Box score

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Western Michigan's men's hockey team fell to the University of Nebraska-Omaha, 6-3, in front of 1,986 fans on Saturday night at Lawson Ice Arena. Senior Mike Lesperance led the Broncos with a goal and an assist, while sophomore Cam Watson and junior Jeff LoVecchio each scored goals to retain their tie for the team lead in goals with seven apiece.

"I think we can play better. The execution of our game plan wasn't as crisp as we'd like," head coach Jim Culhane said. "We talked about discipline and staying out of the penalty box; they scored three power-play goals, got the shortie and scored two even-strength goals. Our team can play better, but I give full credit to Nebraska-Omaha, they came in and played very well."

The Mavericks (8-10-3, 5-7-3 CCHA) never trailed and jumped out ahead mid-way through the first period on a power play goal. A Western Michigan defender tried to clear the puck from their zone but it was intercepted by Ed Del Grosso who fired in on net and beat WMU goaltender Riley Gill for his fourth goal of the season.

UNO extended its lead to 2-0 just 1:02 into the second period on their second power play goal of the night. Alain Goulet beat Gill for his fourth goal of the year while Nick Von Bokern and Joey Martin each picked up assists on the goal. The Broncos answered at the 7:54 mark on a faceoff during a 4-on-4 stretch. Junior right-winger Patrick Galivan won the faceoff back to sophomore left-winger Cam Watson, who snapped off a wrist shot, beating UNO goaltender Jerad Kaufmann for his team-leading seventh goal of the season. Galivan earned his team-leading 15th assist on the goal.

Minutes later, UNO responded when Jeric Agosta beat Gill for his third goal of the season on feeds from Nick Fanto and Juha Uotila to keep the Mavericks ahead, 3-1. However, the Broncos scored just 18-seconds later as Mike Lesperance picked off an attempt by UNO to clear the puck, skated in on net and beat Kaufmann. The unassisted goal was the fifth on the season and second in as many games for Lesperance. UNO would score the final goal of a busy second period with 5:34 remaining on their third power play goal of the night. Mick Lawrence fired a shot that was blocked on a diving save by Gill, but Gill was unable to control the rebound, which slid right to Brandon Scero and he put the puck into an open net for his eight of the season. Lawrence picked up his sixth assist of the year and Bryan Marshall earned his league-leading 21st assist on the season to send the Mavericks into the locker room with a 4-2 lead after two.

After a lull of action during the first half of the third period, UNO struck first during a WMU power play to extend their lead to 5-2. Tomas Klempa took a pass from Uotila to beat Gill for the short-handed goal. Uotila picked up his second assist of the game and Klempa picked up his third goal of the season. Once again, WMU answered quickly, scoring just 19-seconds later on the very same power play. Nathan Ansell fired a slap shot from the point and it was redirected into the net by junior captian Jeff LoVecchio. LoVecchio picked up his seventh goal on the season and Ansell earned his third assist on the year. Lesperance picked up his fourth assist on the season and second point of the game on the power play goal and brought WMU within two, 5-3. Agosta added a goal with 1:52 remaining in the game to push the lead to 6-3. Matt Ambroz picked up his fifth assist on the season and Fanto earned his third on the season and second assist on the night.

Gill made 27 saves in net for the Broncos, while Kaufmann turned aside 19 shots. Nebraska-Omaha went 3-6 on the power play while the Broncos were 1-3.

Western Michigan and Nebraska-Omaha conclude the series tomorrow afternoon at 4:05 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.