2024–25 Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey season

2024–25 Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey season
NCAA Division I National Champion NCHC Regular Season, Champion NCHC Tournament, Champion NCAA Tournament, Champion
Conference	NCHC
Home ice	Lawson Arena
Rankings
USCHO	#1
USA Hockey	#1
Record
Overall	34–7–1
Conference	19–4–1
Home	18–2–1
Road	9–4–0
Neutral	7–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Pat Ferschweiler
Assistant coaches	Jason Herter J. J. Crew Jared Brown
Captain(s)	Tim Washe
Alternate captain(s)	Alex Bump Matteo Costantini Cam Knuble
Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey seasons « 2023–24 2025–26 »

The 2024–25 Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey season was the 51st season of play for the program and 12th in the NCHC. The Broncos represented Western Michigan University in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, played their home games at the Lawson Arena and were coached by Pat Ferschweiler in his fourth season. The Broncos won the 2025 NCHC Tournament for the first time in program history, and received the conference's automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA tournament. They won their first national championship in program history.

Western Michigan began the season with one of the highest roster turnover rates in the country. Seventeen players, including the top three scorers and three of the top four defensemen, were gone. While some of the brain trust was still around in the presence of five-year player and Tim Washe, the Broncos were essentially having to completely remake the team. However, coach Ferschweiler had some advantages in rebuilding the team. Western had been one of the better teams on late, making the NCAA tournament in each of his three seasons behind the bench. Also, Western Michigan had made a name for itself as an up-tempo offense club. Ferschweiler succinctly iterated his plan for the team in an earlier interview:

"...we score four goals a game." ^[1]

The aggressive game plan continued and, with much of college hockey still subscribing to a low-scoring, defensive-first mentality, Western was in a prime position to get the kind of recruits it needed for its fast-paced style. The Broncos dipped into the transfer portal, brining in six experienced college players to bolster the lineup. The Defense got much-needed with two graduate players, Brian Kramer and Robby Drazner, both of whom were expected to provide a stabilizing presence on the blueline. However, most of the new players for the Broncos were freshmen with 10 neophytes filling out the roster. The club did bring in a few professional prospects, such as Ty Henricks and Zach Nehring, but their biggest addition was projected to be in goal. Hampton Slukynsky was a rising star after being named USHL Goaltender of the Year in 2024 and the team was hoping that he would turn into the club's starting goaltender in short order.^[2] The addition of the young netminder also came with an additional benefit as his brother, Grant was one of the players who transferred in, adding another offensive player to the mix.

With all the new additions, Western was a complete unknown and many did not have high expectations outside the program,^[3] though the team still had a favorable enough view to earn a spot in the national preseason polls.^[4]

When the Broncos began the season, coach Ferschweiler decided to rotate his goalies. The team alternated between senior Cameron Rowe and Slukynsky the younger, wanting to ease the teenager into the college game. While both goalies looked good early on, the offense was producing at its normal rate. Alex Bump led a lineup that could routinely go three lines deep for goal production with seven forwards finishing the year in double-digits. The club put up outstanding numbers early but had their ego checked when they ran into championship-favorites Boston College at the end of October. After scoring the first two goals, the Broncos were outplayed in the final 50 minutes and were steamrolled by the Eagles, losing 2–4. The team seemed to take the loss to heart and didn't lose again for over a month. Their stellar play in November got the team a promotion up into the top-10 and had the club looking like a sure-fire tournament team by Thanksgiving.

Just before the winter break, Western Michigan was given a chance to prove how good it was by playing back-to-back weekends against two of the best teams in the country. After downing Michigan in the first game, the Broncos' offense seemed to dry up. Despite getting a superlative performance from Slukynsky in goal, WMU could only summon 18 shots in the rematch, falling 1–2. The next week against Denver saw nearly the same occurrence with a win followed by the offense falling flat and leading to a loss in an otherwise winnable game.

