Men's hockey series of the week: No. 3 North Dakota at No. 4 Western Michigan

The NCHC regular season comes to an end in Kalamazoo this weekend as the North Dakota Fighting Hawks head to Lawson Arena to face the Western Michigan Broncos.

North Dakota is locked into the top spot in the conference with two games to go, but now the question is: Will they have enough to clinch?

The defending national champion Broncos split the final regular-season series last year in Kalamazoo and took down the Fighting Hawks in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff.

Now, as the attention turns towards the NPI, this series looks to have everyone on the edge of their seats in a fight for regional hosting.

Head-to-head history: Broncos have the momentum

Western Michigan won four of the last five matchups, all in the 2024–25 season. North Dakota did, however, snag a 4-to-3 overtime winner on March 1, 2025, as its lone victory in that stretch.

Before that, though, North Dakota swept the home series against Western Michigan on the weekend of March 1–2, 2024, outscoring the Broncos 8-to-3.

The only chance of a rematch before the NCAA Regionals is likely in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff title game, so now the implications remain high.

North Dakota is 13-6-1 in Kalamazoo since the 1996–97 season and 31-16-1 overall in that stretch, though recent momentum favors Western Michigan.

What North Dakota does well

On the books, the Fighting Hawks are the top-scoring and defending team in the NCHC, leading the conference in goals per game (3.84) and goals allowed per game (2.25).

Dylan James, Will Zellers and Ben Strinden each have double-digit goals, combining for 47 on 273 shots. In net, Jan Špunar has the best goals against average (.919) in the NCHC.

North Dakota is also one of the best teams on the draw in the NCHC, ranking second in faceoff winning percentage (.542). Ellis Rickwood leads the charge with 295 wins, ranking 34th in Division I.

The Fighting Hawks are also solid on the power play with an NCHC-second .276 clip. Zellers and James have combined for 13 power-play goals at the top of the team rankings.

What North Dakota doesn’t do well?

There’s not much the Fighting Hawks can’t do, but the penalties have piled up for them, as they rank third in the NCHC in that category with 4.44 per game.

E.J. Emery leads North Dakota with 15 penalties, though all of them have been minor penalties up to this point.

The Fighting Hawks won’t need their special teams to be on their A game, and that’s okay, as their penalty kill percentage sits at .820 and ranks third in the NCHC.

Jake Livanavage is not the most efficient shooter from the point, posting a .076 shot percentage in 66 tries as a defenseman. He does, however, have 19 assists on the year.

What Western Michigan does well

Much like North Dakota, the Broncos’ scoring offense is right up there near the top of the NCHC with 3.75 goals per game. William Whitelaw and Liam Valente each have 17 goals on the year and sit in the top 10 for the conference in that category.

The Western Michigan penalty kill is second in the conference, right behind Minnesota Duluth, holding a .863 percentage.

The Broncos hold the NCHC lead in assists per game with 6.78, as Grant Slukynsky leads the way with 0.84 of his own.

Western Michigan has not lost in regulation since January 31, and it’ll look to ride that momentum after going 4-0-1 with a tie (shootout win last Friday) in that stretch.

What Western Michigan doesn’t do well?

The Broncos are underwhelming on the man advantage this year, sitting sixth in the NCHC with a .205 power-play percentage. This equates to 32nd out of 63 teams in Division I.

Conversely, Western Michigan also continues to have issues with penalties, ranking fourth in the NCHC with 4.38 per game. Four skaters have double-digit penalties, including Whitelaw, who leads the team with 18.

On defense, the Broncos are dead-last in the NCHC blocked shots per game with 8.91, though Theo Wallberg leads the team with 29. Five skaters have 20 or more blocked shots on the season.

Despite being a high-shot-volume team, Western Michigan finds itself at fourth in the conference in shot percentage at .011, though Whitelaw and Valente each have 121 shots.

Series pick, how to watch

The Fighting Hawks look to stomp out the Bronco momentum, going for a split series in Kalamazoo this weekend.

Catch the series opener on Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, with the finale on Saturday at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Both games are available on NCHC.tv.

Bryan Portney is a second-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email bep5295@psu.edu.