ST. LOUIS — Boston University (24-13-2) and Western Michigan (33-7-1) are not traditional foes when it comes to men’s hockey, having met just four times. But Broncos coach Pat Ferschweiler believes he knows what to expect when the teams face off for the NCAA championship game Saturday night.
“I pre-scouted BU for years. They were called the Boston Bruins, and their style of play is exactly what Boston did,” said Ferschweiler. “Certainly coach [Jay] Pandolfo has brought that style down. It’s somewhat unique to college. It’s pretty popular in the NHL, but there’s a lot of similarities there.”
Ferschweiler spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings from 2015-19, while Pandolfo was serving as an assistant with the Bruins.
“So we certainly have a good idea what they’re trying to accomplish,” Ferschweiler added. “We’re going to try to put points of emphasis on what we try to do every day without trying to change our style of play at all.”
Pandolfo got a good look at Western Michigan Thursday night, watching and waiting as the Broncos dispatched last year’s national champion Denver in double overtime, before BU could begin its semifinal against Penn State.
“Western plays a pro-style game,” said Pandolfo. “They’re above the puck. They put pucks behind you. They do a really good job.”
The most recent meeting came two years ago in the first round of the 2023 NCAA tournament in Manchester, N.H. The Terriers prevailed that day, 5-1, beginning their run of three straight Frozen Four appearances. Prior to that, the schools last played in the opening round of the Mariucci Classic in Minneapolis on Dec. 30, 1994, with BU winning, 5-2, and featuring a junior forward from Burlington by the name of Jay Pandolfo.
This year’s edition of the Broncos captured both the NCHC regular-season and postseason titles, then defeated Minnesota State in overtime in the regional semifinal before advancing to the Frozen Four with a 2-1 victory over UMass and beating Denver for the third time in four meetings on Thursday.
In addition to UMass, Western Michigan faced another Hockey East opponent when it took on Boston College on Oct. 26 and dropped a 4-2 decision at Conte Forum. With the game tied, 2-2, Ryan Leonard scored a pair of goals in the final minute to hand the Broncos their first loss of the season.
Ferschweiler liked what he saw from his team at the time, and again pointed to that loss during Friday’s media availability as a building block.
“We went out there, No. 1 team in the country at the time, some overwhelming forwards with Ryan Leonard and [Gabe] Perreault, and we completed really well,” said Ferschweiler. “We lost a heartbreaking game that day, 47 seconds to lose. But I knew at that point we could compete with anyone.
“I think the belief in our players, even though we lost —and maybe I’m wrong — I know the compete was there and we believed we could have won that game, and I think that gave us belief for the rest of the year.”
The game will feature two of the top offenses in the country. Western Michigan’s 3.9 goals per game is second, two spots above BU’s 3.8.
Junior Quinn Hutson’s 50 points (23 goals, 27 assists) leads the Terriers and have him tied for second with 1.35 points per game. Younger brother Cole is second with 47 points (14 goals, 33 assists) and was named the Tim Taylor National Rookie of the Year Award winner on Friday. Classmate Cole Eiserman leads the team with 24 goals.
Since taking over the netminding duties for BU in late January, Mikhail Yegorov is 11-5-1 with a 1.98 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage.
Sophomore Alex Bump leads the Broncos in points (47) and goals (23), and was named the NCHC Forward of the Year. Grant Slukynsky (10 goals, 26 assists) and graduate student Tim Washe (16 goals, 20 assists) have added 36 points apiece.
Hampton Slukynsky is 18-5-1 with a 1.90 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. After splitting time during the regular season, the freshman has started the last 12 games in net.
Follow Andrew Mahoney @GlobeMahoney.
