Bronco Hockey Prepares for Buckeyes

The Western Michigan Broncos are on the road this weekend as they face the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The Buckeyes are 3-6-1 overall and 2-3-1-1 in the CCHA.  Ohio State is coming off of a split with Northern Michigan where they lost the first game 1-0, but rebounded to win the second game 5-4.

Despite the Buckeyes’ record, they are a very good team.  Just by looking at their win-loss record, Ohio State seems to play to the level of their competition.  They have a win over Denver but were swept by Quinnipiac.  They beat Notre Dame in a shootout, but split with Lake Superior State.  The Buckeyes have the talent to be a top four team in the CCHA, they just have to put it all together.

Dustin Carlson came on last year in relief of Joe Palmer for the Buckeyes and was sensational.  Carlson went 21-12-3 with four shutouts.  This year has been the complete opposite.  Carlson is 0-5-0 but has good numbers as far as save percentage and goals against average goes. 

Ohio State is eventually going to get on the right track.  They have too much talent not to get on the right track.  Western Michigan is going to have their hands full this weekend.

The Broncos are 5-2-1 and 1-2-1-1 in the CCHA.  The Broncos could pass Ohio State in the CCHA this weekend with a sweep.  Riley Gill will have to be on his game and guys like Max Campbell and J.J. Crew are going to have to get things going.

Crew has been held off of the scoresheet since the opening weekend of the season.  He did score the shootout game winner last weekend, but that does not count towards his point totals. 

Campbell is the Broncos’ best pure goal scorer but he has just one goal in his last six games.  That trend needs to change if the Broncos are going to beat the Buckeyes this weekend.

Max Campbell

Photo Courtesy of NY Daily News

The line of Cam Watson, Chris Clackson, and Ian Slater has been very effective in all situations for coach Jim Culhane.  This line’s physical play and ability to play special teams helps create mismatches in the Broncos’ favor.

The games this weekend are in Columbus with different start times both nights.  Friday’s game starts at 7:05 ET and Saturday’s game has been pushed back to 8:05 ET.

VS.

Broncos Outlast Lakers

I wasn’t able to go to this one because I was lucky enough to get tickets to the Michigan State football game, but I was pleased to hear that the Broncos earned the close win.

Ian Slater opened the scoring for the Broncos with six minutes to play in the first period.  Cam Watson and Chris Clackson had the assists.  The goal for Slater was his second in as many nights against the Lakers.

The second period was scoreless, with the Broncos firing 24 shots on goal in the frame.  Riley Gill made 17 stops in the second period.

Patrick Nagorsen scored his first goal of the season from Trevor Elias and Luke Witkowski.  The goal came 59 seconds into the third period.

The Lakers answered back Chad Nehring scored with 9:59 to play.

Gill held the Lakers off for the remainder of the third period as the Broncos went on to win by a score of 2-1.

The Broncos head to Columbus to take on the struggling Ohio State Buckeyes next Friday and Saturday with a 7:05 ET start both nights.

 

Southern Sweep for Broncos

The Broncos beat Alabama-Huntsville for the second time in as many nights.

It was another close game for the Broncos, but they were able to hold off the Chargers to earn a 2-1 victory.

Freshmen Trevor Elias got on the board about midway through the first period.  Kyle O’Kane and Jared Katz were on the assists.

2:05 later, Chris Clackson netted his second goal of the year with assists from Cam Watson and Matt Tennyson.

The Broncos held a 2-0 lead until the Chargers got on the board in the third period.  Kevin Morrison scored just 5:45 into the third period.  Riley Gill was strong, making 29 saves.  16 of those saves came in the third period.

The Broncos are now 4-0 to start the season.  They will be tested though when they play a home and home with Michigan State this weekend.  The Lawson Lunatics are being called upon for a black out at the home game on Halloween.

Here is my quick recap of both games on Inside Hockey:

http://www.insidehockey.com/columns/4722

Broncos Move to 3-0

The Western Michigan Broncos beat Alabama-Huntsville last night to improve their record to 3-0.

I was unable to attend the game, seeing as how it was in Alabama and all, but this is a good win for the Broncos regardless of how they played.

The Chargers got on the board first with a power play goal Justin Cseter just 3:50 into the game.

The Broncos were resiliant and got on the board right before the first period ended.  Cam Watson scored his first goal of the season on a penalty shot.

The game winner came off the stick of freshman Trevor Elias at 10:18 in the third period.  Jared Katz and Tyler Ludwig were on the assists.

The Broncos were out shot 32-29 but managed to pull out the win.  Jerry Kuhn stopped 31 shots en route to the victory.

The teams will go again tonight at 8:05 ET.

Broncos Head South

The Western Michigan Broncos hockey team will get on the plane today and head down to Alabama to take on the Chargers this weekend.

