Feb. 25, 2000
KALAMAZOO -- WMU's hockey Broncos can guarantee themselves of a berth in the CCHA playoffs with a victory tonight (Feb. 25) at Lawson Ice Arena. On Thursday night, WMU routed Lake Superior State, 7-3, at Lawson before a national television audience on Fox Sports Net.
The two teams meet again tonight. Faceoff is at 7:05 p.m. Tonight's game will not be televised, but can be heard on the Bronco Radio Network.
The Broncos are 9-13-3 in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and in the 10th and final playoff position in the league. WMU has three matches remaining in the regular season. With two more points, the Broncos will eliminate their nearest competitor, 11th-place Ohio State, from playoff contention.
WMU Coach Jim Culhane says, "We're down to the last few weeks of the season and every game is critical. We know what we have to do, and I'm looking for my guys to step up and accept the challenge of making the playoffs."
In Thursday night's win, the Broncos received goals from David Gove (2), Corey Waring, Brent Rumble, Mike Bishai, Steve Rymsha, and Anthony Battaglia. Bishai also had three assists to lead the Bronco scoring spree. Sophomore Jeff Reynaert was in net and made 35 saves on the evening. Both teams had 38 shots on goal.
Lake Superior (14-9-2 CCHA 4th place) appears a lock for home ice for the CCHA quarterfinals.
Western Michigan split two games in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., on Oct. 29-30, winning the series opener, 4-1, and falling short of a comeback in a 5-4 loss. In the 5-4 loss at LSSU, the Laker's Ben Keup scored four goals in the first period and the Lakers went up 5-1 before WMU nearly pulled even. Lake Superior won the 1998-99 series, 2-0-1, and leads all-time, 56-31-10.
Bronco hockey can be heard on the Bronco Radio Network (Flagship station WFAT-96.5 FM Kalamazoo), and via broadcast.com on the Bronco Web site <www.wmubroncos.com>.
Media contact: Daniel Jankowski, 616 387-4122; daniel.jankowski@wmich.edu
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