fiedler Defenseman  United States 19 Boca Raton, FL
Aidan Fulp Defenseman  United States 20 Indianapolis, IN
Ty Glover Forward  Canada 20 Salford, GBR
Luke Grainger Forward  Canada 20 Montréal, QC
Chad Hillebrand Forward  United States 21 Park Ridge, IL
Daniel Hilsendager Defenseman  Canada 20 Lloydminster, SK
Cam Knuble Forward  United States 20 Grand Rapids, MI
Hugh Larkin Forward  United States 21 Livonia, MI
Tim Washe Forward  United States 19 Detroit, MI
Jarred White Forward  Canada 21 Edmonton, AB

Roster[]

As of March 1, 2021.[4]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Ontario Austin Cain Senior G 6' 4" (1.93 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1996-09-12 Ottawa, Ontario Whitby (OJHL) —
2 Missouri Kale Bennett (A) Senior (RS) D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1995-11-30 St. Louis, Missouri Nanaimo (BCHL) —
3 Illinois Michael Joyaux Junior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 1997-02-13 Bloomingdale, Illinois Youngstown (USHL) —
4 Michigan Cam Knuble Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2000-07-23 Grand Rapids, Michigan Muskegon (USHL) —
6 Michigan Scooter Brickey Sophomore D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 1999-05-27 Burtchville, Michigan Des Moines (USHL) —
7 Michigan Ronnie Attard Sophomore D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1999-03-20 White Lake, Michigan Tri-City (USHL) PHI, 72nd overall 2019
8 Ontario Matteo Pecchia Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 2000-06-05 Nobleton, Ontario Mississauga (OJHL) —
9 Quebec Luke Grainger Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-09-03 Montreal, Quebec Hawkesbury (CCHL) —
10 Illinois Chad Hillebrand Freshman F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1999-01-22 Park Ridge, Illinois Green Bay (USHL) —
11 Alberta Rhett Kingston Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1997-11-04 Black Diamond, Alberta Salmon Arm (BCHL) —
12 Florida Cole Gallant Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-03-14 Dover, Florida Omaha (USHL) —
13 Ontario Drew Worrad Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 186 lb (84 kg) 1997-06-30 Birr, Ontario Steinbach (MJHL) —
14 Michigan Jason Polin Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1999-06-17 Holt, Michigan Cedar Rapids (USHL) —
15 Saskatchewan Daniel Hilsendager Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 2000-03-30 Lloydminster, Saskatchewan Omaha (USHL) —
16 Michigan Tim Washe Freshman F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2001-08-25 Clarkston, Michigan Nanaimo (BCHL) —
17 Switzerland Cédric Fiedler Freshman D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 204 lb (93 kg) 2001-04-20 Zug, Switzerland Fargo (USHL) —
18 Alberta Brett Van Os Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1996-02-21 St. Albert, Alberta Calgary Canucks (AJHL) —
19 New Jersey Lukas Samuelsson Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 1996-10-08 Voorhees, New Jersey Toronto (GMHL) —
20 Alberta Jamie Rome Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 211 lb (96 kg) 1998-10-03 Cochrane, Alberta Victoria (BCHL) —
21 Wisconsin Josh Passolt (A) Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1996-09-13 Hayward, Wisconsin Sioux Falls (USHL) —
22 Michigan Trevor Bishop Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-01-23 Rochester Hills, Michigan Victoria (BCHL) —
23 Michigan Paul Washe (C) Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 1998-11-27 Clarkston, Michigan Fargo (USHL) —
24 Indiana Aidan Fulp Freshman D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2000-02-29 Indianapolis, Indiana Dubuque (USHL) —
25 Michigan Jared Kucharek Junior D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 1998-05-23 Royal Oak, Michigan Madison (USHL) —
26 Nebraska Ethen Frank (A) Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1998-02-05 Papillion, Nebraska Lincoln (USHL) —
27 Ontario Ty Glover Freshman F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2000-10-01 London, Ontario Lincoln (USHL) —
28 Michigan Hugh Larkin Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1999-03-27 Livonia, Michigan Austin (NAHL) —
29 Alberta Jarred White Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1999-05-21 Edmonton, Alberta Sherwood Park (AJHL) —
30 New York (state) Brandon Bussi Sophomore G 6' 5" (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1998-06-25 Sound Beach, New York Muskegon (USHL) —
31 Alberta Ross Hawryluk Freshman G 6' 4" (1.93 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 2001-03-19 Lloydminster, Alberta Nipawin (SJHL) —
35 New Jersey Alex Aslanidis Freshman G 6' 5" (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2001-01-20 Morristown, New Jersey Navan (CCHL) —
Michigan Jacob Bauer Freshman D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 2002-02-25 Milford, Michigan Lincoln (USHL) —