The splits the Broncos earned in those two weeks allowed the team to hold serve and keep their position in the standings. However, failing to generate scoring chances was something an offensive team could not afford to do (Western had 13 total shots in the third period in the two losses). With a glaring issue having been revealed, the winter break could not have come at a better time. However, while coach Ferschweiler had an opportunity to fine tune his offense, the team would be without the serviced of Hampton Slukynsky for two weeks after they returned to play. The goaltender had joined Team USA for the World Junior Championships and would be unavailable until after the tournament concluded on the January 5.^[5] While Western still had the experienced hand of Rowe to rely on, the Broncos' goaltender could do nothing to resolve the up-and-down offense.

The team returned to the ice in the Great Lakes Invitational and eked out a win the first game. The championship saw the Broncos pitted against another top-ranked team in Michigan State. The offense was held to just a single power play goal in the loss but the team showed a much better effort by putting up 30 shots against one of the nation's stingiest defenses.

Western Michigan was able to take advantage of a relatively weak NCHC field in the second half of the year and rack up a huge win total. The Broncos went 13–3 in their final 16 conference games thank in part to the offense getting back on track and averaging well over 4 goals per game during that stretch. After Slukynsky's return to Kalamazoo, the goaltending rotation resumed. However, the team started seeing some separation between its netminders. While Slukynsky was routinely putting forth a solid performance, Rowe's play began to suffer in February. After two lackluster outings, Rowe was relegated to being the backup with Slukynsky taking over as the primary netminder at the end of the month.

Even with the slight dip in Rowe's play, Western Michigan was able to sew up the regular season title with more than a week to go and ended up finishing 10 points ahead of second place. The team's outstanding record gave the program its first conference title in 50 years as well as a guaranteed spot in the NCAA tournament.^[6]

The team began its postseason run by hosting St. Cloud State for its final home games of the year. The Huskies, who had started the season with a great deal of hope, were hopelessly outclassed by the Broncos and lit up 6–2 in consecutive nights. Western continued to receive scoring from up and down the lineup with Bump's 5 points being the high-water mark.

The semifinal match saw the team face off against North Dakota, who were fighting desperately for a shot at the tournament. Once again, however, WMU was the better of the two and put 16 more shots on goal in the contest. The Hawks' netminder kept the game close for a while but UND's inability to solve Slukynsky forced them to pull their goalie late and two empty-net goals from Western sealed the game.^[7]

Western Michigan advanced to the NCHC championship for only the second time and were set against the only other conference member who would take part in this year's NCAA tournament, Denver. The Broncos got off to a good start, outplaying the Pioneers in the first but they failed to capitalize and the match remained scoreless entering the second. Denver took control of the game in the middle of the period and scored three times in under five minutes, stunning the Broncos. After that offensive flurry, Western gtot back to their game and took over the match, attacking the Denver cage for the entire second half of regulation. Zack Sharp got the team on the board at the start of the third and, although Western continued to apply pressure, nearly 10 minutes went by before the team could score again. Fortunately, when Bump netted his 22nd of the year, the Pioneers had pulled back into a defensive shell and had been unable to add to their lead. With under 4 minutes to play, Washe tied the score and forced the game into overtime. Momentum remained with Western in the extra session with the Broncos throwing 16 more shots at the Denver net but nothing went in. Undaunted, the team got right back to the offense at the start of the fifth period and Bump fired home the winning goal just 22 seconds into the period.^[8]

The first NCHC championship for Western Michigan not only gave the program its second 30-win season in history but it also assured the team of a #1 seed. Unfortunately, because Michigan State had priority seeding, the Broncos were sent to the Fargo Regional instead of the Toledo Regional. However, due to NCAA seeding requirements regarding host teams, Wester did receive a slight improvement to its first round match when they were set opposite Minnesota State instead of Penn State.

