Tenth-ranked Western Michigan’s road sweep last weekend against Lindenwood was a trip down memory lane of sorts for coach Pat Ferschweiler, while watching his Broncos start the second half of the season how they mean to continue.
Friday’s come-from-behind 3-2 win and a relatively easy 6-1 victory Saturday at the Centene Community Ice Center saw the Broncos complete a season sweep of second-year independent Lindenwood. The Lions had also lost twice in Kalamazoo, Mich., at the start of December.
“I thought we went down there last weekend and played really good hockey,” Ferschweiler said. “Lindenwood has a good goaltender and they work extremely hard, but we were able to find two wins.
“It was a similar series to last time. Right now, we’re a more talented team and we put a lot of pressure and shots on them. They have quality goaltending and have some real compete, but I was happy with our play both nights.”
Two third-period goals Friday from Dylan Wendt and Zak Galambos saw Western overturn a 2-1 deficit from the middle of a game where the Broncos outshot Lindenwood 46-23.
Saturday’s rematch was much the same in that department, with the Broncos outshooting the Lions 41-21. Western buried more chances that day, when Wendt and Alex Bump both scored twice. Three consecutive power-play goals also put the Broncos out of sight by the time Wendt found the net for a second time midway through the third period. Sam Colangelo then scored in the final minute to cap a two-goal series for him.
Ferschweiler enjoyed the weekend on a personal level, too. A former director of the Kansas City Stars youth hockey organization, he relished getting to see first-hand what Lindenwood offers in a setting where Missouri youth hockey is also continuing to grow.
“St. Louis is one of the true hidden youth hockey gems in the U.S,” Ferschweiler said. “They have a bunch of really good rinks, a bunch of ex-St. Louis Blues and qualified coaches in town. They do a good job there with youth hockey, and there’s been an expansion of facilities, including where we were playing, at the Blues’ practice facility. They’ve got three nice sheets there, and it was full all weekend with youth hockey.
“They have something really good going in St. Louis. Even back in the old days, the AAA Blues were a quality, quality program, and now there’s CarShield at that level and they’re cranking out some future Division I players. There’s a lot of unique hockey there, and they do it really well.”
Ferschweiler was also asked Monday what he sees the future holding for Lindenwood with regards to a potential conference affiliation.
“The conference conversation is a complex and fluid one, and I wouldn’t want to make a prediction there, but certainly they have the building blocks and the facilities in place, that it looks like they’d be attractive to a conference,” he said.
“I think there’s lots of changes coming, and I’m not really sure which direction it’s going to go. It’d be interesting.”
Western returns to NCHC play this weekend at Miami. It’s all conference games the rest of the way for a Broncos team that, like it has over the past several years, is punching above its perceived weight. WMU only had two regulation losses before the holiday break, and two more in overtime, with a roster that doesn’t have its three top point-producers from last season.
“I really liked our first half,” Ferschweiler said. “It’s another year with a lot of new players and a lot of lost scoring. We lost close to 200 points out of our lineup last year, and then there’s always the question of how we’ll be able to score again, but we’re up there that way again, and our goals-against is way down this year.
“We’ve scored and we’ve defended well, which is a great recipe for long-term success.”
