ST. LOUIS, MO. –– Finally, the long-awaited dream is reality.
After a magical, historic and unforgettable season, one that saw a slew of program firsts and plenty more top-shelf accolades, Western Michigan hockey ensured its final act was even more extraordinary.
On Saturday night, in a scene some 52 years in the making, the No. 1-ranked Broncos (34-7-1) showed they belonged on the national stage –– soaring to their first-ever national championship by dominating Boston University, 6-2, and capping the program’s best season ever with the sport’s ultimate prize.
The Broncos are the champions of college hockey.
“I’m feeling a little bit of everything, so many emotions,” WMU graduate forward Tim Washe said postgame in an ESPN interview. “Winning the last game of the year is everything you dream of.”
Sophomore forward Owen Michaels, WMU’s star of the Frozen Four, laced the decisive fourth and sixth goals of game –– capping an incredible four-goal Frozen Four.
Leading 3-2 entering the third period, WMU hit the jets with a three-goal flurry –– all kickstarted and finished off by Michaels, with a Iiro Hakkarainen goal sandwiched in between.
Michaels’ second tally was an empty-netter with just over two minutes left in regulation.
“That was just a ton of emotions but that goal was not about me one bit,” said Michaels, who leaped into the Bronco bench upon scoring his second goal of the game. “It was about this team and this group doing something this program’s never done before. I just wanted to be with the guys.”
WMU’s six goals are the most goals scored by a team in the NCAA championship game since 2014. The Broncos were ready for Saturday –– they believed the moment was theirs.
And they left no doubt.
“It means everything, it means the program is on the map and that the program is moving forward to the future,” Western Michigan fourth-year head coach Pat Ferschweiler told ESPN in a postgame interview.
With the win, WMU wins its first national title since 1965, when the men’s cross country team won back-to-back titles (1964 and 1965). The Broncos also become the sixth Michigan college hockey program to win it all.
With everything on the line, both teams played like it. The pace, the intensity and the electricity was full-bore.
Western Michigan took little time asserting itself on the grand stage. In fact, the Broncos’ very first shot found netting.
Iiro Hakkarainen flipped a shot toward BU’s goal near the blueline, and Wyatt Schingoethe was there to deflect the shot on frame –– the puck fluttered into the net for an early 1-0 advantage just over a minute and a half into the game.
That setup a frantic first period.
Boston got its equalizer later in the period, as a loose puck in front of Hampton Slukynsky’s net was never froze, allowing Cole Eiserman to poke it free and into the back of the net.
Western Michigan would continue to play fast and jumped back in front thanks to a well-executed transition opportunity. On a 3-on-2, Alex Bump’s initial shot created chaos in front of the net and Cole Crusberg-Roseen was there to blast the rebound home from inside the left circle for a 2-1 advantage.
It was Crusberg-Roseen’s third goal of the season –– a testament to the Broncos’ depth, which has come in handy during their tournament run.
“It’s a huge advantage and we’ve had depth all year in scoring,” Ferschweiler said. “I think we’ve been No. 1 or 2 in scoring in the country and that’s for a reason. We’re not carried by just one guy. Alex Bump is our superstar but we have a lot of good supporting players and they came up in some of the most important moments of the game. We believe in them and they believe in themselves.”
Things only picked up from there, and with momentum on their side, the Broncos capitalized minutes into the second period –– all on another man advantage.
A 2-on-1 allowed Cam Knuble space to operate, putting a puck in front of BU goalie Mikhail Yegorov –– which was rebounded and slotted home by Ty Henricks for a commanding 3-1 Bronco lead.
It was the freshman’s sixth goal of the year.
BU would continue to fight, however, and after a Bronco penalty on WMU’s Brian Kramer, the Terriers would be rewarded. A clean BU face off win paved the way for Shane Lachance to clean up a loose puck in Slukynsky’s crease, poking in a goal that pulled the Terriers within 3-2.
Play would continue to amplified in the closing minutes of the second period, as both teams earned power play opportunities but neither found a goal out of it. Hakkarainen took a nasty hit from BU’s Aiden Celebrini near the end of the period and was helped off by his teammates.
Then, Owen Michaels sealed the glory.
On yet another man advantage, the sophomore ripped a wicked wrister from the circle that zipped by Yegorov for a two-goal lead –– the starter to a three-goal period and the exclamation point to a fairytale night.
“I just love the guys that I play with,” Michaels said. “Nothing better than going to the rink each and every day and seeing these guys. This game and this week wasn’t about Owen Michaels, it was about the Western Michigan Broncos doing something this program has never done.”
Boston University (24-14-2) nearly tied the game on a scramble for a loose puck moments prior to Michaels’ first goal, but Slukynsky stopped the initial shot –– while his teammate, Joona Vaisanen laid out in front of the crease to stop the puck from going in.
BU coach Jay Pandolfo challenge the call –– but the officials confirmed the call on the ice.
That turned out to be the game-swinging moment of Saturday.
With the goals pouring in during the final back end of the third period, WMU’s fans at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis could sense the moment –– and so could its fans back home, too.
For the first time in 60 years, the Broncos have a national title to bring back to Kalamazoo.
“To be the first Western Michigan Broncos to win it all, it’s special,” Michaels said.
