2020–21 Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey season

The 2020–21 Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey season was the 47th season of play for the program. They represented Western Michigan University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season and for the 8th season in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). The Broncos were coached by Andy Murray, in his 10th season, and played their home games at Lawson Arena.

2020–21 Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey season
Conference	6th NCHC
Home ice	Lawson Arena
Rankings
USCHO	NR
USA Today	NR
Record
Overall	10–12–3
Conference	10–11–3–1–0–1
Home	5–2–0
Road	3–3–1
Neutral	2–7–2
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Andy Murray
Assistant coaches	Pat Ferschweiler J. J. Crew Will Massey
Captain(s)	Paul Washe
Alternate captain(s)	Kale Bennett Ethen Frank Josh Passolt
Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey seasons « 2019–20 2021–22 »

Season

As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the entire college ice hockey season was delayed. Because the NCAA had previously announced that all winter sports athletes would retain whatever eligibility they possessed through at least the following year, none of Western Michigan's players would lose a season of play.^[1] However, the NCAA also approved a change in its transfer regulations that would allow players to transfer and play immediately rather than having to sit out a season, as the rules previously required.^[2]

Western Michigan began the season playing a series of games in Omaha, Nebraska, along with the rest of the NCHC. Before the team could even finish its first game, the Broncos were hamstrung by an injury to their starting netminder, Brandon Bussi.^[3] The team turned to senior Austin Cain and, after a very rough start, he settled into the starting role. Cain played well at times but the team's compact schedule of games gave WMU few favors and by Christmas the team sat near the bottom of the conference with a 2–6–2 record. After getting swept by Miami at the beginning of January, freshman Alex Aslanidis was put in net and the team began to show signs of life. After nearly returning the favor to Miami, the Broncos swept #4 St. Cloud State and turned their season around virtually overnight. Aslanidis' performance, paired with the stellar play of Ronnie Attard, allowed Western Michigan to sweep another #4 team a few weeks later (Minnesota Duluth). In their final weekend of the regular season Bussi returned from his injury and swept Miami to put the team within one game of a .500 record.

Despite the teams vastly improved performance in the second half of the season, their record meant that the team had no real chance of making the NCAA tournament without winning the NCHC championship. The team had to get through Minnesota Duluth in the quarterfinals and the Broncos gave everything they had, taking a lead into the third period and then tying the game with less than a minute to play. WMU nearly matched UMD shot-for-shot but the final goal came from the Bulldogs and Western Michigan's season was over.

Jacob Bauer, Rhett Kingston and Jared Kucharek sat out the season.

Departures

Player	Position	Nationality	Reason
Wade Allison	Forward	Canada	Graduation (Signed with Philadelphia Flyers)
Luke Bafia	Defenseman	United States	Graduation (Signed with Kansas City Mavericks)
Ben Blacker	Goaltender	Canada	Graduation
Lawton Courtnall	Forward	United States	Graduation (Signed with Wheeling Nailers)
Dawson DiPietro	Forward	United States	Graduation (Signed with Buffalo Sabres)
Cam Lee	Defenseman	Canada	Graduation (Signed with Pittsburgh Penguins)
Will Massey	Goaltender	United States	Graduation (Retired)
Hugh McGing	Forward	United States	Graduation (Signed with St. Louis Blues)
Cameron Orchard	Forward	United States	Left program
Austin Rueschhoff	Forward	United States	Signed professional contract (New York Rangers)
Mattias Samuelsson	Defenseman	United States	Signed professional contract (Buffalo Sabres)

Recruiting

Player	Position	Nationality	Age	Notes
Alex Aslanidis	Goaltender	United States	19	Moorestown, NJ
Jacob Bauer	Defenseman	United States	18	Detroit, MI
Trevor Bishop	Forward	United States	21	Rochester Hills, MI
Cédric Fiedler	Defenseman	United States	19	Boca Raton, FL
Aidan Fulp	Defenseman	United States	20	Indianapolis, IN
Ty Glover	Forward	Canada	20	Salford, GBR
Luke Grainger	Forward	Canada	20	Montreal, QC
Chad Hillebrand	Forward	United States	21	Park Ridge, IL
Daniel Hilsendager	Defenseman	Canada	20	Lloydminster, SK
Cam Knuble	Forward	United States	20	Grand Rapids, MI
Hugh Larkin	Forward	United States	21	Livonia, MI
Tim Washe	Forward	United States	19	Detroit, MI
Jarred White	Forward	Canada	21	Edmonton, AB

