Recruit Update: 12/21

Dan Dekeyser was activated from the injured list and played in his first game since late October.  Dekeyser was held scoreless for Sioux City (USHL).

Dan Dekeyser

Photo Courtesy of USHL.com

Jordan Gidaro scored a goal in his only game since our last recruit update.  He is starting to figure it out offensively for Aurora (OJAHL).

Dennis Brown was scoreless for Omaha (USHL) in two games.  Brown was a -1 in the pair against Chicago (USHL).

Nick Pisellini played both games against Omaha, winning one and losing the other.

Lucas Isley is still out with a broken arm.  The timetable for his return is unknown.

Here is how the future Broncos are doing so far:

Dekeyser:  8 games-1 goal-3 assists-4 points

Gidaro:  25 games-8 goals-6 assists-14 points

Brown:  27 games-2 goals-16 assists-18 points

Pisellini:  20 games-9 wins-10 losses-1 overtime loss-3.35 goals against average-.890 save percentage

Isley:  17 games-13 goals-8 assists-21 points

Ben Warda:  N/A, Transfer

Broncos Fall to Bulldogs

The Western Michigan Broncos lost to the Ferris State Bulldogs last night by a score of 3-0.

It was a 0-0 game going into the third period, when Ferris got a breakaway goal from Casey Haines just 19 seconds into the third period.

At just past the half way point of the third period, Ferris scored two goals in less than two minutes.  Blair Riley and Mike Embach scored those two goals.

The Bulldogs were just faster in all facets of the game.  They were quicker to loose pucks, they out skated the Broncos, and their speed was clearly evident.

The only bright spot besides Riley Gill was the Bronco penalty kill.  Chris Clackson was unbelievable on the kill.  He lost his stick but still managed to block two shots, dive on a loose puck and throw it away. 

Chris Clackson

Photo Courtesy of mlive.com

The Broncos and Bulldogs will hit the ice again tonight at 5:05 ET in Big Rapids.

Recruit Update: 12-7

Bronco recruit Jordan Gidaro was traded yet again.  This time he went from Orangeville (CCHL) to the Aurora Tigers (OJAHL).  He has made an immediate impact, scoring three goals and two assists in his first three games with the Tigers.

Nick Pisellini lost both of his starts this past weekend for Chicago (USHL).  He gave up eight goals on 61 shots for the weekend.

Nick Pisellini

Photo Courtesy of Flickr.com

Dennis Brown went scoreless in two games for Omaha (USHL).

Lucas Isley is still out.  He has a broken arm and apparently the hit Isley took that broke his arm was a dirty hit.

Dan Dekeyser is still out for Sioux City (USHL).

Here’s how the Broncos are doing so far:

Gidaro: (Totals) 21 games-6 goals-4 assists-10 points

Pisellini:  17 games-8 wins-8 losses-1 OT loss-89.2 save percentage-3.29 goals against average

Brown:  22 games-2 goals-11 assists-13 points

Isley:  18 games-13 goals-8 assists-21 points

Dekeyser:  7 games-1 goal-3 assists-4 points

Ben Warda: Transfer n/a

Broncos Over Nanooks 3-1

A great win for Western Michigan hockey Friday night against No. 13 Alaska. 

The Broncos played great hockey and had a stand out effort from Riley Gill in net.  Gill stopped 33 shots in the winning effort.

Riley Gill

Photo Courtesy of Western Herald

Jordan Collins netted two and Tyler Ludwig  scored the other for the Broncos.  J.J. Crew had two assists as well.

Here is the link to the full recap on Inside Hockey:

http://www.insidehockey.com/columns/5189

The Broncos and Nanooks play again tomorrow night, 7:35 ET at Lawson.  Come tomorrow night and check out the Broncos.

Broncos Battle Nanooks

The Western Michigan Broncos have been in a rut lately.  They have not won a regulation game in almost a month and the Alaska Nanooks aren’t looking to do any favors this weekend.

The Nanooks play a very New Jersey Devils-Esq style of defensive hockey.  Scott Greenham was the CCHA Goaltender of the Month in October and freshman forward Andy Taranto was November’s CCHA Rookie of the Month.

I personally think this is a terrible match up for the Broncos right now.  Their offense is out of sync and the Nanooks are a great defensive team.  Alaska likes to play stout defense and jump on mistakes.  The Broncos aren’t playing the most pristine hockey right now, so Alaska could have a field day.

Goaltending has not been the problem with the Broncos this year.  Riley Gill has been more than solid and Jerry Kuhn has been good when called upon.  The guys in front of Gill and Kuhn need to alleviate some of the pressure. 

The offense especially can take care of that pressure by keeping the puck in the opponents territory and creating scoring chances. 

Max Campbell is having a bit of a down year and I think some of that has to do with the graduation of Patrick Galivan, but Greg Squires is just as creative in the offensive zone.  The two should be creating more offense than they are.

Here are some highlight of the Nanooks against Notre Dame earlier this season.

Recruit Update: 11-30

I have a little more info on Lucas Isley.  He is out with an upper body injury and the time table says he is out indefinitely, so I don’t think we will be hearing from Isley for a while if the injury is as serious as it appears.

Dennis Brown had two assists for Omaha (USHL) this past weekend.

Nick Pisellini lost two games with the Steel (USHL) last weekend, one in regulation and one in overtime.

Jordan Gidaro had another scoreless weekend for Orangeville (CCHL).

Dan Dekeyser is still out with an undisclosed injury for Sioux City (USHL).

