2022–23 Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey season

After the best season in program history and winning its first-ever NCAA tournament game, Western Michigan was immediately met with the task of remaking the team. Gone were the top 5 scorers from the year before as were all three goaltenders. WMU lost 15 players from the '22 team and, while several regular did return, the team's performance was an open question. Cameron Rowe, who had toiled in the Wisconsin goal for two years, was one of six transfers brought in to help make up for the brain drain but the team got probably their biggest contribution from freshman Ryan McAllister. The undrafted center immediately gelled with team captain Jason Polin and the two would prove to be one of the top duos in the nation.

The Broncos opened their season by travelling up to Anchorage to take on the restarted Seawolves program. With Alaska Anchorage playing their first game in over two-and-a-half years, they were not expected to do much even with the turnover for Western. However, the Seawolves defied expectations and won the first game. The Broncos' offense woke up after that stunner and won the next four games to try and undo the damage. At the end of the month, Western took on in-state rival Michigan in a battle between two high-scoring programs. The Broncos ended up scoring 9 goals in the two games but it was not enough as the Wolverines edged them out by a single goal both nights.

When WMU began its conference schedule very little changed for the team as they continued to play .500 hockey. The Music City Hockey Classic, which was scheduled to take place in Nashville on November 25, had to be moved to the Ford Ice Center Bellevue in nearby Bellevue, Tennessee.^[1] The change in venue was caused by a water main break at the Bridgestone Arena.^[2] After taking down Northeastern, the team stumbled to the break and sat just inside the pools but well out of the tournament in the PairWise rankings.

Western opened the second half of its season with the Great Lakes Invitational and faced a strong Michigan Tech squad to start. The Broncos blew the Huskies out of the water, romping to an 8–1 win. They had a near repeat in the championship game, pasting Ferris State 8–2. Polin netted hat-tricks in both games and shot into the lead for goals, scoring 18 in just 22 games. The massive wins also saw WMU race up the rankings, a trend that continued by winning their next 5 games and 9 out of 10 as well.

By the time mid-February rolled around, the Broncos were firing on all cylinders and gotten into the top 10. When they met Denver at the end of the month, Western was in the top 5 and had an outside chance to win the conference title if they could sweep the Pioneers. Unfortunately, Denver proved to a be a bit too tall of a task for the Broncos and they lost both games. The team recovered with an east match to end the season and finished second in the conference standings, Western's best finish in nearly 50 years.^[3] The high position gave the team a good match in the conference tournament as WMU played host to Colorado College.

Western's high-powered offense was sluggish against the Tigers. They were only able to get a single goal on the power play in the first two periods; however, they still left them with a lead going into the third. Over the span of 59 seconds, CC scored three times, more than they had scored in a single game in almost two months.^[4] The stunned Broncos were unable to recover in the last 5 minutes and ended with a loss. Even after that upset, the WMU offense did not appear much better in the rematch. The Broncos were able to score twice in regulation but could not edge out Colorado College and the two needed overtime to settle the score. Both teams went on the offensive in the extra session but, to the dismay of the home crowd, CC proved victorious and swept Western out of the conference tournament.

Luckily, the Broncos were high enough in the PairWise to be guaranteed a spot in the tournament and they had a week to try and get over the sudden ineptness of their offense. Once the tournament seeding was finalized, Western Michigan found itself with a 3 seed and set against Boston University. The very unfavorable draw resulted from the NCAA preventing inter-conference matches in the first round. In any event, Western was looking for its second tournament win and they started fast. WMU kept the pressure on BU for most of the first half of the period and were eventually able to scored the opening goal. However, while the team was celebrating, the referees were reviewing the tape and ended up taking the goal off the board due to goaltender interference. The change in momentum stalled Western Michigan and allowed the Terriers to go on the attack. A few minutes later BU score the first official goal of the game and then added 2 more by the midpoint of the second period. Jason Polin's 30th cut into the Terriers' lead but that was the only puck that the Broncos could get through the Boston University defense.^[5] For a team with the #5 offense in the nation, the sudden lack of scoring doomed the Broncos' season.