Roster

As of March 1, 2021^[4]

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1		Austin Cain	Senior	G	6' 4" (1.93 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	1996-09-12	Ottawa, Ontario	Whitby (OJHL)	—
2		Kale Bennett (A)	Senior (RS)	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1995-11-30	St. Louis, Missouri	Nanaimo (BCHL)	—
3		Michael Joyaux	Junior	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	1997-02-13	Bloomingdale, Illinois	Youngstown (USHL)	—
4		Cam Knuble	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	2000-07-23	Grand Rapids, Michigan	Muskegon (USHL)	—
6		Scooter Brickey	Sophomore	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	1999-05-27	Burtchville, Michigan	Des Moines (USHL)	—
7		Ronnie Attard	Sophomore	D	6' 4" (1.93 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1999-03-20	White Lake, Michigan	Tri-City (USHL)	PHI, 72nd overall 2019
8		Matteo Pecchia	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	2000-06-05	Nobleton, Ontario	Mississauga (OJHL)	—
9		Luke Grainger	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1999-09-03	Montreal, Quebec	Hawkesbury (CCHL)	—
10		Chad Hillebrand	Freshman	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1999-01-22	Park Ridge, Illinois	Green Bay (USHL)	—
11		Rhett Kingston	Junior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1997-11-04	Black Diamond, Alberta	Salmon Arm (BCHL)	—
12		Cole Gallant	Junior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1998-03-14	Dover, Florida	Omaha (USHL)	—
13		Drew Worrad	Junior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	1997-06-30	Birr, Ontario	Steinbach (MJHL)	—
14		Jason Polin	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	1999-06-17	Holt, Michigan	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	—
15		Daniel Hilsendager	Freshman	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	2000-03-30	Lloydminster, Saskatchewan	Omaha (USHL)	—
16		Tim Washe	Freshman	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	2001-08-25	Clarkston, Michigan	Nanaimo (BCHL)	—
17		Cédric Fiedler	Freshman	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	204 lb (93 kg)	2001-04-20	Zug, Switzerland	Fargo (USHL)	—
18		Brett Van Os	Senior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1996-02-21	St. Albert, Alberta	Calgary Canucks (AJHL)	—
19		Lukas Samuelsson	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	177 lb (80 kg)	1996-10-08	Voorhees, New Jersey	Toronto (GMHL)	—
20		Jamie Rome	Junior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	211 lb (96 kg)	1998-10-03	Cochrane, Alberta	Victoria (BCHL)	—
21		Josh Passolt (A)	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1996-09-13	Hayward, Wisconsin	Sioux Falls (USHL)	—
22		Trevor Bishop	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-01-23	Rochester Hills, Michigan	Victoria (BCHL)	—
23		Paul Washe (C)	Senior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	201 lb (91 kg)	1998-11-27	Clarkston, Michigan	Fargo (USHL)	—
24		Aidan Fulp	Freshman	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	2000-02-29	Indianapolis, Indiana	Dubuque (USHL)	—
25		Jared Kucharek	Junior	D	6' 4" (1.93 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	1998-05-23	Royal Oak, Michigan	Madison (USHL)	—
26		Ethen Frank (A)	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1998-02-05	Papillion, Nebraska	Lincoln (USHL)	—
27		Ty Glover	Freshman	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	2000-10-01	London, Ontario	Lincoln (USHL)	—
28		Hugh Larkin	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1999-03-27	Livonia, Michigan	Austin (NAHL)	—
29		Jarred White	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1999-05-21	Edmonton, Alberta	Sherwood Park (AJHL)	—
30		Brandon Bussi	Sophomore	G	6' 5" (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1998-06-25	Sound Beach, New York	Muskegon (USHL)	—
31		Ross Hawryluk	Freshman	G	6' 4" (1.93 m)	208 lb (94 kg)	2001-03-19	Lloydminster, Alberta	Nipawin (SJHL)	—
35		Alex Aslanidis	Freshman	G	6' 5" (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2001-01-20	Morristown, New Jersey	Navan (CCHL)	—
		Jacob Bauer	Freshman	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	2002-02-25	Milford, Michigan	Lincoln (USHL)	—

