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THIS WEEK
No. 17 Western Michigan returns to Kalamazoo for its final pair of home games for 2022, hosting North Dakota on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 6 p.m. Both games can also be watched live on NCHC.tv.
LAST WEEK
The Broncos suffered their first sweep of the season, falling at Omaha 7-6 and 3-1.
Friday’s tilt was a wild one, with WMU jumping out to a 3-0 lead before the Mavericks scored seventh straight goals to take a 7-3 lead into the third period. The Broncos opened the final stanza with a goal by Dylan Wendt just 1:43 in. Zak Galambos tallied on the power play at 7:03 to cut UNO’s lead to 7-5 before Ryan McAllister cut the lead to one with 7:08 to play. WMU emptied the net for the extra attacker in the final minutes, but were unable to tie the game up.
On Saturday, it was the Mavericks that jumped out to the 3-0 lead. Omaha’s Jake Pivonka scored just 2:04 into the game, with Jack Randl and Nolan Sullivan scoring in the second period. McAllister got the Broncos on the board late in the second period to cut the lead to 3-1. WMU had its comeback bid halted a bit in the third period, having to open the final 20 minutes killing off a five-minute major power play. Western Michigan was held to just three shots in the final period and didn’t find the equalizer.
THIS ONE GOES TO 11
Freshman sensation Ryan McAllister extended his point streak to 11 games after tallying four total points on the weekend. The streak started back in the 5-4 loss at No. 4 Michigan on Oct. 28. The run has netted him 25 points on seven goals and 18 assists. It’s the longest point streak since Austin Rueschhoff tallied 13 points on five goals and eight assists in eight games towards the end of the 2019-20 season.
DON’T FORGET ABOUT ZAK
Much has been made, deservedly so, about WMU’s top line of McAllister, Jason Polin and Max Sasson, but senior defenseman Zak Galambos is also having an amazing first half of the season. Galambos, who transferred from AIC, is the top goal-scoring defenseman in the country with nine goals. He also has seven assists for 16 points.
It’s not all offense for the Walnut Creek, Calif., native. Galambos has a team-best plus/minus of +14 and leads the team with 20 blocked shots in 18 games.
NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS | 6-8-3, 2-5-1 NCHC
– THE SERIES: North Dakota leads the all-time series at 27-10-0 but the Broncos got the best of the last meeting, beating the Fighting Hawks 4-2 in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Semifinals. WMU swept UND at Lawson Ice Arena last season, winning 4-1 and 2-0.
– SCOUTING THE FIGHTING HAWKS: North Dakota is on the road for the second straight week, getting swept by No. 3 St. Cloud State last weekend 7-2, 6-3. UND is just 2-5-1 in its last eight games.
UND’s offense is averaging 3.5 goals per game, led by Riese Gaber and his 11. Gaber also has eight assists and is tied with Jackson Blake for the team-lead in points with 19. Blake has nine goals and 10 assists on the season. Gavin Hain is third on the team with eight tallies, while Chris Jandric is the top-scoring defenseman on the team with two goals and a team-high 16 assists.
UND is giving up 3.4 goals per game so far this season. Michigan State transfer Drew DeRidder and sophomore Jacob Hellsten have split time between the pipes. DeRidder has started in 10 of the 17 games this season with a 3-4-1 record, a 3.30 goals against average and a .874 save percentage. Hellsten has posted a 3-4-2 record with a 3.13 goals against average and a .859 save percentage.
The Fighting Hawk power play has been among the best in the nation, currently at 28.8 percent (21-for-73). Gaber has a team-best six power play goals, followed by Blake at four. The penalty kill sits at 82.8 percent (53-for-64).
ON THE HORIZON
Western Michigan heads up 131 to Grand Rapids for the 2022 Great Lakes Invitational at Van Andel Arena, Dec. 27-28. WMU opens the famed tournament against host Michigan Tech on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. The Broncos will then take on either Ferris State or Michigan State on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. or 7:00 p.m. For ticket information head to www.wmubroncos.com/tickets
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