Much of fourth-ranked Western Michigan’s success through the first half of the season had to do with a changed operating dynamic between the pipes.
Over the past two seasons, current WMU graduate student Cameron Rowe was the Broncos’ unquestioned starting goaltender. After playing his first two years of college hockey at Wisconsin, he played 38 games for WMU in both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns.
After 11 starts so far this season, he remains one of the best goaltenders in the country. Rowe’s .931 save percentage is good for 10th among NCAA Division I goalies who have played at least 33 percent of their teams’ games, and his 1.82 goals-against average is good for ninth.
One of the handful of college netminders rivaling Rowe’s numbers so far this season wears a matching uniform. Freshman goalie Hampton Slukynsky’s 1.84 GAA is 10th in the country, and his save percentage (.941) is third.
Slukynsky and Rowe have made for quite the combo through 18 games, and even since before the first one.
“(Their playing time has) certainly been broken up evenly and they both challenge each other, probably more so than we ever would’ve expected, and we appreciate everything they’ve done to this point,” WMU assistant coach J.J. Crew said. “They’ve been the backbone to our success, and it’s been great.
“It started from Day 1. Cam, recognizing that we were recruiting Hampton and committed him to come in this year, he was the first person to call Hampton and welcome him to our program. That’s something you don’t see every day, and it’s something we appreciated.
“It’s certainly not an easy situation for Cam, knowing he’s been the guy for the last two years and having a really good guy coming in to challenge for that spot, for him to be mature about the situation and pick up the phone and call him and welcome him to our Bronco family, that was awesome by him,” Crew continued. “It’s been a healthy relationship in that they’re rooting for each other, while competing with each other.”
Slukynsky is fresh off helping Team USA win its second consecutive World Junior Championship gold medal, a feat the American program had never accomplished in its history. He and Rowe maintained close contact while the former was off in Ottawa with the U20 national team.
“Hampton has been a sponge,” Crew said. “He’s certainly been asking Cam plenty of questions, and (Rowe) obviously has four years under his belt, so he respects the fact that Cam has been through this conference, through multiple conferences and just has had a ton of college experience.
“Cam has been right there helping him in any way he can, and at the same time, Hampton has helped elevate Cam’s game just by his everyday habits in practice and things he’s accustomed to doing.”
And while it might be hard to get comfortable in such roles, when there’s always the possibility for one goaltender to win out in terms of postseason playing time, Slukynsky and Rowe’s partnership has been a shining example of what WMU’s staff wants from the Bronco players.
“I think Cam knew, whether Hampton was here or not, it was going to be a challenging season to continue earning that spot he has been in the last two years, but I think the message has been clear across the board to any one of our players, regardless of position, is that the guys who work the hardest, and are trying to get better every day and who are good people with good attitudes, will be the guys who end up in the lineup and have success that way,” Crew said.
“I don’t want to say this was a different role for Cam. I think it was business as usual for him, with the notion that we had an ultra-competitive, highly-successful goalie coming from juniors who is a U.S. gold medalist now, and Cam knew that he had to continue to keep working and keep earning his position, just like he has the last two years.
“Having that healthy competition is only beneficial for both of them,” Crew continued. “It has elevated Rowe’s game from last year to this year, having that guy pushing him every day, and equally, Hampton’s been pushed just as much by Cam with how he has performed. I see that continuing, and I know the conversation is pretty fluid among the two of them, and in practice every day, it’s smiles and stick taps, things like that when one’s going into the net and one’s going out. It’s all positive.”
