Western Michigan University won its third Division-I national championship in school history on Saturday night and its first in college hockey. Kalamazoo went up in flames to celebrate the monumental victory.
Students who did not make the trip to the Frozen Four lit multiple couches on fire, sending massive plumes of smoke into the sky all across campus and the nearby neighborhoods.
The Broncos went 30-7-1 during the college hockey regular season en route to the No. 4 overall seed in the 2025 Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament. They blew through Minnesota State and UMass during the regional to set up a semifinal matchup with Denver.
Western Michigan pulled off a one-goal win in the Frozen Four to advance to the championship game against Boston. It was relatively close through the first two periods. The Terriers trailed by a score of 3-2 during the second intermission. The Broncos blew it wide open not long thereafter.
Owen Michaels got things started with an early goal in the third.
OWEN MICHAELS WITH A ROCKET!!!#BroncosReign pic.twitter.com/k7q2QDtVwr
— WMU Hockey (@WMUHockey) April 13, 2025
Western Michigan ultimately went on to win 6-2.
JUBILATION‼️
— ESPN (@espn) April 13, 2025
WESTERN MICHIGAN WINS ITS FIRST MEN'S HOCKEY NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 🏆 pic.twitter.com/HCDr1bHTNs
The scene in Saint Louis was electric.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!#BroncosReign pic.twitter.com/mxqV8B8226
— WMU Hockey (@WMUHockey) April 13, 2025
The scene back home in Kalamazoo was just as rowdy. Not only was it the day of the national championship, it was also the day of the school’s biggest party. Students immediately took to the streets when the game went final and brought their couches with them. They were set ablaze.
On top of winning the natty, Western Michigan also hosted house crawl today, annually the biggest party in the state
— GFed (@GfedGoCrazy) April 13, 2025
Live look in tells me everything’s going great pic.twitter.com/f7ftwjHen6
One particular image captured by WOOD-TV (Channel 8) puts the craziness into perspective. A smoky haze hung just above the dorm rooms and campus buildings as the fires built higher.
Needless to say, it was a great night for Western Michigan. The Broncos won two men’s cross country national championships in 1964 and 1965. Their hockey team snapped the 60-year drought on Saturday and brought a national title back to Kalamazoo for the third time in school history. No couch was safe!