SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- No. 11 Western Michigan rode a career-best performance by goalie
Frank Slubowski and two goals from
Dane Walters to defeat No. 7/8 Notre Dame in front of a sellout crowd of 5,022 people at Compton Family Ice Arena on Friday night.
Walters netted the first two goals of the game and then
Chase Balisy tallied the game-winner early in the third period to give the Broncos (4-1-0, 1-0-0-0 CCHA) their first CCHA win of the season. Slubowski made a career-high 35 saves on the night to earn his fourth straight win.
Special teams played a big part in the victory as the Broncos went 2-for-4 on the power play and were able to hold the Fighting Irish to just one power play goal on eight chances. WMU's defense also blocked 15 shots on the night, with
Luke Witkowski credited with a team-high three.
After a scoreless first period, Walters got the Broncos on the board just 1:28 into the second. The senior forward positioned himself in the slot and redirected a shot by
Jordan Oesterle between Steve Summerhays' legs and into the net for his first of the season.
Mike Leone also notched an assist on the goal as the Broncos took a 1-0 lead.
It didn't take too long for Walters to notch his second of the season and second of the night, this time on a power play.
Mike Cichy broke up a pass and the puck fell straight to
Chase Balisy, who fired it from the right circle. The rebound bounced right to Walters in front of the net and after handling the puck, slid it once again between Summerhays' legs.
The Fighting Irish got on the board just 42 seconds into the third period. Jeff Costello threw a puck off the boards and Anders Lee beat a Bronco to the puck before back-handing it into the net to cut the lead to 2-1.
WMU responded at 5:05 on Balisy's first goal of the season. The junior centerman maneuvered through most of ND's players on the ice and through the slot before beating Summerhays glove side to give the Broncos a 3-1 lead.
Kenney Morrison tallied an assist on the power play goal. Cichy tallied his second assist of the night and fifth of the season on the game-winning goal.
Notre Dame responded with a power play goal of their own just under two minutes later at 7:28. Robbie Russo fired a shot from the left circle over Slubowski's shoulder and into the net to cut the lead back to one, 3-2.
The Broncos have Saturday off before returning to action on Sunday evening at 5 p.m. at Notre Dame.