The game played out largely like the classic irresistible force paradox with the Mavericks operating as the immovable object. While both sides played fast and hard throughout the night, the game hinged on which was better: the Western's offense or Minnesota State's defense. Liam Valente got Western the lead at the beginning of the second period on the power play. This was fortunate as MSU did not take another penalty for the remainder of the game, forcing WMU to have to generate its own chances. This proved difficult as the Mavericks were one of the top defensive teams in the country and held the Broncos to under 30 shots in regulation. With Western unable to increase its lead, Minnesota State was able to wait for its opportunities and ended up cashing in at the beginning of the third. The close-checking game remained tied after 60 minutes and the two sides headed into overtime. With MSU content to play defense, it was up to Western to try and break the game open. This resulted in a shot disparity in favor of the Broncos but not a high number of chances. With nothing resolved after four periods, Both sides were beginning to look tired. Western nearly lost the game when it turned the puck over in its own end but a stick check stopped a sure game-winning goal from being scored. After several more chances went for naught, Zach Nehring threw a weak shot on goal that the MSU netminder failed to cover. Grant Slukynsky was first on the puck and put a backhand in front of the net that deflected in off of a Maverick defender.^[9]

With just their second tournament win in program history, Western Michigan advanced to face Massachusetts in the Regional Final. Perhaps due to their late night two days earlier, the Broncos were slow out of the gate and found themselves down by a goal after 20 minutes. Western kicked its offense into gear in the second period taking over the pace of play for long stretched in the middle frame. For a long time, this came to no avail but the constant pressure eventually forced the minutemen into a costly mistake. After failing on their first power play of the game, Western Michigan received a glorious opportunity when Massachusetts was called for a major penalty near the end of the second period. Valente tied the game with his second goal of the tournament just 22 seconds into the man advantage. After failing for the remainder of the period, Western began the third with more than 3 minutes left on their power play but almost squandered the chance. With less than a minute remaining on the major, Washe scored his 16th of the season to give the Broncos the lead. Western then handed UMass a golden chance when Iiro Hakkarainen took a major penalty for elbowing, though he was allowed to remain in the game. Fortunately, the penalty kill rose to the occasion and prevented the Minutemen from scoring. WMU was then able to rely on its defense to carefully protect their 1-goal lead until the end of the game, earning the program its first trip to the Frozen Four.^[10]

In front of an NHL-sized crowd, Western Michigan took on Denver for the fourth time that season. With the three previous games all being decided by one goal, the match promised to be a close affair but Western did its level best to banish the Pioneers early. WMU outshot Denver 32–8 through 40 minutes and completely dominated the game. Kramer and Owen Michaels combined to put the Broncos up by a pair at the end of the second and, with the way the two were play, the game should have been over. Denver, however, was the reigning national champions and they refused to go away quietly. repaying Western for the comeback bid in the conference championship, Denver scored twice in the third to force overtime while a stunned WMU audience watched in discomfort. Western regained their edge in shots in overtime, however, just like their last meeting, four periods were not enough. In the first Frozen Four game to need double overtime in 29 years,^[11] Western echoed their NCHC championship performance by scoring on the first shot of double overtime. This time it came from the stick of Michaels, who rang the puck off of the post from the high slot.^[12] The win set a new program record for wins in a season with 33.

Western Michigan made its first appearance in the national championship against an old hand, Boston University. In just the fifth meeting between the two, Western was able to take an early lead thanks to Wyatt Schingoethe, who was playing in the final game as a Bronco. While BU managed to tie the game soon thereafter, Cole Crusberg-Roseen restored Western's lead when he cased in on a failed clearing attempt from the Terriers. Western grew its lead when Henricks scored in the early part of the second, however, the Broncos gave BU life by taking two penalties in the second half of the period, allowing Boston University to cut the lead back to 1.