The Broncos have not lost a game to UAH since October 20th, 2000.  Since that loss, the Broncos are 7-0 against the Chargers.

This is a scary match up for the Broncos.  UAH has already beat Notre Dame once, hung in against the Irish in a 3-1 loss, and swept the top team in the Atlantic Hockey Association in Air Force. 

These are three quality wins for the Chargers, but it has been their goaltending that has been the key.  Junior Cameron Talbot has not faced less than 36 shots in any game so far this season.  The Irish threw 92 shots on net in their two game series against UAH.  The Chargers have been outshot everygame so far as well.

The Broncos are not only going to shoot the puck often, but they will need to take quality shots and capitalize on their chances.  Talbot is proving he can handle a lot of shots, so the key for the Broncos is to get traffic in front of Talbot and take advantage of their opportunities.

This will be the Broncos’ first road trip, as well as the Chargers’ first series at home.  WMU was 7-11 on the road last year, while UAH was 3-5-2 at home a year ago.

Coach Jim Culhane talked a little bit about the Chargers after Saturday night’s game against Mercyhurst.  Here is a little of what coach Culhane had to say:

“Our next opponent we need to prepare for obviously and I have the utmost respect for Danton [Cole, UAH Head Coach] and the Chargers.  They went in on the road last weekend and beat Notre Dame.  They won last night at Air Force.  So obviously it is going to posses a huge challenge for us.  Were going down to the hornet’s nest there basically because that’ll be their home opener.  We’ll find out a little bit about our group next weekend.”

It will be interesting to see if the hot Bronco offense can find a way to put pucks past a hot goaltender.  The top Bronco line of J.J. Crew, Max Campbell, and Greg Squires need to continue to find the back of the net.  As good as the top line has been for the Broncos early in the year, the Broncos are going to need to find some secondary scoring soon. 

Without contributions from those other lines, the Broncos are not going to make it far this year.  Guys like Cam Watson, Chris Clackson, and even Tyler Ludwig back on defense need to find a way to create some offense.  Trevor Elias looked good in his first two collegiate games and he could be leaned upon to help create some offense on those other lines.

On paper, this looks like a favorable match up for WMU.  The Broncos have had their way with the Chargers this entire decade, so traditional thought might be that the Broncos would continue that dominance.  But when a team beats Notre Dame, thats a pretty big deal.  Especially when that team is from Alabama, a state that could probably care less about hockey. 

I wish the Broncos safe travels and good luck this weekend against the Chargers.

VS

Broncos Sweep Mercyhurst

Western Michigan got off to a 2-0 start this weekend by beating Mercyhurst Friday 5-1, and Saturday 4-3.

WMU’s top line of J.J. Crew, Max Campbell, and Greg Squires all combined for six goals and nine assists.  On Friday, Crew had the first Bronco hat trick since Mark Letestu in 2006.

#10 J.J. Crew

Photo Courtesy of Western Herald

Goaltender Riley Gill stopped 52 of 56 shots on the weekend as he earned both wins.  Gill was especially good on Saturday during a 5-on-3 penalty kill late in the third period.  He came up with two key saves on that kill that kept the Broncos in the game. 

The Broncos had three freshmen defenseman see significant time in all situations.  Ross Henry, Matt Tennyson, and Luke Witkowski were all logging major minutes on the Bronco blue line.  Of the three, I thought Tennyson looked like the most NCAA ready.  Witkowski plays exactly like current Bronco captain Tyler Ludwig.  Witkowski is not afraid to skate the puck up and create offense.  He looked fluid on the ice, but made a few mistakes that resulted in turnovers.  Henry is a combination of Tennyson and Witkowski.  Henry is a good skater who was pretty good in his own zone.  The more these players improve, the better the Broncos will be.

Chris Clackson and Cam Watson were awesome on the penalty kill.  Neither was afraid to throw their body in front of slap shots on the kill.  I thought they both showed how valuable they will be to this team, even if their names are not on the scoresheet.

The player I thought was the best player for the Broncos was Max Campbell.  The New York Rangers draft pick was all over the place.  He had sixteen goals a year ago and should top that this year.  He is always in a shooting position when he has the puck and when he doesn’t.  He has come a long way since his freshmen season.

The player I expected a little more out of was Ryan Watson.  He is talented, there is no doubt about that.  He has a lot of offensive ability, but it seems like he focuses a lot on defense.  It is an unbelievable asset to have a player that is responsible in their own zone, but Watson needs to get it going offensively. 

Next weekend the Broncos will head south to take on Alabama-Huntsville.  UAH is no joke as they showed Notre Dame and Air Force this year.  This will be a tougher match up than it has been in years past.  Good Luck this weekend Broncos.

To see my recaps on Inside Hockey, check out these links:

http://www.insidehockey.com/columns/4627

http://www.insidehockey.com/columns/4641