Several transfers and freshmen were brought in to plug the holes but if that did not work, the team still had its starting goaltender, Cameron Rowe, to lean on.

The Broncos began the season by going undefeated in their first five games and saw transfers Alex Bump, Sam Colangelo and Matteo Costantini (all NHL-drafted players) begin to mesh with the offense.

The team had a bit of a hiccup in early November but then proceeded to reel off seven consecutive victories and put up tremendous scoring figures.

Because of this, Western's non-conference wins were downgraded and did not provide them with as much of a boost as they otherwise would have, however, since the Broncos were undefeated outside of league play, it did help stabilize their ranking.

The Broncos were also hindered by the difficulty of their schedule and faced ranked opponents for 10 consecutive games beginning in late January.

Western did not show any real fight until the third and a pair of goals from Bump in the middle of the period got the team back in the game.

Seeking to prove they belonged in the game, despite their poor performance against good teams throughout the season, Western faced Michigan State in the Midwest Regional semifinal.

With a 2-goal lead entering the third, all the Broncos had to do was play a solid defensive game and they'd earn the program its second tournament win.

At about the 3-minute mark, Wyatt Schingoethe got the puck at the top of the blue paint from a cross-crease pass but Augustine managed to slide over and make the save on the one-timer.

Two minutes later, a stretch pass from Matt Basgall found Daniel Russell at center ice and gave the Spartan forward a 100-foot break-away.

Coming out of the mid-period TV timeout, MSU won the offensive zone faceoff and David Gucciardi blasted the puck past Rowe from the blue line.

As the Broncos continued to press, Gavin O'Connell was called for a hooking penalty and give Western the first power play of the night.

Michigan State tried to match the Broncos' effort but instead they could only watch as Zak Galambos scored a marker that was a mirror-image of the earlier Gucciardi goal, again, to Augustine's blocker-side.

Western continued to carry the play and Luke Grainger nearly scored when his chip-shot from the low slot clanked off of the post and stayed out.

Michigan State tried to get something going to cut into the Broncos' lead but every time they touched the puck a Western player was there to force the issue.

Near the middle of the period, a turnover by Western at the own blue line allowed Michigan State to finally establish some zone time and eventually Nash Nienhuis was able to fire the puck past a screened Cameron Rowe to cut the lead to 1.

After the play, an earlier hit by Washe was reviewed for a major penalty (contact to the head) but the officials decided against leveling an infraction.

However, as play wore on, Michigan State began to turn zone time into scoring opportunities and Rowe was forced to stop several good chances.