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Broncos reach 10-game unbeaten streak after weekend sweep of No. 20 Miami

MiHockey Staff

 

By @MichaelCaples –

Been quite a while since the No. 14 Western Michigan Broncos lost a hockey game.

That last happened on Nov. 10.

Ever since, Andy Murray’s club has rattled off a 10-game unbeaten streak, punctuated by this weekend’s sweep of No. 20 Miami.

The Broncos (13-6-1, 6-3-1-1 in the NCHC) posted a 4-3 win on Friday and a 3-2 victory on Saturday – game-winner in that one came from USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program alum Mattias Samuelsson.

It’s the best stretch for WMU since 2010-11 when Jeff Blashill led them to a 10-game unbeaten streak, as well. That streak lasted 14 games, but with an 8-0-6 record; the Broncos’ current run is at 9-0-1.

Even the recent ‘tie’ was a win – Western Michigan tied then-No. 3 Minnesota Duluth one night after beating them in regulation…and they still beat them in a shootout to take five of six NCHC points available in those two contests.

The Broncos have managed to sprinkle in a holiday tournament title along the way, as they captured the 2019 Las Vegas Invitational with wins against Connecticut and Air Force.

Broncos players are filling up the NCHC scoring leaders list in the process – Josh Passolt leads the conference with 12 points in 10 NCHC games, while Hugh McGing is one point behind with 11. Colt Conrad has 10 conference points, and Austin Rueschhoff has eight.

Passolt leads the NCHC in season-long points totals, as well, with 23 (he is tied with St. Cloud State’s Patrick Newell). McGing has 21.

Trevor Gorsuch holds a 6-1-1 NCHC record with a 1.86 goals-against average and .936 save percentage in conference play. Overall, he has backstopped the Broncos with a 11-2-1 record on the 2018-19 campaign with a 2.02 goals-against average and .928 save percentage.

Here are highlights from Saturday’s win against Miami:

And some post-game comments on Saturday:

The Broncos will now get ready for a trip to St. Cloud State.

“Tremendous team in St. Cloud, but we walked in there about this time last year and won the game on Friday night,” Murray said in those postgame comments above. “It’s going to be a battle. Really, you can look at your schedule right now, I don’t know who we are playing weekend to weekend, but every single one’s going to be a battle. It’s a playoff type atmosphere.”

The Broncos currently sit in second place in the NCHC, behind the team mentioned above.