Standings[]

2020–21 National Collegiate Hockey Conference Standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL 3/SW PTS PT% GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#5 North Dakota dagger* 24 18 5 1 2 1 0 54 .750 94 47 29 22 6 1 114 57
#2 St. Cloud State 24 15 9 0 3 3 0 45 .625 78 64 31 20 11 0 101 84
#3 Minnesota Duluth 24 13 9 2 1 2 1 43 .597 72 54 28 15 11 2 84 66
#13 Omaha 24 14 9 1 4 0 1 40 .556 79 69 26 14 11 1 85 81
Denver 22 9 12 1 0 2 1 31 .470 61 60 24 11 13 1 67 66
Western Michigan 24 10 11 3 1 0 1 33 .458 73 84 25 10 12 3 77 89
Colorado College 22 4 16 2 0 2 2 18 .273 35 77 23 4 17 2 36 79
Miami 24 5 17 2 0 1 0 18 .250 46 83 25 5 18 2 48 89
Championship: March 16, 2021
dagger 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
December 1 8:07 PM vs. St. Cloud State #17 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Cain L 3–4  0 0–1–0 (0–1–0)
December 3 8:35 PM vs. Omaha #17 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Cain L 2–10  0 0–2–0 (0–2–0)
December 6 1:05 PM vs. #1 North Dakota #17 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Cain L 2–8  0 0–3–0 (0–3–0)
December 8 12:35 PM vs. Colorado College Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Cain T 3–3 SOL 0 0–3–1 (0–3–1)
December 9 4:35 PM vs. #13 St. Cloud State Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Cain W 2–1  0 1–3–1 (1–3–1)
December 11 8:35 PM vs. Colorado College Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska AT&T RM Cain W 5–2  0 2–3–1 (2–3–1)
December 13 5:05 PM vs. #1 North Dakota Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Cain L 3–6  0 2–4–1 (2–4–1)
December 15 4:35 PM vs. #8 Denver Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska Altitude Cain L 2–3  0 2–5–1 (2–5–1)
December 18 4:35 PM vs. #17 Omaha Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Cain L 5–6  0 2–6–1 (2–6–1)
December 19 5:05 PM vs. #8 Denver Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska Altitude Cain T 3–3 SOL 0 2–6–2 (2–6–2)
January 2 5:05 PM vs. Miami Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan   Cain L 1–3  0 2–7–2 (2–7–2)
January 3 5:05 PM vs. Miami Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan   Cain L 1–5  0 2–8–2 (2–8–2)
January 8 7:00 PM at Miami Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio   Aslanidis W 4–1  0 3–8–2 (3–8–2)
January 9 5:00 PM at Miami Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio   Aslanidis T 3–3 SOW 0 3–8–3 (3–8–3)
January 15 7:05 PM vs. #4 St. Cloud State Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan   Aslanidis W 6–2  0 4–8–3 (4–8–3)
January 16 7:41 PM vs. #4 St. Cloud State Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan CBSSN Aslanidis W 3–1  0 5–8–3 (5–8–3)
January 23 7:00 PM at #7 Minnesota Duluth AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota   Aslanidis L 1–5  150 5–9–3 (5–9–3)
January 24 5:00 PM at #7 Minnesota Duluth AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota   Aslanidis L 1–4  150 5–10–3 (5–10–3)
February 5 8:30 PM at #4 St. Cloud State Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota   Aslanidis L 1–5  153 5–11–3 (5–11–3)
February 6 7:07 PM at #4 St. Cloud State Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota   Cain W 5–4 OT 157 6–11–3 (6–11–3)
February 12 6:05 PM vs. #4 Minnesota Duluth Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan   Aslanidis W 4–0  125 7–11–3 (7–11–3)
February 13 4:05 PM vs. #4 Minnesota Duluth Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan   Aslanidis W 4–1  125 8–11–3 (8–11–3)
February 26 6:05 PM vs. Miami Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan   Bussi W 5–2  125 9–11–3 (9–11–3)
February 27 2:00 PM at Miami Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio CBSSN Bussi W 4–2  0 10–11–3 (10–11–3)
NCHC Tournament
March 13 8:30 PM vs. #9 Minnesota Duluth Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota   Bussi L 4–5 OT 2,167 10–12–3
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

