Preview: Miami hockey faces reigning national champion Western Michigan on road

After their second bye week of the season, the Miami University RedHawks hockey team (7-1, 1-1 in conference play) is back on the ice against the reigning national champions: the Western Michigan University Broncos (5-5, 1-3 in conference play).

Miami’s split against the Arizona State University Sun Devils saw the RedHawks win their first National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) game in two years – their previous conference win was against Western Michigan on Jan. 13, 2024.

In the first game of the Arizona State series on Halloween, junior forward Doug Grimes gave the RedHawks a 1-0 lead on the power play, but that would be the only point they could summon for the rest of the night. The Sun Devils scored twice in four minutes, one from senior forward Bennett Schimek and the other from junior forward Sean McGurn, to take a 2-1 advantage before the second period.

The Sun Devils added another two goals in the third period to close the game with a 4-1 win in senior forward Johnny Waldron’s first game at Goggin Ice Center since transferring from Miami to Arizona State in the offseason. Waldron finished with an assist on the last goal of the game from sophomore forward and Calgary Flames draft pick Cullen Potter.

The RedHawks rebounded one night later, but the second game of the series was a slow burn at first. Both teams found the net once in the first period, with senior forward Maximilion Helgeson scoring his first of two goals for Miami.

Freshman forward and New Jersey Devils draft pick Ben Kevan offered the Sun Devils a brief lead in the second period with a power play goal, but Helgeson scored his second of the night two minutes later to tie the game 2-2.

Miami scored twice more before the third period, both within less than a minute of each other. Ethan Hay scored a shorthanded goal, giving the RedHawks a lead they would hold onto for the rest of the night. Sophomore forward Ryan Smith added one more tally 40 seconds later to widen the gap.

Smith brought Miami’s lead up to three goals in the final minutes of the third period on an empty net goal. The RedHawks won their first NCHC game of the 2025-26 season 5-2.

“We really liked our response on Saturday,” head coach Anthony Noreen said in his midweek press conference. “We thought we were able to take our Saturday meeting, the information from Friday night … We love that we played the right way until the last second, and it’s always good to go into the bye week and feel good about what the result was and the effort you put forth in the last game before it started.”

The RedHawks will look to continue their success against the No. 9 Broncos at Lawson Ice Arena in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

After winning the NCAA national hockey championship last season, the Broncos lost their top two scorers. Alex Bump (47 points) and Tim Washe (38 points) both moved to play professionally in the American Hockey League for their respective clubs – the Philadelphia Flyers and Anaheim Ducks.

Senior forward Liam Valente, who transferred to Western Michigan from Providence College ahead of the 2024-25 season, has stepped up as the Broncos’ leading scorer with six goals and one assist. Junior forward William Whitelaw follows with five goals after transferring in this season from the University of Michigan.

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The Broncos opened their 2025-26 campaign with a loss against the Ferris State University Bulldogs, whom the RedHawks had defeated twice the week prior. The Broncos poured shots on net, but a heroic performance from junior goaltender Hobie Hedquist, a transfer from another NCHC school – the North Dakota Fighting Hawks – stopped the Broncos from shining on home ice.

Since then, Western Michigan has lost four more games and is currently on a three-game losing streak, with last week’s series sweep against the University of Denver Pioneers.

Miami has lost the last six meetings with Western Michigan and is looking to snap a two-year losing streak to the Broncos.

“It’s exciting [to play Western Michigan],” freshman defender Michael Phelan said. “I think we’re a really underrated team, and we’re ready to prove people wrong [this weekend].”

babukc2@miamioh.edu

middleje@miamioh.edu