Michigan
7-1-0
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Western Michigan
4-2-0
Michigan Suffers First Loss of Season at No. 2 Western Michigan
10/24/2025 10:47:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen netted his second goal of the season to get U-M on the board.
» Will Horcoff scored a late power-play goal with the netminder pulled.
» T.J. Hughes collected an assist for his 131st career point. He is tied for 52nd in all-time scoring.
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The old mantra rings true: all good things must come to an end. That includes the undefeated start for the No. 3-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team, as the Wolverines dropped a 5-2 decision on the road against No. 2 Western Michigan on Friday night (Oct. 24) inside Lawson Ice Arena.
The defending national champions successfully leveraged their home-ice advantage to earn a split in the non-conference series between the top-three teams.
Western Michigan (4-2-0) received an early power-play opportunity 1:19 into the contest when U-M (7-1-0) picked up a bench minor for having six skaters on the ice, but Michigan's penalty killers were able to dismiss the early chance and settle down an excitable crowd.
The Wolverines picked up the game's second penalty at 4:56 when Henry Mews was whistled for holding in the neutral zone while defending a rush. Following an offensive zone faceoff win, the Broncos exploited a seam for an impressive cross-ice pass to set up a dangerous one-time opportunity that was buried at 5:09 to earn an early lead. After 65:09 of non-conference action, WMU had finally gotten a shot past Jack Ivankovic.
Tempers flared throughout the course of the night. Western picked up its first penalty of the contest at 12:25, but the officials evened it up just 19 seconds later by calling interference on a Wolverine at the blue line and putting an early end to the man-advantage for the navy-clad visitors.
Playing four-on-four, Michigan was applying pressure in the WMU zone when the puck skittered out into the vacant slot area. Sophomore blueliner Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen made the quick decision to activate, step up into the play and fire a rocket that found twine at 13:43 to tie the game at 1-1. He took advantage of the extra ice by walking into the slot, picking up a rebound and scoring his second of the season off assists from Mews and Jayden Perron.
Michigan's leading scorer, Michael Hage, had a phenomenal look with less than 20 seconds left as he burst in on goal for an unfettered look, but Western's netminder made a terrific sprawling save to deny him.
Following one period of fast-paced non-conference action that could have easily been mistaken for NCAA tournament-quality competition, the teams were tied 1-1. WMU jumped out to an 8-5 lead in shots on goal by embracing the energy of the lively home environment.
Donning the No. 4 sweater to become an automatic fan favorite inside Lawson, freshman defenseman Asher Barnett was sent off for holding at 3:02 to give WMU its fourth power play of the evening. U-M's penalty killers stood tall to dismiss the chance and preserve the tie.
Toward the middle of the frame, Michigan had a power-play chance cut short for the second time in as many periods. This time, it lasted just 18 seconds before the officials evened things up.
U-M started a power-play chance at 10:24 following an efficient review. On the ensuing shift, the Wolverines thought they earned a go-ahead goal when they flipped a shot into the back of the net, but the excitement was cut short as the unit realized the whistle had blown amidst a chaotic netfront sequence. The team generated a few additional chances but failed to dent the twine again before the advantage ended.
Shortly thereafter, a roughing call on Michigan handed yet another power play to the Broncos. Once again, the visiting killers remained stout to keep the score deadlocked at one apiece.
Western Michigan pulled ahead and made it a 2-1 game at 15:03 when a Bronco defenseman activated to float toward the net undetected and finish off a backdoor feed for a goal despite the best efforts of a swiftly-sliding Ivankovic.
After a Broncos penalty with 1:45 left in the second period, Michigan was not able to convert before the horn blared to call for the second intermission. Down 2-1, Michigan headed back to the dressing room facing a deficit for the first time all season despite surging ahead for a slight 17-16 edge in shots on goal.
Right after Michigan's power play expired, WMU seized possession in the offensive zone and used a second effort from near the goal line to bang a shot off the side of Ivankovic to ricochet across the goal line and double the home team's lead, making it 3-1 just 32 seconds into the third. The Broncos potted one more goal with 5:30 left to make it a 4-1 game.
Michigan embarked on a power play with 3:14 left and decided to pull Ivankovic to make it a five-on-three opportunity. The effort paid off with 2:18 remaining when Will Horcoff slipped a shot into the back of the net to make it 4-2. T.J. Hughes and Hage picked up the assists on Horcoff's team-leading seventh marker of the year.
With the U-M net emptied once again, the Broncos finished off the night by cashing in from long range to close out the scoring with 1:39 left in regulation and bring the final score to 5-2.
Michigan finished the night with a 30-23 advantage in shots on goal, with Ivankovic stopping 18 of 22 shots.
Next week, Michigan kicks off Big Ten play by traveling south for two games against Notre Dame on Friday and Saturday (Oct. 31-Nov. 1). Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. both nights, and both games will be streamed live on Peacock.
