Western Michigan University has captured its first-ever NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey National Championship.
The top-seeded Broncos completed their historic run by rolling past Boston University, 6-2, and becoming the last of Michigan’s seven Division I hockey programs to reach — and now win — the national title.
“We expected nothing less. We were built for this. We’ve been preparing for this all year,” said Western Michigan standout forward Alex Bump. “There was no doubt in that locker room that we weren’t going to get this done.”
Western Michigan’s road to the title wasn’t always easy, despite a remarkable 34-7-1 season. The Broncos scraped by the University of Denver Pioneers in Thursday’s double-overtime thriller to earn their first appearance on college hockey’s biggest stage.
Leaders in the city of Kalamazoo, where Western Michigan is based, say this win solidifies the community’s mark on college hockey.
“To see [nearly] 60 years of hockey culminating in a national championship is really exciting,” said Jane Gosh, Discover Kalamazoo president and CEO. “We host national tournaments all the time, and this win is just going to solidify us as [the] best in hockey in the country. We look forward to someday hosting one of the regional tournaments — or maybe even the Frozen Four someday.”
The National tournament has long been a sacred tradition for the college hockey faithful, regardless of who plays for the title.
Among them is Lindsay Huntoon, who traveled from Peabody, Massachusetts, to attend the last 28 Frozen Fours — including the 2007 tournament in St. Louis. This year marked her 29th.
“It’s one of the best events ever,” she said. “College hockey is the greatest sport on the planet.”
Brian Peterson, a WMU Class of 2018 alumnus from Indianapolis, said he felt similarly and ultimately accepted embracing the rollercoaster of emotions that came with a tournament run.
“Being an alum, it’s just really exciting to see them succeed, and I’m hoping they can continue to carry the success,” he said, his voice still hoarse from Thursday’s game. “[A championship] is a unifying force. It shows that even in this current age of NIL (name, image, and likeness), these smaller schools can still compete. They can still win.”
Peterson and Huntoon were part of a sold-out crowd of nearly 17,000 fans who packed the Enterprise Center for the 2025 NCAA Frozen Four title game.
Fans from every corner of the stadium — even those loyal to other teams — cheered just as loud, with chants of “Go Broncos!” ringing out across sections, the escalators, and even the bathrooms.
For Bump, Western Michigan’s sophomore standout, the crowd’s energy was still ringing in his mind after the game.
“That means the world to us,” he said. “The support we’ve gotten the whole year from the students down — it’s been incredible.”
See more photos from the NCAA Men’s Hockey National Championship title game:
