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 National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). They play at Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. Western Michigan won their first national championship in 2025.
History
The Broncos program began in 1973 and joined the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (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. The 1986 season marked the program's first CCHA Tournament Championship and the program's first bid to the NCAA Tournament.CCHA history and recordsccha.com The Broncos entered the tournament in the West Regional against Harvard and lost the two-game aggregate series, being outscored 11–4 by the Crimson.
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. 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.
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. Denver scored two goals in the last 4:29 of the third period to force overtime. In 2011–12, for the second consecutive season, Western Michigan had a new head coach and reached the NCAA tournament. Longtime National Hockey League (NHL) coach Andy Murray was named as coach of the Broncos after Blashill left for the Detroit Red Wings. WMU finished tied for second in the CCHA and won the CCHA tournament, thereby receiving an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. Western Michigan lost in the first round of the tournament 3–1 to No. 1 seed North Dakota.
The CCHA disbanded after the 2012–13 season, in part due to the addition of men's ice hockey to the Big Ten Conference. This led the Broncos to join the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) starting in the 2013–14 season
Western Michigan won the 2013 four-team Great Lakes Invitational which was played outdoors at Comerica Park in Detroit. The Broncos defeated No. 3 Michigan 3–2 in overtime in the semifinals, and then claimed the championship by beating Michigan Tech 1–0, also in overtime. WMU won the 2014 Shillelagh Tournament with an 8–2 victory over No. 17 Union. The Broncos also defeated Ohio State in the first round of the tournament, 6–2.
In 2016–17, the Broncos followed up a disappointing 8–25–3 season with an impressive 22–13–5 and a third-place finish in the NCHC. Western Michigan was invited to the final Great Lakes Invitational at Joe Louis Arena, where they defeated Michigan Tech in the championship. WMU has been invited to the GLI 5 times dating back to 1977, winning it 3 of those times. The Broncos were defeated in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Division I tournament by Air Force.
In the 2021–22 season, Western Michigan had a legendary 26-win season under first-year head coach Pat Ferschweiler. The Broncos shared the 2021 Great Lakes Invitational championship by defeating Michigan State. The Broncos advanced to their first NCHC championship game, losing to Minnesota-Duluth 0–3. Western Michigan clinched their first 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament and would claim the first playoff win in program history by defeating Northeastern. They would be defeated by Minnesota 3–0 in the regional final.
The Broncos’ 2024–25 season was their best season to date. The Broncos collected numerous wins against top 10 ranked opponents and remained ranked in the top 5 for the majority of the season. On February 28, 2025, WMU defeated North Dakota 6–4 to claim their first NCHC regular season championship. After being down 3–0 in the NCHC Tournament Championship, WMU would score four unanswered goals to defeat Denver 4–3 in double overtime. This would the Broncos’ first ever NCHC Tournament Championship and third overall conference championship. WMU earned the 1-seed in the Fargo Regional for the NCAA Tournament, where they defeated Minnesota State and UMass to advance to St. Louis, where they would play in their first Frozen Four in school history. In a rematch of the NCHC Tournament Championship, the Broncos defeated Denver in a 2OT thriller to advance to their first championship game. In the championship game, they defeated Boston University by a score of 6–2 to claim their first national championship.
Season-by-season results
Source:
Coaching
All-time coaching records As of the completion of 2024–25 season
Tenure Coach Years Record Pct. 1973–1978 Bill Neal 5 91–65–5 1978–1982 Glen Weller 4 64–73–5 1982–1999 Bill Wilkinson 17† 313–301–53 1999–2010 Jim Culhane 11† 158–222–48 2010–2011 Jeff Blashill 1 19–13–10 2011–2021 Andy Murray 10 167–156–43 2021–Present Pat Ferschweiler 4 104–50–4 Totals 7 coaches 52 seasons 916–880–168 † The 1998–99 season was coached by both Wilkinson and Culhane.
