KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Senior Max Campbell scored in sudden-death overtime to lift Western Michigan University's hockey team to a 5-4 victory over Ferris State Sunday night at Lawson Arena and earn the Broncos their first trip to the CCHA Semifinals in 17 years.
Campbell took a feed from Dane Walters off a turnover and beat Ferris State goaltender Pat Nagle over the shoulder at the 2:23 mark of the overtime period to send the crowd of 2,198 into a frenzy and earn the victory. It was the second goal of the night and 18th of the season for Campbell, who also added an assist for a three-point night. Walters added two assists for the Brown & Gold, who also got regulation goals from Trevor Elias, Matt Tennyson and Shane Berschbach. Goaltender Jerry Kuhn made 29 saves in net for the Brown & Gold, who improved to 18-11-10 and earned their first trip to the conference semifinals since 1994.
Ferris State got two goals from Travis Ouellette and also got goals from Aaron Schmitt and Cory Kane. Pat Nagle made 26 saves for the Bulldogs, who finish their season 18-16-5.
WMU twice built a three-goal lead, but Ferris State responded to force overtime in a game that was not short on drama. A big first period helped the Brown & Gold jump out to a two-goal lead at the first intermission. The Broncos struck first on the power play. Campbell unleashed a snap-shot from the left circle that was stopped by Nagle, but Kyle O'Kane was there to get the rebound and get a second shot on net that was also stopped. The second rebound came to Elias, who snuck the puck past Nagle in traffic for a 1-0 Bronco lead at the 13:28 mark. The goal was the fifth of the season and second in as many nights for Elias, with Campbell and O'Kane earning the assists. WMU was 1-of-3 on the power play in the first period and finished 1-of-4 on the night.
WMU wasted little time in adding to its lead, adding a second goal just under two minutes later. Berschbach corralled a loose puck off a Bulldog turnover in their own end and fired a wrist-shot into the corner of the net. It was the second goal of the series and ninth of the season for the freshman, which gave WMU a 2-0 lead at the 15:05 mark. Dan DeKeyser was credited with an assist on the tally.
The fast-paced offensive action continued into the second period, with WMU breaking through for a 3-0 lead 3:57 into the period. Walters won a puck battle along the side boards back to Dennis Brown, who moved the puck along to Tennyson at the right point. Tennyson's wrister found it's way through traffic and into the back of the net for his eighth goal of the season. Brown and Walters each earned an assist.
The Bulldogs answered right back with a power play goal at the 5:10 mark. Schmitt re-directed a shot from the point past Kuhn for his seventh goal of the season. Scott Czarnowczan and Scott Wietecha picked up the assists.
WMU stretched its lead back to three with Campbell's first goal of the night just 38 seconds later. Greg Squires intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and slid a pass to Campbell, who was streaking behind the Bulldog defense. Campbell's snap-shot found the top corner of the net for his first career playoff goal.
Ouellette continued his hot play in the series, picking up the next two goals for the Bulldogs. The first came when he knocked in a rebound at the 7:54 mark of the period. Eric Alexander and Mike Fillinger picked up the assists on the goal. Ouellette struck again on a two-man Ferris State advantage when he took a cross-ice pass from Fillinger and one-timed a shot past Kuhn. Wietecha also picked up an assist. The two goals pulled the Bulldogs within 4-3, where the score would remain through the second intermission. Ferris State capitalized on 2-of-3 of its power play chances on the night.
Ferris State completed the comeback in the third period to tie the score when Kane took a pass from Menke on a two-on-one and lifted a shot top-shelf past Kuhn. The goal, which knotted the score 4-4, was Kane's second of the series and fourth of the season. Kyle Bonis also picked up an assist.
The Bulldogs had another two-on-one opportunity in the closing minutes, but Kuhn slid across and made a pad save to preserve the tie and help send the game to overtime. Kuhn made 23 saves in regulation, including six in the third period.
That set the stage for overtime and Campbell's game-winner. The overtime goal capped a huge weekend for the senior, who scored two goals and added three assists for a five-point weekend. It was Campbell's third game-winner of the season and eighth career. The goal may not have been possible without some solid work from Kuhn, who stopped all six shots he faced in the first 2:30 of the overtime period. The senior goaltender improved his personal record to 11-6-6 on the season.
WMU heads to Joe Louis Arena and the CCHA Semifinals where they will take on the University of Michigan at 8:05 p.m on Friday, March 18. Live coverage will be provided by the Bronco Radio Network, with Fox Sports Detroit Plus broadcasting on TV.
