KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Wade Allison completed his natural hat trick and ended Western Michigan's four-game losing streak as the Broncos defeated Miami 4-3 in overtime at Lawson Ice Arena on Saturday night.
Colt Conrad found Allison at the middle of the blue line and the sophomore forward skated in on Ryan Larkin and beat him for the third time on the night to give WMU (10-8-1, 6-4-0-0 NCHC) the win. The goal was his 14th of the season and his second hat trick of the season. Sophomore defenseman Kale Bennett also tallied an assist, his first collegiate point.
The hat trick started with WMU down 3-1 in the second period. Cam Lee took the puck across the blue line in front of the Bronco bench. He skated into the left circle and found Allison in the right circle. The Philadelphia Flyers' draft pick skated in on Lakrin for a shot that was initially saved and then punched in the rebound for his 12th goal of the season to cut Miami's lead to one. Lee picked up his seventh assist of the season and senior captain Scott Moldenhauer also notched his fifth helper.
The Broncos tied it up on Allison's second of the night at 15:58 in the third period. Neal Goff fired a shot wide of the net but the rebound popped off the boards and to Allison in the right circle. Allison corralled the puck and fired it into an open net to tie it up at 3-3.
Western Michigan took a very early 1-0 lead to start the game. Conrad found DiPietro right in front of the crease and DiPietro had a tap-on goal, his ninth of the season. Conrad picked up his first of two assists on the night, while Allison also tallied a helper to give him a career-high four points.
Miami tied it up at 1-1 with a goal by Grant Hutton at 15:05 in the first period. WMU was on the power play and turned the puck over, creating a 3-on-2 rush for the RedHawks. Hutton fired a shot from the slot and it just trickled past starting goalie Ben Blacker. MU then took a 2-1 lead with 36 seconds left in the period. Keifer Sherwood found Louie Belpedio in the right circle and he punched it into the net for his sixth goal of the season.
Miami extended its lead to 3-1 at 7:40 in the second period on a power play goal by Gordie Green. Green picked up the puck after a deflection and beat Gorsuch, who had subbed in just 20 seconds earlier.
WMU outshot MU 34-23 on the night. The Broncos also blocked 17 shots led by Luke Bafia and Conrad's three. The power play finished 0-for-5 on the night, while Miami's went 1-for-3.
Western Michigan is off until a road game at Bowling Green on Thursday, Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. The Broncos are back at Lawson Ice Arena on Jan. 19, hosting Colorado College for an early 6:30 p.m. start. The game will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.
