Sunday, April 13, 2025

Bronco Busting!

Western Michigan Wins First Frozen Four Title

ST. LOUIS – It was a season of firsts for Western Michigan.

First Penrose Cup as NCHC regular-season champion. First NCHC Frozen Faceoff playoff title. First trip to the NCAA Frozen Four. First victory at the Frozen Four.

And in the biggest game in program history – Saturday’s national championship game against Boston University – the Broncos would not be denied their first NCAA championship.

Sophomore winger Owen Michaels (Northville, Mich.) scored twice in the final period – his third and fourth goals of the Frozen Four – to lift Western Michigan to a 6-2 victory over the Terriers.

The game was played in front of a raucous, sellout crowd of 16,953 at Enterprise Center.

Box Score

Michaels, named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, delivered the critical goal just over seven minutes into the third period.

After jumping on a turnover at the BU line, Michaels led a 2-on-1 rush up the ice, reached the right circle and elected to shoot, snapping the puck past BU goalie Mikhail Yegorov (St. Petersburg, Russia). The goal turned a 3-2 nailbiter into a 4-2 WMU cushion.

It came just two minutes after WMU freshman goalie Hampton Slukynsky (Warroad, Minn.) robbed BU freshman Cole Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass.) on a point-blank one-timer from in close.

After freshman Iiro Hakkarainen (Espoo, Finland) added an insurance tally with four minutes remaining in regulation, Michaels applied the finishing touches with an empty-net goal with 2:08 left on the clock.

Michaels raced straight to his bench to celebrate the moment with as many teammates as possible.

“That (empty net) goal was not about me one bit,” said Michaels. “It was about this team and this group and doing something this program’s never done. I just wanted to be with the guys.”

The Broncos finished their championship season with a school-record 34 wins, the most in the country, and a 10-game winning streak.

“We’re trying to build something that players want to come to,” said WMU head coach Pat Ferschweiler of his alma mater. “We talked about the alums earlier, and how proud they are. What I know, and certainly what I felt when I played there, is players that play for Western Michigan love being Broncos.”

The 2024-25 Broncos carried the bulk of the play from the drop of the puck Saturday.

After Western’s Wyatt Schingoethe (Sr., Algonquin, Ill.) and BU’s Eiserman traded goals to open the game, sophomore defenseman Cole Crusberg–Roseen (Stratham, N.H.) gathered a loose puck at the top of the right circle and beat Yegorov for his third career goal.

The Broncos led the rest of the way, extending the lead to 3-1 on a Ty Henricks (Fr., Mission Viejo, Calif.) goal at 5:18 of the second period. BU captain Shane Lachance (So., Andover, Mass.) answered five-and-a-half minutes later to make it a 3-2 game after 40 minutes.

That’s when Michaels, with help from Hakkarainen, took over in the third period.

“Biggest stage, the big players show up and that’s what he did,” said WMU captain Tim Washe (Gr., Clarkston, Mich.) of Michaels. “He came up huge for us this weekend.”

Slukynsky made 24 stops and finished his rookie campaign with a sparkling 19-5-1 record. Yegorov countered with 22 stops for the Terriers.

“It feels great, honestly,” said Ferschweiler, the national coach of the year. “The pride I feel as an alum and former captain of this program, and to see it reach new heights…and to have this group of special young men execute at that level — and care about each other at that level — is just so special.”

All-Tournament Team
G: Hampton Slukynsky, Western Michigan
D: Zeev Buium, Denver
D: Joona Vaisanen, Western Michigan
F: Cole Eiserman, Boston University
F : Owen Michaels, Western Michigan (MOP)
F: Tim Washe, Western Michigan

Notes:

WMU became the seventh different first-time Frozen Four champion in the last 14 years, joining Quinnipiac (2023), UMass (2021), Providence (2015), Union (2014), Yale (2013) and Minnesota Duluth (2011).
WMU also become the 24th school overall to win a Frozen Four.
The Broncos outscored their opponents 46-20 during their 10-game winning streak.
Eiserman’s goal was his 25th of the season, most in the country among freshmen.
The NCHC has been home to seven of the last nine national champions.

Daily Scoreboard | Weekly Schedule | Stat Leaders | Goaltending Leaders

Must Read:

College Hockey News: Best Western

Detroit Free Press: Western Michigan dominates Boston U, wins NCAA men’s hockey title

Kalamazoo Gazette: National champs! Western Michigan hockey’s dream season ends with first title

Kalamazoo Gazette: Watch fans go crazy as Western Michigan wins NCAA hockey national championship

Rochester Post Bulletin: Rochester native Ferschweiler guides Western Michigan to first national title

USCHO: Michaels’ legend at Western Michigan grows with Frozen Four honor

USCHO: Hockey Hall of Fame has Frozen Four memorabilia from Western Michigan coming

USCHO: Starting goalies produce a rarity in Frozen Four championship game

WMUBroncos.com: Broncos claim first national championship

Must Watch:

USCHO: USCHO Live! from the Frozen Four breaks down WMU’s 6-2 win for their first national title

College Hockey Inc. Resources:

Did you know? 93% of NCAA Division I men’s hockey players earn their degree!