Big Ten Hockey News/ Western Michigan Hockey News
Big Ten Hockey News
• The Big Ten Hockey regular season concludes this week with three teams still in contention for the championship trophy. Minnesota is looking for its seventh title overall (and third in four seasons), Michigan State aims to defend its title and Ohio State goes for its first crown since 2019. MSU and OSU are both seeking their second banners overall. In 11 previous seasons, there has never been a tie for the championship, which is allowed under Big Ten rules. The closest race occurred in 2015-16 when Minnesota edged Michigan by a point. The regular season champion receives the No. 1 seed and a quarterfinals bye for the Big Ten Tournament, which begins next week.
• No. 2/2 Minnesota, which moved into first place last weekend, takes on No. 15/16 Penn State, which is unbeaten in nine of its last 10 games (7-1-2) and still in contention for home playoff ice. The teams last met Nov. 1-2 when Minnesota allowed one goal in a weekend home sweep. No. 3/3 Michigan State, two points back of first, travels to Notre Dame. Notre Dame’s Jeff Jackson will coach his final home games at the Compton Family Ice Arena where he has spent 19 seasons behind the bench. No. 11/11 Michigan renews its rivalry with No. 8/10 Ohio State in Columbus, starting Thursday night. The schools split a pair of one-goal decisions to start the new year. Both games of the series will be carried on the Big Ten Network, as will the Minnesota-Penn State contest on Saturday as part of a BTN doubleheader. Wisconsin, which has finished its conference slate, plays host to the U.S. National Team Development Program for an exhibition game Sunday at the Kohl Center.
• With postseason action just around the corner, attention turns to the Pairwise Rankings, which mimics the selection criteria used to fill the at-large slots for the 16-team NCAA Tournament. The latest Pairwise finds Michigan State ranked second, Minnesota rated third, Ohio State and Michigan tied for 10th and Penn State listed at No. 15.
• The Big Ten scoring title is coming down to the wire with three points separating four players, all of whom will be in action this weekend. Michigan State’s Isaac Howard leads the pack with 32 points (15-17), just ahead of Minnesota’s Jimmy Snuggerud (18-12—30). Penn State’s Aiden Fink (17-12—29) and Michigan’s T.J. Hughes (14-15—29) are tied for third. Snuggerud is pursuing his second scoring title, a feat accomplished just once before by Cole Caufield of Wisconsin. In the NCAA ranks, Howard and Fink are part of a four-way tie in overall scoring, averaging 1.41 points per game based on their 45-point campaigns.
• The 12th edition of the Big Ten Hockey Tournament begins the weekend of March 7-9 with best-of-three quarterfinal games. Single elimination semifinal contests take place on March 15 with the championship game slated for March 22 at the site of the highest remaining seed. The tournament winner receives the Big Ten’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
BRONCOS SET TO HOST NORTH DAKOTA FOR FINAL HOME SERIES OF REGULAR SEASON
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan looks to secure its first ever Penrose Cup with North Dakota in town for the last home series of the regular season. WMU swept the Fighting Hawks earlier this season in Grand Forks. Friday’s series opener is set for 7 PM EST.
LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos split with Arizona State last weekend, which secured home ice for the NCHC Quarterfinals. Zach Nehring, Grant Slukynsky and Liam Valente all had three points in the series, while Hampton Slukynsky picked up his eighth win in net.
CHASING HISTORY
WMU has a chance to make history on Friday night, as a regulation victory would secure the program’s first ever Penrose Cup.
Western Michigan has never won a regular season championship since moving to Division I in 1975-76. However, WMU has won two CCHA Tournament Championships (1986 & 2012).
The Broncos lead the conference with 47 points, while Arizona State (44), Omaha (38) and North Dakota (37) round out the top four. The Brown and Gold can reach 59 total points by winning out. ASU and Omaha have max point totals of 50, while UND’s max is 49.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Over the years, Western Michigan has been known for having an advantage at home, and 2024-25 is no different.
The Brown and Gold boast a 13-1-1 home record this season, which includes wins over Denver and Michigan. The Broncos are on an eight-game winning streak at Lawson Arena, which is currently the longest home winning streak in the country.
WMU hasn’t lost a home game in regulation this season, and the one tie came back in mid-November. The Broncos have outscored opponents 63-24 at home this season.
HAMMER TIME
Freshman goaltender Hampton Slukynsky has been terrific throughout the 2024-25 season, carrying an 8-4-1 record, 1.67 goals against average and .939 save percentage into this weekend’s series.
Since the start of the new year, Slukynsky has taken his game to another level. He is 5-1-0 with a 1.48 GAA and .936 save percentage. He collected his first career shutout against Miami on Jan. 25.
His impressive run culminated in a win over No. 12 Arizona State this past weekend, as he made a career high 33 saves in the victory. The Warroad, Minn. native has allowed two or fewer goals in nine of his 13 starts this season.
Slukynsky is a Los Angeles Kings draft pick, and he won the gold medal with Team USA at the World Junior Championship earlier this year. He leads the NCHC and is third in the nation in both GAA and save percentage