Statistical leaders
Source:
Career points leaders Player Years GP G A Pts PIM 1982–1986 157 115 178 293 1986–1990 165 82 189 271 1983–1987 162 42 199 241 1986–1990 159 109 125 234 1978–1982 138 100 125 225 1974–1978 129 92 106 198 1983–1987 162 104 91 195 1992–1996 147 57 127 184 1983–1986 122 81 102 183 1978–1981 130 82 95 177
Career goaltending leaders
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
Minimum 30 games played Player Years GP Min W L T GA SO SV% GAA 2011–2015 94 6021 49 38 15 235 7 .909 2.34 2022–2025 93 5515 58 32 2 220 6 .908 2.39 1995–1996 36 2110 23 11 2 91 5 .910 2.59 2019–2022 77 4467 46 25 5 194 4 .912 2.61 2007–2011 63 3528 16 27 3 158 2 .912 2.69 Statistics current through the end of the 2024–2025 season.
Current roster As of March 25, 2026.
Awards and honors NCAA Individual awards
Spencer Penrose Award Pat Ferschweiler: 2025
Tournament Most Outstanding Player Owen Michaels; 2025
All-Americans AHCA First Team All-Americans
1985–86: Wayne Gagné, D; Dan Dorion, F 1986–87: Wayne Gagné, F 2019–20: Hugh McGing, F 2020–21: Ronnie Attard, D 2021–22: Ronnie Attard, D 2024–25: Alex Bump, F
AHCA Second Team All-Americans
1983–84: Dan Dorion, F 1985–86: Bill Horn, G 1995–96: Marc Magliarditi, G 2000–01: Mike Bishai, F 2011–12: Danny DeKeyser, D 2012–13: Danny DeKeyser, D 2021–22: Ethen Frank, F 2022–23: Jason Polin, F
CCHA Individual awards
Player of the Year Dan Dorion: 1986 Wayne Gagné: 1987
Best Defensive Forward Pat Ferschweiler: 1992 Dane Walters: 2013
Best Defensive Defenseman Brent Brekke: 1994 Danny DeKeyser: 2012, 2013
Rookie of the Year Chris Brooks: 1993 Marc Magliarditi: 1996 Daryl Andrews: 1997 Patrick Dwyer: 2002 Mark Letestu: 2007
Coach of the Year Bill Wilkinson: 1984, 1986, 1996
Ilitch Humanitarian Award Brett Beebe: 2013
Most Valuable Player in Tournament
Bill Horn: 1986 Frank Slubowski: 2012
All-Conference teams First Team All-CCHA
1976–77: Tim Dunlop, F 1980–81: Ross Fitzpatrick, F 1983–84: Dan Dorion, F 1985–86: Wayne Gagné, D; Dan Dorion, F 1986–87: Wayne Gagné, D 1987–88: Paul Polillo, F 1991–92: Keith Jones, G 1995–96: Marc Magliarditi, G 2012–13: Danny DeKeyser, D
Second Team All-CCHA
1977–78: Bernie Saunders, F; Paul Cappuccio, F 1979–80: Bob Scurfield, F 1985–86: Chris MacDonald, F; Stu Burnie, F 1986–87: Bill Horn, G; Rob Bryden, F 1987–88: Mike Posma, D; Ron Hoover, F 1990–91: Mike Eastwood, F 1995–96: Jeremy Brown, F 1996–97: Joe Corvo, D 1999–00: David Gove, F 2000–01: Mike Bishai, F; David Gove, F 2004–05: Brent Walton, F 2008–09: Patrick Galivan, F 2011–12: Danny DeKeyser, D; Matt Tennyson, D 2012–13: Frank Slubowski, G; Luke Witkowski, D
CCHA All-Rookie Team
1991–92: Chris Belanger, D 1992–93: Scott Chartier, D; Chris Brooks, F 1994–95: Steve Duke, D 1995–96: Marc Magliarditi, G; Joe Corvo, D 1996–97: Daryl Andrews, D 2001–02: Patrick Dwyer, F 2002–03: Vince Bellissimo, F 2006–07: Mark Letestu, F 2010–11: Danny DeKeyser, D; Chase Balisy, F 2011–12: Frank Slubowski, G; Garrett Haar, D 2012–13: Kenney Morrison, D
