Wexford native helps bring Western Michigan to first ever Frozen Four title

ST. LOUIS — Western Pennsylvania had nine skaters representing the region during the Frozen Four tournament, and one of them won the title.

Brian Kramer, 24, is a Wexford native who played his freshman season at Robert Morris University. When RMU’s hockey programs were eliminated, he transferred to American International College for three seasons, then ended up at Western Michigan University this season for his final year of eligibility.

It was a season of firsts for the Broncos’ hockey program, which was outside of the top 15 in the NCAA preseason poll. They won their conference’s regular season and tournament titles for the first time and only lost a single game during regulation in the regular season.

The team entered the NCAA Tournament on a winning streak and earned a No. 1 seed. On Saturday, Kramer and the Broncos appeared in the Frozen Four final for the first time — and then brought home the national title with a 6-2 win over Boston University.

Kramer, who notched 16 points over 40 regular season games, had some critical plays throughout the Broncos’ tournament run. He set up the game-winning goal during the regional final against UMass and scored the first goal of the semifinal matchup against defending champion Denver.

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