Entering the third period, Western was just 20 minutes away from a national championship. All the team had to do was hold serve and play even hockey for the rest of the game. The plan was nearly ruined a few minutes into the period when BU was able to get the puck past a sprawling Slukynsky. Luckilly, Joona Väisänen had been laying across the goal-line and his shin pads stopped the puck from crossing the goal. After the near-disaster, the Terriers had a few more scoring chances stopped before Michaels was able to collect a loose puck and break down the ice on a 2-on-1. The sophomore fired the puck far-post, nearly the same spot where he had scored the semifinal's winning goal, and restored the Broncos' 2-goal edge. The score allowed Western to breathe and relax while BU became increasingly desperate. The Terriers briefly thought they had gotten their third goal of the night with about 8 minutes to play but the referees ruled that Slukynsky had frozen the puck. With about 4 minutes to play, Schingoethe skated the puck below the BU goal-line and found Hakkarainen on the short side. While his initial shot was stopped, the puck rebounded up and the Terriers' netminder accidentally swept the puck in with the back of his glove. The crazy bounce all but ended the game as Western was now up by 3 goals and BU had inadequate time to recover. With nothing to lose, Boston University pulled their goaltender and put all their efforts towards the offense. with about 2 minutes to play, Michaels was able to get control of the puck inside his own blueline and send the rubber 120 feet down the ice into the open goal. The goal capped off the scoring and Western was able to frit away the rest of the match to win the program's first national championship.^[13]

Player	Position	Nationality	Cause
Jacob Bauer	Defenseman	United States	Graduation (retired)
Carter Berger	Defenseman	Canada	Graduation (signed with Hartford Wolf Pack)
Trevor Bishop	Forward	United States	Graduation (retired)
Cole Burtch	Forward	Canada	Transferred to Ferris State
Joe Cassetti	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with Belfast Giants)
Sam Colangelo	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with Anaheim Ducks)
Cédric Fiedler	Defenseman	United States	Graduation (signed with Lausanne HC)
Zak Galambos	Defenseman	United States	Graduation (signed with Belfast Giants)
Luke Grainger	Forward	Canada	Graduation (signed with San Jose Barracuda)
Chad Hillebrand	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with Colorado Eagles)
Daniel Hilsendager	Defenseman	Canada	Graduation (retired)
Hugh Larkin	Forward	United States	Transferred to Connecticut
Oliver MacDonald	Forward	United States	Graduation (retired)
Jacob Napier	Defenseman	United States	Transferred to Colgate
Ethan Phillips	Forward	Canada	Graduation (retired)
Dawson Smith	Goaltender	Canada	Transferred to Robert Morris
Dylan Wendt	Forward	United States	Signed professional contract (New Jersey Devils)

Player	Position	Nationality	Age	Notes
Zach Bade	Forward	United States	21	Rosemount, MN
Connor Brown	Forward	United States	19	Estero, FL
Robby Drazner	Defenseman	United States	24	Buffalo Grove, IL; graduate transfer from Miami
Grady Gallatin	Defenseman	United States	20	White Bear Lake, MN
Iiro Hakkarainen	Forward	Finland	20	Helsinki, FIN
Ty Henricks	Forward	United States	19	Mission Viejo, CA; selected 183rd overall in 2023
Brian Kramer	Defenseman	United States	24	Wexford, PA; graduate transfer from American International
Ryan Kusler	Forward	United States	21	Battle Creek, MI
Tristan Lemyre	Forward	Canada	22	Mirabel, QC; transfer from Denver
Jack Mesic	Defenseman	United States	21	Plymouth, MI; transfer from Ferris State
Zach Nehring	Forward	United States	19	Minot, ND; selected 82nd overall in 2023
Zack Sharp	Defenseman	United States	19	Naperville, IL
Grant Slukynsky	Forward	United States	22	Edina, MN; transfer from Northern Michigan
Hampton Slukynsky	Goaltender	United States	19	Warroad, MN; selected 118th overall in 2023
Joona Väisänen	Defenseman	Finland	20	Espoo, FIN; selected 175th overall in 2024
Liam Valente	Forward	Sweden	21	Märsta, SWE; transfer from Providence

As of September 23, 2024.^[14]