NCHC Individual awards
Player of the Year Jason Polin: 2023
Forward of the Year Jason Polin: 2023 Alex Bump: 2025
Offensive Defenseman of the Year Ronnie Attard: 2021, 2022
Defensive Forward of the Year Tim Washe: 2025
Scholar-Athlete of the Year Kale Bennett: 2021 Drew Worrad: 2022 Luke Grainger: 2024
Herb Brooks Coach of the Year Andy Murray: 2017 Pat Ferschweiler: 2023, 2025
Frozen Faceoff MVP Alex Bump: 2025
All-Conference teams First Team All-NCHC
2019–20: Hugh McGing, F 2020–21: Ronnie Attard, D 2021–22: Ronnie Attard, D; Ethen Frank, F 2022–23: Jason Polin, F 2024–25: Alex Bump, F
Second Team All-NCHC
2013–14: Chase Balisy, F 2016–17: Sheldon Dries, F 2018–19: Hugh McGing, F 2019–20: Ronnie Attard, D 2021–22: Drew Worrad, F 2023–24: Luke Grainger, F 2024–25: Hampton Slukynsky, G 2025–26: Hampton Slukynsky, G
Third Team All-NCHC
2024–25: Cameron Rowe, G; Joona Väisänen, D 2025–26: Grant Slukynsky, F; Samuel Sjolund, D
NCHC All-Rookie Team
2016–17: Ben Blacker, G 2019–20: Ronnie Attard, D 2022–23: Ryan McAllister, F 2023–24: Alex Bump, F 2024–25: Hampton Slukynsky, G; Joona Väisänen, D
Western Michigan Broncos Hall of Fame The following is a list of people associated with the Western Michigan men's ice hockey program who were elected into the Western Michigan University Athletic Hall of Fame.
Dan Dorion (1998) Ross Fitzpatrick (2004) Wayne Gagné (2001) Rob Hodge (2008) Harry Lawson (1990) Jamal Mayers (2014) Bernie Saunders (1994) Neil Smith (1991)
Danny Dekeyser (2024)
Olympians This is a list of Western Michigan alumni were a part of an Olympic team.
Name Position Western Michigan Tenure Team Year Finish Frederik Tiffels Left Wing 2014–2017 GER 2022, 2026 10th, 6th
Broncos in the NHL
= NHL All-Star team= NHL All-StarPlayers are identified as an All-Star if they were selected for the All-Star game at any time in their career. = NHL All-Star and NHL All-Star team= Hall of Famers
Player Position Team(s) Years Games Wade AllisonRight WingPHI2020–2023750Bill ArmstrongLeft WingPHI1990–199110Ronnie AttardDefensemanPHI2021–2024290Chase BalisyCenterFLA2017–201880Mike BishaiCenterEDM2003–2004140Alex BumpLeft WingPHI2025–Present170Brandon BussiGoaltender2025–Present391Sam ColangeloCenterANA2023–Present440Kevin ConnautonDefensemanDAL, CBJ, ARI, COL, FLA, PHI2013–20223600Joe CorvoDefensemanLAK, OTT, CAR, WSH, BOS2002–20147080Paul CotterCenter, NJD2021–Present2961Jim CulhaneDefensemanHFD1989–199060Danny DeKeyserDefensemanDET2013–20225470Dan DorionLeft WingNJD1985–198840Sheldon DriesCenter COL, VAN, DET2018–Present1270Patrick DwyerRight WingCAR2008–20154160Mike EastwoodCenterTOR, WPG, PHO, NYR, STL, CHI, PIT1991–20047830Ross FitzpatrickCenterPHI1982–1986200Scott Foster ‡GoaltenderCHI2017–201810Ethen FrankCenterWSH2024–Present860