{"id":83194,"date":"2018-01-11T14:15:45","date_gmt":"2018-01-11T20:15:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=83194"},"modified":"2020-08-24T15:34:54","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T20:34:54","slug":"week-nchc-murray-western-michigan-chomping-bit-no-1-st-cloud-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2018\/01\/11\/week-nchc-murray-western-michigan-chomping-bit-no-1-st-cloud-state\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in the NCHC: Murray has Western Michigan chomping at the bit for No. 1 St. Cloud State"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Western<\/a>
Western Michigan coach Andy Murray and his Broncos have a tough challenge this weekend against St. Cloud State on the road (photo: Gary Shook).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By the time 12th-ranked Western Michigan arrives at St. Cloud State\u2019s National Hockey Center later this week, WMU will have had 15 days to prepare for the top-ranked Huskies.<\/p>\n

Coach Andy Murray\u2019s Broncos will remember where the nets are after putting five goals past Bowling Green in a road win on Dec. 28, but a hockey team can\u2019t bank on thriving through offense alone. The defense has to be up to snuff, too, especially against a team like St. Cloud which is averaging 3.8 goals a night.<\/p>\n

On average, Western hasn\u2019t conceded a lot fewer than that (3.5).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to be a little better defensively, and we\u2019re aware of that, and obviously, we\u2019re going to be tested on that this weekend,\u201d Murray said during his weekly press conference. \u201cWe\u2019re going against the No. 1 offense in college hockey and the No. 1-ranked team, so if there\u2019s an opportune time to step up and be good defensively, this would be the weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood defense is having the puck, so we need to possess the puck. When we\u2019ve got it, we\u2019ve got to make them work hard to get it back from us and when they get it, we\u2019re going to steal it back right away. It\u2019s going to be an in-your-face, smart, disciplined style of game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray went on to point out that teams can ill afford to take penalties against SCSU, which has buried on 22 of its 89 man-advantage opportunities so far this season.<\/p>\n

Western is 30th-best in the country in that category (20-of-107), but three of the Broncos\u2019 goals last time out against Bowling Green came on power plays.<\/p>\n

WMU is up against a much stronger opponent here, though, and SCSU is yet to lose at home (10-0-1) this season. It\u2019s clear for Western and everyone watching what the Broncos are up against, but their coach feels they\u2019re up to the challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had a couple of weeks now to prepare for the St. Cloud series,\u201d Murray said. \u201cAll of last week was very tough and we pushed our guys and worked on some tactical things and worked on their skill development, and they\u2019re excited to play the No. 1 team in the country, and they\u2019re No. 1 because they\u2019re good in every position.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve got a high save percentage on the part of their goalies, their defense can move the puck and they\u2019re getting point production, and they\u2019ve got four forward lines – It\u2019s tough for us to look at matchup scenarios because it looks like they have four No. 1 lines.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jordan enjoying big uptick<\/h4>\n

Much has changed for Omaha\u2019s Zach Jordan in his sophomore season.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s on pace to surpass his number of games played in 2016-17 by the end of this month, and he has nine times as many goals as he did as a freshman.<\/p>\n

Not that it took much doing.<\/p>\n

His line for the season wasn\u2019t impressive: one goal and an assist in 18 games.<\/p>\n

Now, the one-time Omaha Lancers player from his time in junior hockey ranks second on UNO\u2019s roster in goals scored and has 14 points to his name.<\/p>\n

So when did his huge production spike start taking shape? The answer: well before this season began.<\/p>\n

\u201cI took a big summer and really worked on a lot of stuff. like getting my feet moving a lot more and using my size and my shot more to my advantage,\u201d the 6-foot-3 forward said. \u201cIt\u2019s just coming out and playing every day and using it consistently, and it\u2019s paying off.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s taken a lot of work, but it\u2019s what I want to do and it\u2019s working out for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

That it is: his three goals on Dec. 8 against Minnesota Duluth marked the first time a Maverick had recorded a hat trick at Baxter Arena, and he had a goal and an assist last Friday in UNO\u2019s 4-1 win at then-No. 6 North Dakota.<\/p>\n

First-year coach Mike Gabinet, a former UNO player himself and an assistant with the Mavericks last season, knew Jordan was capable of the kind of uptick he\u2019s had.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s one of those guys that\u2019s just continued to work on his game,\u201d Gabinet said. \u201cHe\u2019s obviously got a nice shot and can contribute offensively and he\u2019s starting to get more responsibility defensively.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a big, strong guy, so any time you can get that production from a guy that is increasing his offensive production, it serves us really well. It\u2019s nice to see him continue to work on his game, and he\u2019s a guy that, when he\u2019s around the net, there\u2019s a good chance that puck\u2019s going in the net.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jordan, who has scored twice from the flank this season on one of UNO\u2019s power play units, has lived up to his updated job description.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think my role has developed more in terms of being a leader a little bit and leading by example,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve been able to develop a role as a power forward that needs to show up every night and contribute in some way, either getting shots on net or popping in a goal or making a good pass for an assist. Just anything to influence the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Omaha struggled through the first half of the season and remains tied for last in the NCHC standings. With the Mavericks having won three of their last four games, though, Jordan hopes to stay as one of UNO\u2019s key players.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see my situation as really good right now,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2019Gabs\u2019 has a lot of faith in me, and it\u2019s all on me right now to prove that I can stay where I am in the lineup and keep playing every night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to think about goals in terms of numbers when I was younger, just like, \u2018I want to get a certain amount of goals, a certain amount of points,\u2019 but for me now and the player I\u2019ve developed into, it\u2019s more just being a guy that my team can rely on every game and doing my role.\u201d<\/p>\n

Players of the week<\/h4>\n

Offensive player of the week: Dylan Gambrell, Denver.<\/b> The junior forward had a five-point weekend during DU\u2019s road split with Miami. His three goals came on 15 shots, and he also recorded two assists.<\/p>\n

Defensive player of the week: Blake Hillman, Denver.<\/b> A junior defenseman, Hillman served on both of DU\u2019s special teams units and finished the series in Oxford, Ohio, with two goals and an assist.<\/p>\n

Rookie of the week: Casey Gilling, Miami.<\/b> The freshman forward had a career weekend against Denver, potting two goals and as many assists. He now has five goals and seven assists over 19 games this season.<\/p>\n

Goaltender of the week: Evan Weninger, Omaha.<\/b> Weninger only played in one of UNO\u2019s two games last weekend at North Dakota but made a season-high 34 saves in the Mavericks\u2019 4-1 win on Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By the time 12th-ranked Western Michigan arrives at St. Cloud State\u2019s National Hockey Center later this week, WMU will have had 15 days to prepare for the top-ranked Huskies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":112982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[812],"coauthors":[810],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThis Week in the NCHC: Murray has Western Michigan chomping at the bit for No. 1 St. Cloud State - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By the time 12th-ranked Western Michigan arrives at St. Cloud State\u2019s National Hockey Center later this week, WMU will have had 15 days to prepare for the top-ranked Huskies.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83194\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This Week in the NCHC: Murray has Western Michigan chomping at the bit for No. 1 St. Cloud State - 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