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KALAMAZOO -- Derek Roehl tallied his first career hat-trick and Riley Gill tied a career-high with 54 saves as the Western Michigan hockey team completed its two-game sweep of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 4-1, on Saturday night. The game was play in front of the largest crowd of the season, 3,171, at Lawson Ice Arena.
The Broncos didn't get it started quite as fast as they did in last night's 7-2 win, as the first goal of the game came at the 13:11 mark of the first period. Jared Katz fired a shot on net from the right circle and Roehl was there to punch in the rebound for his first goal on the night. WMU took a 1-0 and Katz picked up his eighth assist on the season and fourth point of the weekend, while Luke Witkowski tallied his fourth helper on the year.
The second goal came just over three minutes later at 16:53 and it was the first of three power-play goals on the night. While cycling the puck, Dane Walters found Tyler Ludwig up at the right point. The senior captain fired the puck and it bounced off the upper-right corner of the post and past Notre Dame goalie Mike Johnson to give the Broncos a 2-0 lead. The goal was the third of the season for Ludwig with Walters tallying his fourth assist of the season and Roehl with his fifth.
The Broncos extended the lead to 3-0 just 55 seconds into the second period on another power-play goal. Matt Tennyson fired a shot front he left point and Roehl redirected through Johnson's legs for his second on the night. Tennyson picked up his fifth assist on the season and Walters tallied his second of the night.
Notre Dame finally responded at the 11:22 mark of the third period. Defenseman Brett Blatchford fired a wrist-shot from just in front of the center of the blue-line and past Gill to cut the lead to 3-1.
The Broncos killed off all 12 of Notre Dame's power plays, including two five-on-three advantages in the third period. Gill made 27 of his 54 saves while on the penalty kill and 20 total in the third period.
Roehl's final goal came with 6:02 remaining in the game, again on the power play. Max Campbell fired a shot from the right circle and backup goalie Tom O'Brien made the initial save but the puck trickled between his legs. Roehl was waiting by the crease and poked it home to complete the hat-trick.
The Broncos now head back on the road to Marquette, Mich., to battle Northern Michigan on Friday and Saturday at 7:35 p.m.
attle Northern Michigan on Friday and Saturday at 7:35 p.m.
