- Game Info: Friday 10/23, 7:00 pm, streaming on Big Ten Plus
- Record vs. Western Michigan: 78-38-10
The freshly ranked No. 1 Michigan Wolverines host No. 5 Western Michigan Friday night at Yost Ice Arena. They’re only playing one game this weekend, and will meet again for one more later in the season in Kalamazoo. Seems like teams are starting to move towards playing home-and-home style series when the teams aren’t too far apart.
Michigan is coming off an impressive series sweep of former top team, Denver, and has yet to lose a game. Western Michigan is also perfect to start the season, 4-0, and has series wins against Ferris State and Notre Dame. What’s most impressive about the Broncos’ start is that they’ve only allowed two goals against.
Statistically, Western would appear to have the upper hand in this matchup, but I don’t think that is actually the case. The Broncos are a good hockey team, but they haven’t yet played a team that is quite the caliber of the Wolverines. Meanwhile, Michigan just proved their power by sweeping Denver. Western’s penalty kill is doing really well, but they’ve also taken almost half as many penalties as Michigan. Western’s power play is over seven percent better, but they only have one more power-play goal than Michigan. Basically, what I’m getting at is stats can say one thing, but this early in the season they don’t say enough.
This will be a battle between Michigan’s high-powered offense and Western Michigan’s stifling defense. The Wolverines have the top two scorers in the nation in Perron and Hage, and the Broncos have a goaltender, Miller, whose numbers are mind-blowing right now. I think Michigan’s offense will be too much in the end, and they’ll solve Western’s defense for a victory.
Players to Watch
Perron has been dangerous in every game so far and should continue his torrent pace. He will look to extend his point streak. Ivankovic was able to shut down a highly talented Denver team, despite some injury scares. I expect him to stay steady. Miller has exceptional stats so far this season. It’s a small sample size against lesser opponents, but still stellar. If Western Michigan steals a game in Ann Arbor, he will be the deciding factor.