No.	Nat.	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1		Kirk Laursen	Junior (RS)	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2000-01-02	Bloomfield Hills, Michigan	Miami (NCHC)	—
2		Grady Gallatin	Freshman	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	179 lb (81 kg)	2004-06-07	White Bear Lake, Minnesota	Janesville Jets (NAHL)	—
3		Cole Crusberg-Roseen	Sophomore	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	184 lb (83 kg)	2002-04-14	Stratham, New Hampshire	Lincoln Stars (USHL)	—
4		Robby Drazner	Graduate	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2000-02-13	Buffalo Grove, Illinois	Miami (NCHC)	—
6		Jack Mesic	Sophomore	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	176 lb (80 kg)	2002-10-18	Plymouth, Michigan	Ferris State (CCHA)	—
8		Zach Nehring	Freshman	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	179 lb (81 kg)	2005-03-07	Minot, North Dakota	Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)	WPG, 82nd overall 2023
9		Zach Bade	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	2003-04-26	Rosemount, Minnesota	Tri-City Storm (USHL)	—
10		Zack Sharp	Freshman	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	2005-03-29	Naperville, Illinois	Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL)	—
11		Ethan Wolthers	Junior	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	2001-07-19	Valencia, California	Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)	—
12		Connor Brown	Freshman	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2005-05-03	Estero, Florida	Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)	—
13		Grant Slukynsky	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2002-03-12	Edina, Minnesota	Northern Michigan (CCHA)	—
14		Brian Kramer	Graduate	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2000-07-20	Wexford, Pennsylvania	American International (AHA)	—
16		Tim Washe (C)	Graduate	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	2001-08-25	Detroit, Michigan	Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL)	—
17		Ty Henricks	Freshman	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	216 lb (98 kg)	2005-06-28	Mission Viejo, California	Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)	NYR, 183rd overall 2023
18		Wyatt Schingoethe	Senior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2002-08-03	Algonquin, Illinois	Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)	TOR, 195th overall 2020
19		Cam Knuble (A)	Graduate	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	2000-07-23	Grand Rapids, Michigan	Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)	—
20		Alex Bump (A)	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	2003-11-20	Burnsville, Minnesota	Tri-City Storm (USHL)	PHI, 133rd overall 2022
21		Ryan Kusler	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	2003-05-19	Battle Creek, Michigan	Omaha Lancers (USHL)	—
22		Iiro Hakkarainen	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	2004-03-09	Helsinki, Finland	Fargo Force (USHL)	—
23		Liam Valente	Junior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	2003-05-23	Märsta, Sweden	Providence (HEA)	—
24		Garrett Szydlowski	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2002-06-12	Detroit, Michigan	Wenatchee Wild (BCHL)	—
25		Matteo Costantini (A)	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	2002-08-16	St. Catharines, Ontario	North Dakota (NCHC)	BUF, 131st overall 2020
26		Ean Somoza	Sophomore	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	188 lb (85 kg)	2003-02-08	Thousand Oaks, California	Wenatchee Wild (BCHL)	—
27		Joona Väisänen	Freshman	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	176 lb (80 kg)	2004-07-29	Espoo, Finland	Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)	PIT, 175th overall 2024
29		Tristan Lemyre	Junior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2001-01-15	Mirabel, Quebec	Denver (NCHC)	—
30		Hampton Slukynsky	Freshman	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2005-07-02	Warroad, Minnesota	Fargo Force (USHL)	LAK, 118th overall 2023
31		Cameron Rowe	Graduate	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	2001-06-01	Wilmette, Illinois	Wisconsin (Big Ten)	—
33		Samuel Sjölund	Junior	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2001-05-19	Stockholm, Sweden	Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)	DAL, 111th overall 2019
34		Owen Michaels	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2002-05-01	Detroit, Michigan	Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)	—

• 
  Opening face-off from the finals
• 
  Post-game celebration

^[16]

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 12 or 26.^[17]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

† incoming freshman ^[25]