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Bernie Saunders Reflects on His Impact on WMU Hockey

There is an iconic Western Michigan University hockey photo which can still be found on the Internet of the Saunders brothers proudly wearing their Bronco jerseys.

It was taken prior to the 1975-76 season, the usual set-up photo which will be featured in newspaper stories many times.

It's that photo of the Canadian brothers, though, which shows how WMU's hockey team and head coach Bill Neal helped usher in minority players into the college game. At the time, though, as Bernie tells the story, it was just two brothers who wanted to play on the same hockey team.