KALAMAZOO, Mich. - A comeback effort by the Broncos fell short and North Dakota captured the 3-2 win tonight at Lawson Ice Arena in front of 3,045 fans.
After a late goal by Justin Kovacs with 3:26 remaining in the third period Western Michigan cut the lead to 3-2. The Broncos pulled Lukas Hafner to generate more attack with the extra attacker but UND goalie Zane Gothberg made several saves, including one in the final seconds on a shot by Dennis Brown to prevent the tie. Gothberg made 23 saves on the night while Hafner needed to stop just three in a relief appearance after Frank Slubowski was replaced in the second period.
For the second straight night WMU jumped to a 1-0 lead early in the game. Kenney Morrison netted a power play goal at 4:34 in the first period from Chase Balisy and Nolan LaPorte. Balisy got the puck in the right faceoff circle and then fed it to Morrison in the slot who scored top shelf. The goal was Morrison's second of the season and Balisy's second point on the weekend.
The lead was short lived as senior defenseman Dillon Simpson tied it up with a power play goal at 8:24 in the first period from Luke Johnson and Jordan Schmaltz. Johnson fired a one-timer from the point that went wide left and off the boards. Simpson chipped in the rebound glove side from the edge of the crease.
UND's Paul LaDue pushed the score to 2-1 with the first even strength goal of the game at 16:45 in the first period. Keaton Thompson and Andrew Panzarella picked up assists on the goal. LaDue took advantage of an open lane and fired it from the point and had the shot deflect off of a Bronco and into the net.
North Dakota sophomore forward Rocco Grimaldi netted the game winning goal at 6:55 in the second period from Drake Caggiula and Johnson. Grimaldi picked up the puck at the edge of the left circle, made a defender miss and got a shot off that trickled past Slubowski.
WMU led shots on goal 25-16 on the night. Both teams racked up a total 17 penalties during the game.
The Broncos travel to Minnesota-Duluth to take on the Bulldogs at Amsoil Arena on Dec. 13 at 8:07 p.m. Friday's game will be broadcast by CBS Sports Network.
