Editor: Ken Dickie, Volunteer Alumni & Events Coordinator [email protected] Photo Courtesy of Gary Shook Coach’s Comments • Memorial Tribute to Bill Weessies • Meet the 2020-21 Captains • Bronco Notes • Bronco Team Statistics • 2020-21 NCHC Bronco Hockey Schedule • Friends and Alumni Weekend & RING OF HONOR Active Player Stats • Active Hockey Administrators So much has happened since the last time I had the chance to share my thoughts with you. The uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic have touched virtually every aspect of our personal and professional lives. This makes it imperative that we stay in touch with friends we hold close. I want you to know that all on our staff are thinking about you and your fam- ilies. We hope you are safe, staying well and that each day will be BETTER than the one before. Unfortunately, I must begin on a sad note as I pay tribute to one of our dedicated fans, Bill Weessies, who passed away on April 16. Our Bronco family lost a passionate member with Bill’s passing. From the time I arrived on campus almost 10 years ago to just a few weeks ago when I last saw him, Bill was honest and straight forward about our team. He always Pat Ferschweiler appreciated hard work and grit and was not averse to telling me when our team needed Andy Murray more of both. Seeing him interact with our present players and seeing him with our alums at the summer hockey reunion, I knew how popular he was. We will all miss Bill. Our team will continue to play with the hard work and grit Bill would want. Before providing my thoughts on the summer and the upcoming season, I want to extend my congratula- tions to Brad Berry, North Dakota, and Mike Shafer (a former Bronco Assistant Coach and Associate Head Coach), Cornell, on being named co-recipients of the Spencer Penrose NCAA Division I Coach of the Year Award. I also want to give a shout out to our eight seniors, junior and sophomore who are moving on to profes- Dave Shyiak sional endeavors. To each of them: Sr. Wade Allison (Flyers), Sr. Luke Bafia, Sr. Ben Blacker, Sr. Lawton Courtnall, Sr. Dawson DiPietro (Sabers), Sr. Cam Lee (Pens), Sr. Will Massey, Sr. Hugh McGing (Blues), Jr. Austin Ruesschhoff (Rangers) and So. Mattias Samuelsson (Sabers), you were a special group of student- athletes, on and off the ice. It was my privilege to coach you and watch you grow as players and young men. You led by example. As a group and individually, you exemplified our mantra DWD (Do the right thing, When you are supposed to and Do it that way every time). As your coach, I could not have asked for anything more. You will all be missed, but the example you have set will live on with our returning players and staff. I know you will be a success wherever your future takes you. A special congratulations to Hugh McGing on being named a First Team West CCM-AHCA All-America as Tim Herrmann well as a First Team All-NCHC All Star. These are well deserved rewards for the leadership, dedication, and hard work that exemplified your career as a Bronco on and off the ice. Looking to next year, and working around the uncertainties COVID-19 has brought to the university and NCHC activities, the coaching staff is busy staying in touch with our returning players, players who have committed to become Broncos and with players we hope will decide to become Broncos as we build to- ward our goals in 2020-21 and beyond. I am very excited about the four strong-character seniors who will be our leadership core for next year. Serving as our Captain for the 2020-21 season will be senior Paul Washe. Paul was a force on the ice and in the locker room last year. He was second on the team in minutes played and was among the top cen- J. J. Crew ters in NCAA D-I in faceoffs won. Assisting Paul will be fifth-year senior Kale Bennett, a mature, dependa- ble defenseman, and seniors Josh Passolt and Ethen Frank, both strong-skating, solid, two-way forwards. Having lost eight seniors, our seniors will be leading a young, but productive, team. Offensively, we have more than 50 percent of last year’s offensive production back. Defensively, we return five veteran de- fensemen, and a sophomore goalie who started 34 games, had a 2.65 goals against average and a 0.910 save percentage. I am very excited about the group of nine or 10 players we are adding. These are high- Dave Killip character and highly skilled young