Standings

2020–21 National Collegiate Hockey Conference Standings v t e
	Conference record												Overall record
	GP	W	L	T	OTW	OTL	3/SW	PTS	PT%	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#5 North Dakota †*	24	18	5	1	2	1	0	54	.750	94	47		29	22	6	1	114	57
#2 St. Cloud State	24	15	9	0	3	3	0	45	.625	78	64		31	20	11	0	101	84
#3 Minnesota Duluth	24	13	9	2	1	2	1	43	.597	72	54		28	15	11	2	84	66
#13 Omaha	24	14	9	1	4	0	1	40	.556	79	69		26	14	11	1	85	81
Denver	22	9	12	1	0	2	1	31	.470	61	60		24	11	13	1	67	66
Western Michigan	24	10	11	3	1	0	1	33	.458	73	84		25	10	12	3	77	89
Colorado College	22	4	16	2	0	2	2	18	.273	35	77		23	4	17	2	36	79
Miami	24	5	17	2	0	1	0	18	.250	46	83		25	5	18	2	48	89
Championship: March 16, 2021 † indicates conference regular season champion (Penrose Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Frozen Faceoff Championship Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

Date	Time	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	TV	Decision	Result	Attendance	Record
Regular season
December 1	8:07 p.m.	vs. St. Cloud State	#17	Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska		Cain	L 3–4	0	0–1–0 (0–1–0)
December 3	8:35 p.m.	vs. Omaha	#17	Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska		Cain	L 2–10	0	0–2–0 (0–2–0)
December 6	1:05 p.m.	vs. #1 North Dakota	#17	Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska		Cain	L 2–8	0	0–3–0 (0–3–0)
December 8	12:35 p.m.	vs. Colorado College		Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska		Cain	T 3–3 SOL	0	0–3–1 (0–3–1)
December 9	4:35 p.m.	vs. #13 St. Cloud State		Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska		Cain	W 2–1	0	1–3–1 (1–3–1)
December 11	8:35 p.m.	vs. Colorado College		Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska	AT&T RM	Cain	W 5–2	0	2–3–1 (2–3–1)
December 13	5:05 p.m.	vs. #1 North Dakota		Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska		Cain	L 3–6	0	2–4–1 (2–4–1)
December 15	4:35 p.m.	vs. #8 Denver		Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska	Altitude	Cain	L 2–3	0	2–5–1 (2–5–1)
December 18	4:35 p.m.	vs. #17 Omaha		Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska		Cain	L 5–6	0	2–6–1 (2–6–1)
December 19	5:05 p.m.	vs. #8 Denver		Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska	Altitude	Cain	T 3–3 SOL	0	2–6–2 (2–6–2)
January 2	5:05 p.m.	vs. Miami		Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan		Cain	L 1–3	0	2–7–2 (2–7–2)
January 3	5:05 p.m.	vs. Miami		Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan		Cain	L 1–5	0	2–8–2 (2–8–2)
January 8	7:00 p.m.	at Miami		Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio		Aslanidis	W 4–1	0	3–8–2 (3–8–2)
January 9	5:00 p.m.	at Miami		Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio		Aslanidis	T 3–3 SOW	0	3–8–3 (3–8–3)
January 15	7:05 p.m.	vs. #4 St. Cloud State		Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan		Aslanidis	W 6–2	0	4–8–3 (4–8–3)
January 16	7:41 p.m.	vs. #4 St. Cloud State		Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan	CBSSN	Aslanidis	W 3–1	0	5–8–3 (5–8–3)
January 23	7:00 p.m.	at #7 Minnesota Duluth		AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota		Aslanidis	L 1–5	150	5–9–3 (5–9–3)
January 24	5:00 p.m.	at #7 Minnesota Duluth		AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota		Aslanidis	L 1–4	150	5–10–3 (5–10–3)
February 5	8:30 p.m.	at #4 St. Cloud State		Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota		Aslanidis	L 1–5	153	5–11–3 (5–11–3)
February 6	7:07 p.m.	at #4 St. Cloud State		Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota		Cain	W 5–4 OT	157	6–11–3 (6–11–3)
February 12	6:05 p.m.	vs. #4 Minnesota Duluth		Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan		Aslanidis	W 4–0	125	7–11–3 (7–11–3)
February 13	4:05 p.m.	vs. #4 Minnesota Duluth		Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan		Aslanidis	W 4–1	125	8–11–3 (8–11–3)
February 26	6:05 p.m.	vs. Miami		Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan		Bussi	W 5–2	125	9–11–3 (9–11–3)
February 27	2:00 p.m.	at Miami		Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio	CBSSN	Bussi	W 4–2	0	10–11–3 (10–11–3)
NCHC tournament
March 13	8:30 p.m.	vs. #9 Minnesota Duluth		Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota		Bussi	L 4–5 OT	2,167	10–12–3
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

