Box score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Four goals in the second period helped the Western Michigan men's hockey team sweep Wayne State, 5-1, on Saturday in front of 2,064 at Lawson Ice Arena. Junior Patrick Galivan led the Bronco charge with two goals and an assist for three-point night.
"I'm pleased about the way we played all weekend. I thought we played 60 minutes together last night and I thought we put another 60 here together this evening. I thought we played pretty hard," head coach Jim Culhane said.
"They trap so well, the way they play defense and they congested up neutral ice really, really well."
After a scoreless first period Western Michigan (6-10-0, 2-8-0 CCHA) opened the game up early when junior winger Matt Clackson found junior winger Jeff LoVecchio all alone in front of the net, beating Wayne State (3-11-2, 1-3-0 CHA) goalie Kyle Funkenhauser glove side to put the Broncos ahead 1-0. The goal was LoVecchio's sixth of the season and Clackson earned his third assist.
Galivan would then score back-to-back goals for the Broncos. The first came at the 9:19 mark in the second on feeds from Jonathan Lupa and Cam Watson, beating Funkenhause five hole with a shot from the point. Galivan's first goal was his fourth of the season and Lupa earned his first assist with Watson picking up his third.
At 11:48 in the second Galivan stole the puck from a Warrior forward and beat Funkenhauser between the legs for his fifth goal on the season, extending the Broncos lead to 3-0.
Minutes later WMU would go up 4-0 when Tyler Ludwig would fire a slap shot during a power play and beat Funkenhauser on his stick side for his third goal of the season, and second power-play score in two games. Galivan, who had three goals and two assists in two games against the Warriors, earned an assist on the goal, his 14th of the season, and Jeff Pierce added a helper.
Wayne State would finally put a notch on the scoreboard at the 2:47 point in the third period when Jared Katz scored on a feed from Stavros Paskaris after the center held the puck in the zone on a clearing attempt, making the score 4-1.
The Broncos would add a late power-play goal when defensemen Chris Frank fired the puck in on net but it hit senior Mike Lesperance in the chest. The puck dropped to the ice and Lesperance put it into a wide-open net, icing the game for WMU 5-1. Frank picked up his third assist on the season and Max Campbell added his eigth.
Freshman Jerry Kuhn made 24 saves to earn his second straight victory in net while Funkenhauser stopped 17 shots for the Warriors. Western Michigan was 2-4 on the power play whilst holding WSU scoreless in four opportunities.
Western Michigan returns to action Tuesday, Dec. 18 when it hosts the U.S. World Junior Team in an exhibition match at 7:35 p.m. WMU will be the U.S. World Junior Team's only stop before heading to the Czech Republic for the 2008 IIHF World Junior Championships.
