While few would argue that Western Michigan has been a perpetually a tough opponent on any given night, it has been more than a decade since the Broncos have been considered a serious contender in the CCHA. But after starting the season with four straight wins for the first time in 20 years, the icers from Kalamazoo have their eyes set on more significant prizes than the home playoff series victory over Lake Superior that is the team’s legacy from last year.
Veteran goalie Riley Gill is an experienced member of a Western Michigan club that is enjoying early-season success.
Having finally seen the pieces come together during the team’s present winning streak in addition to a 5-2-1 stretch to close out last year’s regular season which helped the Broncos earn a home-ice playoff series, the Broncos have now set their sights on making it through the next round of the playoffs to the bright lights of Joe Louis Arena and the CCHA Championship weekend.
“I don’t think we’re going to settle for anything less than being the best in this league,” sophomore J.J. Crew said. “We think we can make it to (Joe Louis Arena) and we think we can hang with anyone in this league.”
Crew has played a significant role in Western Michigan’s early-season success, leading the team with six points. Teaming up with Max Campbell and Greg Squires on what may well be one of the league’s top scoring lines, Crew opened the season with a hat trick on opening night and a 1-2-3 line in the second game against Mercyhurst before being held scoreless during the trip to Alabama-Huntsville last weekend.
Despite his absence from the scoresheet in Huntsville, Crew was happy with his performance, and is encouraged by the results he and his teammates are seeing from hard work during the summer and preseason workouts.
“I think that we’re on the right track,” Crew said. “Everyone has been working hard since the summer and we have a lot of chemistry on the ice and we’re clicking on all cylinders.”
The chemistry Crew spoke of came is evident in the team’s ability to win in different situations. With two wins coming at home and two on the road, two leading from the onset and two come-from-behind victories and a blowout coming before three one-goal games, Western Michigan has faced an interesting spectrum of game situations that will help acclimate freshmen to the sometimes unpredictable nature of the college game and give veterans like senior goaltender Riley Gill a sense of optimism this year’s team.
Gill, who has compiled a .942 save percentage and 1.67 goals against average in his three wins, has won some big games in the past and knows that the Broncos’ ability to protect their own leads and erase opponents’ advantages will serve the team well as the begin the CCHA slate, starting with a home-and-home series against Michigan State.
“The first weekend against Mercyhurst we put goals up on the board and then we won a couple of tight ones on the road this past weekend,” Gill said. “I think that we’ve proven that we can win both ways.”