^[5]

Scoring statistics

Name	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	PIM
Drew Worrad	C	25	5	18	23	8
Ronnie Attard	D	25	8	14	22	8
Ethen Frank	C	24	13	8	21	4
Paul Washe	C	25	8	13	21	18
Josh Passolt	LW	25	7	12	19	14
Cole Gallant	RW	25	5	13	18	2
Jason Polin	F	23	7	7	14	4
Michael Joyaux	D	25	4	10	14	8
Ty Glover	C	24	5	6	11	10
Aidan Fulp	D	25	0	11	11	12
Brett Van Os	LW	24	4	4	8	37
Luke Grainger	F	25	4	4	8	12
Scooter Brickey	D	25	2	4	6	16
Jamie Rome	F	24	2	1	3	12
Cédric Fiedler	D	15	0	3	3	6
Chad Hillebrand	F	12	1	1	2	4
Hugh Larkin	RW	19	1	1	2	7
Jarred White	LW	14	0	2	2	22
Daniel Hilsendager	D	21	0	2	2	4
Tim Washe	C	13	1	0	1	10
Kale Bennett	D	23	0	1	1	4
Trevor Bishop	F	1	0	0	0	0
Brandon Bussi	G	4	0	0	0	0
Lukas Samuelsson	F	5	0	0	0	0
Cam Knuble	F	8	0	0	0	4
Alex Aslanidis	G	13	0	0	0	0
Austin Cain	G	15	0	0	0	0
Bench	-	-	-	-	-	8
Total			77	135	212	234

^[6]

Goaltending statistics

Name	Games	Minutes	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals Against	Saves	Shut-outs	SV %	GAA
Brandon Bussi	4	211	2	1	0	10	80	0	.889	2.84
Alex Aslanidis	13	613	5	3	1	31	231	1	.882	3.03
Austin Cain	15	683	3	8	2	46	308	0	.870	4.04
Empty Net	-	14	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	-
Total	25	1522	10	12	3	89	619	1	.874	3.51

Rankings

Main article: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings

Poll	Week
	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21 (Final)
USCHO.com	18	17	17	17	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	-	NR
USA Today	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR

USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.^[7]

Awards and honors

Player	Award	Ref
Ronnie Attard	AHCA West First Team All-American	[8]
Ronnie Attard	NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year	[9]
Kale Bennett	NCHC Scholar-Athlete of the Year	[9]
Ronnie Attard	NCHC First Team	[10]
Ethen Frank	NCHC Third Team	[10]

References

1. Cobb, David (August 21, 2020). "NCAA approves blanket waiver for 2020 fall sports athletes to retain year of eligibility". CBS Sports. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
2. "DI Council grants waiver to allow transfer student-athletes to compete immediately". NCAA. December 16, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
3. Kotila, Tyler (December 8, 2020). "Western Michigan Hockey: Losing Brandon Bussi detrimental to season". FanSided. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
4. "2020-21 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Western Michigan University Athletics. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
5. "Western Michigan Broncos (Men) 2020-2021 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
6. "Western Michigan Univ. 2020-2021 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
7. "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
8. "Boston College, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin lead way with three All-American college hockey players apiece for '20-21 season". USCHO.com. April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
9. "North Dakota's Berry, Pinto Garner NCHC's Top Honors for 2020-21". NCHC. March 11, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
10. "North Dakota Paces 2020-21 NCHC All-Conference Teams". nchchockey.com. March 8, 2021. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2021.