How Tim Washe made Western Michigan hockey believe: ‘He’s a natural-born leader’

St. Louis — As Tim Washe skated up to grab Western Michigan’s national championship trophy after Saturday’s 6-2 title win over Boston University, his teammates huddled to the side waiting to pounce. 

Like the Broncos were drawn by a magnet, they inched closer and closer and closer to their captain, waiting for the moment he’d bring that trophy right into their arms. When he did, he lifted up the trophy, smiling, and in big, gliding strides dove right into his teammates’ arms. Western Michigan had won it all.

For the next half hour, Washe and his teammates skated around Enterprise Center in St. Louis flaunting their hardware. They embraced. Shook each other. Laughed. Especially with Washe, the captain who got them here.

“We said at the start of the year it was special. We wanted to prove that,” Washe said. “We did it every day by just focusing on each day at a time, getting better every day. And then it just came down to belief.”

In 52 seasons, no captain has gotten Western Michigan this far. Not even Pat Ferschweiler, a captain himself who sat at the podium as a coach amazed with what his team accomplished.

Two days earlier, Ferschweiler had laid out why.

“I think we have the best leader in college hockey,” Ferschweiler said. “And that’s Tim Washe.”

All in Western Michigan’s locker room agreed with him Saturday night, where Washe’s leadership had guided them to a moment none will forget. A team that started the season with 16 newcomers, many overlooked by blueblood programs and NHL scouts, had beaten Denver and Boston University — two of the sport’s storied programs — to win the crown.

Washe made them believe.

“He’s a natural-born leader,” linemate Matteo Costantini told The Detroit News. “He’s a huge piece of this puzzle, and he’s a guy that anybody would want to follow. He set the example from Day One, and it was a pretty good example.”

“No better guy to lead this group all year, and he’s done a fantastic job,” forward Owen Michaels added. “Keeping us close, keeping us tight, and keeping us grounded.”

Western Michigan didn’t win its championship because it had more talent, or resources or ability. It won because of how it banded together as one unit, all focused on the same goal.

Saturday’s win was an emotional for Western Michigan athletic director Dan Bartholomae. He watched his hockey team defy the odds, down a blueblood and win a title it could have only dreamed of years ago. He got choked up a few times. 

One of those happened when he hugged Washe.

“I am so proud of that young man, that guy, that kid has done nothing — nothing — but show up every day, bust his rear end, do everything right in the classroom, in the community, with his team. It’s never about him, you know. He never has to be in front of the camera. He just wants to be great and wants to will his teammates to be great. And he did it.”

No one around Kalamazoo holds back their praises for Washe. He’s the captain who tied this Western Michigan team together in pursuit of its crown. He created belief out of the toughest circumstances, even in losses. Out of ashes. Like losses to Boston College and Michigan State, earlier in the season, that made it clear Western Michigan could hang with anyone. Washe was right there reminding his teammates what could happen if they stuck with it.

Seven years ago, Washe committed to Western Michigan, not just as a hockey team but as a program. A packed Lawson Arena hosting wins over tough teams like Denver wooed him. He committed not only to the Broncos, but to the long road ahead. He didn’t know it would end like this, in a championship. Like when the Clarkston native Washe stuck around AAA his junior year of high school, instead of leaving for the next step up in junior hockey.

“He just kept sticking with it, getting a little better, finding ways to evolve on and off the ice,” said Brian Burke, Washe’s AAA coach at Victory Honda. “Now he’s paved himself a path where he’s gonna have an opportunity to play for a long time.”

Or when Washe joined Western Michigan half a year early because COVID-19 shut down his season with the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers and he had to scramble to find a new spot. That was four and a half years ago, when a game like Saturday felt like a pipe dream. Or what about the next step? There are NHL teams ready to sign Washe to an NHL contract, now that his season is over.

“He’s a winning forward on any given team in the NHL,” Ferschweiler said, once an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings. “Obviously later down the lineup. But he can win a draw against anyone, he can kill a penalty. And his physicality, honestly — and it probably doesn’t seem like it to you guys — is dialed back a little this year because he’s almost too strong at times for college hockey. 

“He’s 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, chiseled out of a piece of granite. At times he has to control himself so he doesn’t destroy people out there and get penalties.”

Washe put all his talent on display Saturday, setting the tone for his team. His third line settled a nervous start and led to the opening goal 1:48 in. All game long, he forechecked hard into corners and created scoring threats. Western Michigan’s second goal, scored by Cole Crusberg-Roseen, came off the rebound from Washe’s shot and was aided by a screen he set.

In between periods, Washe kept his message simple: “He just told us, let’s keep doing our thing,” forward Iiro Hakkarainen told The News. “And just (that) we know we can do that.”

When all was said and done, Washe led the celebration, too. The longtime DJ of the Western Michigan locker room, he put on “Atlantic City” by The Band before shuffling off for interviews, his teammates singing along as loud as strained voices could muster. A fitting ode to a team of underdogs, overlooked but fighting for a chance.

“I will tell you, at the start of the year I said this team has a chance,” Ferschweiler joked Friday. “This is the best music of any college team I’ve ever been around. Fantastic.”

Perhaps the best captain of any college team he’s ever been around, too. And Ferschweiler isn’t shy about saying it. 

For all the great captains across college hockey, only one ends the season with a championship. Washe’s legacy at Western Michigan could’ve ended in heartbreak, coming up short in a game like Saturday’s. But because of him, both as a player and as a leader, the Broncos leave St. Louis atop the sport.

cearegood@detroitnews.com

@ConnorEaregood