As of August 23, 2022.^[6]

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1		Kirk Laursen	Freshman (RS)	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2000-01-02	Bloomfield Hills, Michigan	Miami (NCHC)	—
2		Jacob Bauer	Junior	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	2002-02-25	Milford, Michigan	Lincoln (USHL)	—
4		Zak Galambos	Senior	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1997-05-27	Walnut Creek, California	American International (AHA)	—
6		Theo Thrun	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2001-01-09	Grand Rapids, Michigan	Maine (NAHL)	—
8		Ryan McAllister	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2001-12-19	London, Ontario	Brooks (AJHL)	—
9		Luke Grainger	Junior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1999-09-03	Montreal, Quebec	Hawkesbury (CCHL)	—
10		Chad Hillebrand	Junior	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1999-01-22	Park Ridge, Illinois	Green Bay (USHL)	—
11		Ethan Wolthers	Freshman	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	2001-07-19	Valencia, California	Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)	—
12		Cole Gallant	Graduate	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1998-03-14	Dover, Florida	Omaha (USHL)	—
13		Oliver MacDonald	Junior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2000-11-07	Grosse Pointe, Michigan	UMass (HEA)	—
14		Jason Polin	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	1999-06-17	Holt, Michigan	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	—
15		Daniel Hilsendager	Junior	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	2000-03-30	Lloydminster, Saskatchewan	Omaha (USHL)	—
16		Tim Washe	Junior	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	2001-08-25	Detroit, Michigan	Nanaimo (BCHL)	—
17		Cédric Fiedler	Junior	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	204 lb (93 kg)	2001-04-20	Zug, Switzerland	Fargo (USHL)	—
18		Wyatt Schingoethe	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2002-08-03	Algonquin, Illinois	Waterloo (USHL)	TOR, 195th overall 2020
19		Cam Knuble	Junior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	2000-07-23	Grand Rapids, Michigan	Muskegon (USHL)	—
20		Jamie Rome	Graduate	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	211 lb (96 kg)	1998-10-03	Cochrane, Alberta	Victoria (BCHL)	—
21		Barrett Brooks	Freshman	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2001-12-19	Stevens Point, Wisconsin	Austin (NAHL)	—
22		Trevor Bishop	Junior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-01-23	Rochester Hills, Michigan	Victoria (BCHL)	—
23		Carter Berger	Senior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-09-17	North Vancouver, British Columbia	UConn (HEA)	FLA, 106th overall 2019
24		Aidan Fulp	Junior	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	2000-02-29	Westfield, Indiana	Dubuque (USHL)	—
25		Jack Perbix	Senior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2000-09-13	Elk River, Minnesota	Minnesota (Big Ten)	ANA, 116th overall 2018
26		Lucas Matta	Freshman	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2002-10-04	Kleinburg, Ontario	Salmon Arm (BCHL)	—
27		Cole Burtch	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2001-01-11	Markham, Ontario	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	—
28		Hugh Larkin	Junior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1999-03-27	Livonia, Michigan	Austin (NAHL)	—
29		Will Hambley	Freshman	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2002-04-29	Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia	Steinbach (MJHL)	—
31		Cameron Rowe	Junior	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	2001-06-01	Wilmette, Illinois	Wisconsin (Big Ten)	—
33		Samuel Sjölund	Freshman	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2001-05-19	Stockholm, Sweden	Dubuque (USHL)	DAL, 111th overall 2019
34		Max Sasson	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2000-09-05	Birmingham, Michigan	Waterloo (USHL)	—
37		Dylan Wendt	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2001-01-09	Grand Haven, Michigan	Muskegon (USHL)	—

^[8]

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.^[9]

† incoming freshman^[13]