men, who I expect will make an immediate contribution to our suc- cess. I believe our coaching staff and Bronco fans have much to be optimistic about. GO BRONCOS!! Unfortunately, COVID-19 forced the cancellation of our end-of-year Awards Banquet. We are still working to identify an appropriate forum in which to recognize the accomplishments of this past season’s players. Stay tuned. Also, the uncertainties presented by our present health crisis have made it necessary for us to cancel the 2020 Friends and Alumni Weekend and the induction of a 2020 class into the RING OF HONOR. Our plan is for these activities to return in 2021 bigger and better than ever. Justin Penna As we close out the 2019-20 Bronco Hockey year, I want to thank our alumni, supporters and friends for their devotion to Bronco hockey. We want you to know that we will always work to make you proud of what Bronco hockey stands for. It’s always a great day to be a Bronco . GO BRONCOS!! Warmest regards, Zeljka Vidic Andy Murray, Head Coach Lynn Ross Andy Murray Pat Ferschweiler Dave Shyiak Dave Killip J.J. Crew [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Ph.: 269-387-3053 Ph.: 816-838-3980 Ph.: 269-366-6484 Ph.: 269-548-9253 Ph.: 714-271-2759 Lynn Ross Ken Dickie [email protected] [email protected] O.: 269-387-3049 Ph.: 269-330-2070 Ken Dickie (Cont.) June 16, 1939 - April 16, 2020 It is with sadness that we report the passing of a founding member of the Bronco Hockey Blue Line Club and dedicated fan, Bill Weessies. From its days as a club sport at the Lake St. and 11th St. rinks, its rise to varsity status and through the 2019-20 season, Bill was a lifelong dedicated supporter of Western Michigan Uni- versity hockey. At home games in Lawson, you could always find Bill holding court on the concourse behind Section 6, ready to discuss strengths, weaknesses and strategies for the evening’s game with his many friends, scouts, etc. If there was a nongame hockey function, you could be sure Bill would be there to lend his support and contribute to the event with insightful comments and challenging questions. This was particularly true at the annual Friends and Alumni Weekend, where the love and respect demonstrated by the alums as they greeted Bill was a testament to their affirmation of his importance to the program. Bill was remembered by Coach Bill Neal as, “a founding member of the Blue Line Club some 45 years ago and remained loyal to the team and his fellow Blue Liners during up years and down years and everything in between. He was a genuinely nice guy with a big heart and a wonderful sense of humor. My condolences to his family and many friends. Bronco hockey has lost one of its most devoted fans.” From Bronco hockey, thank you Bill for your unending support of and belief in the Broncos. You will be missed by all in the Bronco hockey family, but will never be forgotten by all those whose life you touched. Our deepest sympathy to Bill’s son Greg and other family members. (Cont.) CAPTAIN #23 Paul Washe ASSISTANT CAPTAIN ASSISTANT CAPTAIN ASSISTANT CAPTAIN #2 Kale Bennett #21 Josh Passolt #26 Ethen Frank As a result of the COVID-19 health crisis, the annual Awards Banquet scheduled for April 3 had to be canceled. The winners of individual Bronco awards, NCHC awards and NCAA awards will be recognized at a future date and in a future newsletter. (Cont.) BECOMING AN ALL-AMERICAN CONGRATULATIONS to #16 Captain Hugh McGing on being named to the 2019-20 First Team West CCM-AHCA All-America in NCAA D-I hockey. Hugh joins former Broncos Dan Dorion, 1985-86, and Wayne Gagne, 1985-86 & 1986-87, as the only other Broncos to receive first team honors. What is it like to be an all-American and what does it take to get there? To explore these questions I communicated, text and email, with Hugh and his parents, Jim and Breda McGing. This is what I learned. How does it feel to be the first Bronco in 34 years to earn first team All-America honors? That question was posed to Hugh, “I was just thrilled to receive the award. With how everything ended and us not having a chance to decide our own fate, I felt this was a great way to end my senior season.” I asked Hugh what he considered the key ingredients that brought him this recognition and he responded with three words, “consistency, edge and parents”. He elaborated: “Consistency is key because you want to play the best you can each game.