College Hockey Update:  Last weekend Western Michigan created a top ten match-up as they jumped up five spots into the top ten at #8 after hosting and sweeping Denver, knocking the Pioneers down three pegs to #7.  Elsewhere, St. Cloud State held at #1 after visiting and splitting with North Dakota; and Massachusetts held at #2 after visiting and splitting with Maine.  Minnesota-Duluth moved up two notches after hosting and sweeping Nebraska-Omaha; Quinnipiac edged up to #5 after hosting and beating Holy Cross; and Mankato State edged up to #6 after visiting and sweeping Northern Michigan.  Providence jumped up five slots to #9 after sweeping a home-and-home series against Northeastern, knocking Northeastern down four spots and out of the top ten to #12; Clarkson held at #10 after a loss at Harvard and a win at Dartmouth; and an idle Ohio State edged down to #4.

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Last weekend Western Michigan had huge help from its sophomore forward Ethen Frank, of Papillion, NE., who scored two goals Friday night in his team’s 3-1 win, and tallied an assist Saturday night in his team’s 5-1 win, as they hosted and roasted Denver.  The 5’10” 175lb sophomore is third on his team in goals scored, with eleven, and is tied for sixth in assists, with nine.  Last Friday night Western Michigan come out fast and furious, out-shooting Denver 12-3 in the first period, but Denver held them off to make it a scoreless first.  In the second the Western Michigan pace and assault continued, and Hugh McGing got Western on the board two minutes into the period when he opportunistically snagged the puck and and broke away for a short-handed goal.  Eight minutes later Ethen Frank struck on a power play opportunity to give the Broncos a 2-0 lead, which is how it stood at the break.  Don’t know what was said in the Denver locker room, but have to think some of it wasn’t nice, as Denver had been out-shot 22-7 at that point.  It was Denver who came out fast and furious in the third, out-shooting Western 15-3, and it paid off with a goal six minutes into the frame, making it a 2-1 game.  But the Broncos held off the Denver assault, and when Denver added and extra attacker with two minutes to go, it was Ethen Frank who found the empty net with a minute left in the game, making the final 3-1, Western Michigan.  Saturday night’s game played very similarly, with Western Michigan on fire in the first two periods, out-shooting Denver 17-9 in the first and netting three unanswered goals, and then out-shooting Denver 12-8 in the second, and netting a pair of unanswered goals, taking a 5-0 lead into the third.  Denver dominated the third as they had on Friday, this time to the tune of 20 shots vs. five, but they only netted one, and Western took home the 5-1 win and the weekend sweep.

Ethen Frank also had a very good freshman year, ranking 7th on his team in goals scored, with seven, and ranking thirteenth in assists, with five.  Before Western Michigan he played two seasons for the Lincoln Stars of the USHL.  He was second on his team in goals, with 18, and third in assits, with 23, in the 2016-17 season; he was seventh in goals, with ten, and fourteenth in assists, with nine, in the 2015-16 season.  His hometown of Papillion, NE., is home to 20,000 residents among its ten square miles, and sits at an elevation of 1,000 feet.  It is a suburb about 13 miles southwest of Omaha.

Located in Kalamazoo, Western Michigan was founded in 1903 and currently enrolls 18,000 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students.  It offers one of the top aviation programs in the U.S., and it added a medical school in 2014.  It offers 147 undergraduate degrees, 73 master’s degrees, and 30 doctoral degrees, from its seven colleges.  Its sports teams are called the Broncos, and they wear brown and gold.  They have won two NCAA Division I Championships, both in Cross Country, in 1964 and 1965.  Actor and comedian Tim Allen earned his bachelor’s degree there in 1976.  Western Michigan Hockey started in 1973, joined the CCHA in 1975, and then the NCHC in 2013.  They were the CCHA champions in 1986 and 2012.  They have made it to the NCAA tournament six times, in 1986, 1994, 1996, 2011, 2012, and last year.  Bronco Hockey plays its home games in the 3,700 seat Larson Arena.  The team is coached by Andy Murray, who is in his 8th year.  Murray, a native of Souris, Manitoba, was the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings for six years, and of the St. Louis Blues for four years; his ten year NHL record is 333-278-58-71.  At Western Michigan his total record to date is 133-124-35, and he has coached teams to two 20 win seasons in 2011 and 2017.  Western Michigan, 15-8-1, and ranked #8, plays two games this weekend at Nebraska-Omaha.

This weekend features one top-ten matchup, as #5 Quinnipiac will play one game at #10 Clarkson tonight.  Monday night is the opening round of the Beanpot Tournament in Boston, with #19 Harvard vs. Boston College in the early game at 2pm Pacific Time, followed by #12 Northeastern vs. “#24” Boston University in the late game at 5pm Pacific Time.  Games broadcast by NESN.

This provides the top ten teams, rankings, records, and results:

[table id=188 /]

That’s all for now.  Stay tuned, and go Terriers!

— Tom