DETROIT-- A four-goal outburst in the second period sparked Western Michigan University's hockey team to a 5-2 victory over the University of Michigan Friday night at Joe Louis Arena to earn the Broncos their first trip to the CCHA Championship since 1986.
Dane Walters, Matt Tennyson, Derek Roehl and Kyle O'Kane all scored in the decisive second period, which was only the second period in which WMU had scored four goals in all season. A strong effort on the power play supplied the Bronco offense it's horsepower, as WMU went 3-of-6 on the man-advantage. Senior netminder Jerry Kuhn continued his strong play between the pipes, making 29 saves in another stellar effort to improve his personal record to 12-6-6. It was the first victory for the Broncos over Michigan since Nov. 14, 2008, and it also stopped the Wolverines eight-game winning streak. WMU (19-11-10) fill face Miami tomorrow night at 7:35 p.m. in the CCHA Championship at Joe Louis Arena.
Mike Leone scored the other goal for the Broncos to get WMU on the board early. The line combination of Leone, O'Kane and Roehl wreaked havoc all night for the Brown & Gold, scoring two goals as a unit with Leone adding a power play tally. Roehl, O'Kane, Leone, Walters, and Shane Berschbach all totaled two points on the night for WMU.
Michigan got goals from Lee Moffie and Lindsay Sparks, falling to 25-10-4 on the season. Shawn Hunwick made 18 saves for the Wolverines before being relieved by Bryan Hogan at the start of the third period. Michigan will face Notre Dame in the third place game tomorrow afternoon at 3:35 p.m.
The Broncos' four-goal explosion in the second period helped turn a 1-0 lead into a 5-1 cushion by the second intermission. The scoring started with a power-play tally at the 6:28 mark by Walters. Chase Balisy won a puck battle along the right boards to Shane Berschbach in the corner. Berschbach centered the puck to a wide-open Walters in the slot, whose one-timer was perfectly placed over the stick-side shoulder of Hunwick for his eighth goal of the season. It was the third goal the sophomore forward has scored against the Wolverines this season.
The Broncos' power play kept rolling on its next opportunity, capitalizing to make the score 3-0 at the 13:53 mark. A pile-up along the side-boards moved the puck down low for Berschbach who centered to Walters, whose initial shot was stopped. However, Tennyson snuck in back-door to corral the rebound and deposit the puck in the wide-open net. The goal was the ninth of the season for Tennyson, with Walters and Berschbach picking up the assists.
The Wolverines answered with a power-play goal of their own on a blast from the point by Moffie. The goal, which came at the 14:21 mark was Moffie's seventh of the season, with Chad Langlais and Kevin Lynch being credited with the assists.
Forty seconds later, the Broncos stretched their lead back to three off a Wolverine turnover in their own end. Leone came up with the loose puck in the Michigan zone and found Roehl alone in front. Roehl was able to stuff the puck five-hole past Hunwick for his third goal of the season and first since Feb. 5. O'Kane also picked up an assist on the goal.
The line combination of Roehl, Leone and O'Kane provided another offensive spark to give the Broncos a 5-1 lead at the 17:27 mark of second period. Leone forced a turnover at the blue line and threw a shot on net. Roehl had a second chance on a rebound, but it was O'Kane who found the puck on the doorstep for his sixth goal of the season and a four-goal Bronco advantage. It was the last in a four-goal second period for the Brown & Gold, who had only scored four goals in one other period this season (Dec. 11- Third period vs. Lake Superior State). WMU outshot Michigan 19-12 in the period.
WMU drew first blood and seized the momentum early in the contest with Leone's goal, taking advantage of a five-on-three opportunity. Dan DeKeyser initially fanned on a one-timer, but was able to corral the puck. DeKeyser moved the puck to O'Kane, who found Greg Squires at the left point. Squires swung the puck right back to DeKeyser for the slapshot, which was deflected in front by Leone for his fifth goal of the season and a 1-0 Bronco lead at the 9:25 mark of the first period. DeKeyser and Squires were credited with the assists on the goal.
The Broncos were also able to kill off a Wolverine power play opportunity later in the period, with Kuhn stopping the only shot on goal. The Bronco penalty kill limited the Wolverines to 1-of-3 on the power play.
Sparks added a goal on a deflection for the Wolverines at the 8:33 mark of the third period to make the score 5-2. Jon Merrill and A.J. Treais picked up the assists on the goal, which came off a redirection in front. The goal for Sparks was his fourth of the season.
Michigan would get no closer, with Kuhn coming up big on a number of occasions the rest of the way. Perhaps it was fitting that Kuhn would come up big on this night, as he is the only Bronco player on the current roster who was alive the last time WMU advanced to the CCHA Championship The effort by the Broncos earned a standing ovation salute by the Bronco faithful over the last minute and a half of regulation.
WMU will look to earn its first CCHA Championship in 25 years when they face Miami tomorrow night at 7:35 p.m. at Joe Louis Arena. A victory would not only give the Broncos the conference crown, but an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Live coverage will be provided by the Bronco Radio Network, and the game will be televised by Fox Sports Detroit Plus.
