Western Michigan won its first college hockey national championship in program history on Saturday night with a 6-2 victory over traditional power Boston University at St. Louis’ Enterprise Center.
Sophomore forward Owen Michaels scored two goals in the third period, the first of which essentially clinched the game by giving the Broncos a 4-2 lead. The second was an empty-netter, carrying WMU to the title after advancing to the NCAA Frozen Four for the first time.
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Ty Henricks and Cole Crusberg-Roseen also scored goals, while Iiro Hakkarainen and Wyatt Schingoethe each recorded a goal and an assist in the decisive win.
Michaels also put WMU in the championship game with a goal in double-overtime to defeat defending national champion Denver in the semifinals, 3-2. He was named the NCAA tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after scoring four goals in the Broncos’ Frozen Four games.
“We also know he’s a warrior,” WMU head coach PatFerschweiler told the Detroit News. “He’s a future captain of the program, no doubt about it. Funny thing about warriors is they always show up at the biggest moments. He showed up in the biggest moment, no doubt in our mind.”
The championship victory was WMU’s 10th consecutive win, going back to the final two games of the regular season. After defeating North Dakota and Denver (also in double overtime) to win the NCHC tournament, the Broncos went through Minnesota State and UMass to advance to the Frozen Four and an eventual national championship.
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Western Michigan was not ranked among the top 15 teams in the NCAA hockey preseason poll. The Broncos were also predicted to finish sixth in the NCHC before the season, but went on to finish 34-7-1 (19-4-1 in conference). With their victory, WMU became the fourth school to win the national title in its first championship game appearance, joining Denver, Cornell and Lake Superior State.
The school will hold a rally on campus for its national championship on Monday night.
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