Western Michigan hockey to be No. 2 seed in Providence Region after loss to Denver

Western Herald - sports









After Saturday evening’s 3-1 loss to the No. 1 ranked Denver University Pioneers in the consolation game of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Frozen Faceoff, the Western Michigan University hockey team still had Sunday too look forward to. Sunday at noon the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament bracket was selected live on ESPNU.











The Broncos, who are ranked sixth in the PairWise rankings, have been slotted as the No. 2 seed in the East Regional, which will be held at Dunkin' Doughnuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. This is the same arena that former Bronco standout Colton Hargrove plays his home games with the American Hockey League's Providence Bruins. The Broncos are only one of 16 teams to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The Broncos were one of four NCHC teams chosen for the national tournament. The others include Denver, the University of Minnesota-Duluth and the University of North Dakota






The Broncos will face Air Force Academy in the first round. The winner of that game will play the winner of Harvard University and Providence University, both of which have won the national tournament once before.





This good news was needed after an off weekend where the Broncos dropped two consecutive games, Friday night’s to Minnesota-Duluth and Saturday’s to Denver.





Friday saw a 5-2 match in Duluth’s favor, although the game was close going into the final minutes of the third. This game saw a different lineup than usual, missing senior forward and captain Sheldon Dries as well as freshman forward Wade Allison after his heavy collision into the boards last Sunday, where he was carted off the ice on a stretcher.





Saturday the Broncos dropped another close game 3-1. The Broncos outshot Denver 29-21 and managed 17 blocked shots to Denver’s eight. The lone Bronco goal came off the stick of senior forward and Detroit Red Wings draft ...


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