Here are the future Broncos’ stat lines:

Isley:  17 games-13 goals-8 assists-21 points

Brown:  20 games-2 goals-11 assists-13 points

Pisellini:  15 games-8 wins-6 losses-1 OT loss-3.19 goals against average-89.5 save percentage

Gidaro (Totals):  18 games-3 goals-2 assists-5 points

Dekeyser:  7 games-1 goal-3 assists-4 points

Ben Warda:  N/A (Transfer)

Broncos Drop Tight One to Mavericks

Sorry about not giving a preview of Nebraska-Omaha, but Thanksgiving and all of its madness held me back a bit.

Anyways, the Broncos lost 4-3 to Nebraska-Omaha last night in Omaha. 

The Mavericks jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, but Western Michigan kept chipping away and eventually tied the game at three with 4:54 to go in the game.  Just 18 seconds after the Broncos tied the game, UNO’s Alex Hudson netted the game winner.

The Bronco goals came from Derek Roehl, Chris Clackson, and J.J. Crew.  Roehl has two goals in his past two games and Crew scored his first regulation goal since the opening week of the season.

Greg Squires

Photo Courtesy of ESPN

Greg Squires had two assists on the night, while Riley Gill stopped 33 of 37 shots.

The Broncos and Mavericks will go at it again tonight at 8:05 ET.

Recruit Update: 11-23

Over the past week, there have been two new players who have decided to play hockey at Western Michigan.

Ben Warda played last year at Michigan State and has decided to transfer to WMU because of his lack of playing time.  Last year Warda played in 33 games for the Spartans, tallying one goal and four assists.  Warda played two years of junior hockey with the St. Louis Bandits of the NAHL.  Warda played in 119 games for the Bandits, scoring 43 goals and 62 assists.

 

Ben Warda

Photo Courtesy of msuspartans.com

Dan Dekeyser of the Sioux City Muskateers has committed to play for the Broncos next year.  Dekeyser is a 6-2, 170lb defenseman from Algonac, Michigan.  Dekeyser is injured right now but played in seven games, scoring a goal and three assists.  The USHL story on Dekeyser is here:  http://www.ushl.com/news/story.cfm?id=2847.

Jordan Gidaro was held scoreless in one game this weekend against Streetsville (CCHL).

Lucas Isley is still hurt.  The timetable for his injury is unknown to me.

Dennis Brown recorded two assists in two games this weekend for Omaha (USHL) and was a +4.  Brown is now at +13 on the season.

Nick Pisellini started two games, winning one and dropping the other.  Pisellini stopped 50 shots in a 7-4 win over Waterloo (USHL), but gave up four goals in a 4-0 loss at the hands of Indiana (USHL).

Here is what the future Broncos stats look like:

Dekeyser:  7 games-1 goal-3 assists-4 points

Gidaro:  (Totals) 16 games-3 goals-2 assists-5 points

Isley:  17 games-13 goals-8 assists-21 points

Brown:  17 games-2 goals-9 assists-11 points

Pisellini:  13 games-8 wins-5 losses-3.31 goals against average-89.4 save percentage

Broncos Drop Third Straight

The Broncos lost their third in a row Friday night against Miami by a score of 3-0.

The RedHawks got a goal in each period, including shorthanded goals in the second and third periods.

Andy Miele scored two and Tommy Wingles potted the other for Miami.  The RedHawks outshot the Broncos 24-15 on the night.

The Broncos and RedHawks will go at it again tomorrow, 7:35 ET at Lawson Ice Arena.

Broncos Get Big Opportunity

The Western Michigan Broncos have a tall order this weekend when the Miami RedHawks stroll into Lawson Ice Arena.

Miami at 8-1-3,  is the top team in the nation but showed last weekend that they are beatable. 

The RedHawks lost both games last weekend to Ferris State in shootouts.  Both games were extremely tight with the tying goals coming in the third period. 

Guys like Carter Camper, Pat Cannone, Tommy Wingles, Andy Miele(…the list goes on and on) are game changers.  Miami has so much depth up front it is scary.  Miami’s third line could easily play with most team’s top lines. 

Miami’s goaltending is a big strength as well.  I would expect to see back up goaltender Connor Knapp at least once on the weekend, something the Broncos need to take advantage of.

The RedHawks are also unbeaten on the road this year.  At 5-0-1, home ice does not seem like an advantage for the Broncos this weekend. 

The last time the Broncos up ended the RedHawks was January 13th, 2007 at Lawson Ice Arena.  The Broncos scored three goals in the third period to come from behind and win 5-3.

The Broncos had a mental lapse in the first of last weekend’s games against Ohio State.  Western Michigan was up 1-0 going into the third period but then gave up three goals in 49 seconds to eventually fall 4-2. 

The way Miami’s offense runs, I think the game plan for the Broncos is to let Riley Gill see the shots.  The Broncos have to clear the front of the net and play sound defense.  If the Broncos can just hang around this weekend and take advantage of their offensive opportunities, then they have a chance to pull the upset.

Those offensive chances are going to come at the hands of players like Max Campbell, Jared Katz, Trevor Elias, and Greg Squires.  These four dictate the Bronco offense and they will all need to have a good weekend if the offense is going to outscore Miami.

Tyler Ludwig and Jordan Collins are the veteran leaders on defense.  They need to keep the young defenders on the team in check and make sure everyone is playing assignment hockey.  Ludwig and Collins have the most pressure on them this weekend to stop that high octane offense at Miami.

The Lawson Lunatics shirts going to be handed out both nights from 6:30 through the first period intermission.  In order to get one, you have to register online.  You can register at wmubroncos.com.

The games are on Friday and Saturday at 7:35 ET at Lawson Ice Arena. 

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