[5]

Scoring Statistics[]

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Drew Worrad C 25 5 18 23 8
Ronnie Attard D 25 8 14 22 8
Ethan Frank C 24 13 8 21 4
Paul Washe C 25 8 13 21 18
Josh Passolt LW 25 7 12 19 14
Cole Gallant RW 25 5 13 18 2
Jason Polin F 23 7 7 14 4
Michael Joyaux D 25 4 10 14 8
Ty Glover C 24 5 6 11 10
Aidan Fulp D 25 0 11 11 12
Brett Van Os LW 24 4 4 8 37
Luke Grainger F 25 4 4 8 12
Scooter Brickey D 25 2 4 6 16
Jamie Rome F 24 2 1 3 12
Cédric Fiedler D 15 0 3 3 6
Chad Hillebrand F 12 1 1 2 4
Hugh Larkin RW 19 1 1 2 7
Jarred White LW 14 0 2 2 22
Daniel Hilsendager D 21 0 2 2 4
Tim Washe C 13 1 0 1 10
Kale Bennett D 23 0 1 1 4
Trevor Bishop F 1 0 0 0 0
Brandon Bussi G 4 0 0 0 0
Lukas Samuelsson F 5 0 0 0 0
Cam Knuble F 8 0 0 0 4
Alex Aslanidis G 13 0 0 0 0
Austin Cain G 15 0 0 0 0
Bench - - - - - 8
Total 77 135 212 234

[6]

Goaltending statistics[]

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Brandon Bussi 4 211 2 1 0 10 80 0 .889 2.84
Alex Aslanidis 13 613 5 3 1 31 231 1 .882 3.03
Austin Cain 15 683 3 8 2 46 308 0 .870 4.04
Empty Net - 14 - - - 2 - - - -
Total 25 1522 10 12 3 89 619 1 .874 3.51

Rankings[]

Main article: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings
Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 (Final)
USCHO.com 18 17 17 17 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR - NR
USA Today NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.[7]

Awards and honors[]

Player Award Ref
Ronnie Attard AHCA West First Team All-American [8]
Ronnie Attard NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year [9]
Kale Bennett NCHC Scholar-Athlete of the Year [9]
Ronnie Attard NCHC First Team [10]
Ethen Frank NCHC Third Team [10]

References[]

  1. ^ "NCAA approves blanket waiver for 2020 fall sports athletes to retain year of eligibility". CBS Sports. August 21, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  2. ^ "DI Council grants waiver to allow transfer student-athletes to compete immediately". NCAA. December 16, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  3. ^ "Western Michigan Hockey: Losing Brandon Bussi detrimental to season". FanSided. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  4. ^ "WMU Hockey – 2020–21 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Western Michigan University Athletics. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  5. ^ "Western Michigan Broncos (Men) 2020-2021 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  6. ^ "Western Michigan Univ. 2020-2021 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  7. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  8. ^ "Boston College, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin lead way with three All-American college hockey players apiece for '20-21 season". USCHO.com. April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "North Dakota's Berry, Pinto Garner NCHC's Top Honors for 2020-21". NCHC. March 11, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  10. ^ a b "North Dakota Paces 2020-21 NCHC All-Conference Teams". nchchockey.com. March 8, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
Retrieved from ""