KALAMAZOO -- Western Michigan and Notre Dame battled to a 1-1 tie with the Fighting Irish earning the extra point after a 2-0 shootout win in front of 4,051 fans at Lawson Ice Arena on Saturday night.

Sophomore goalie Frank Slubowski made 37 saves on the night but Bryan Rust and Anders Lee each tallied in the shootout. Mike Cichy scored the lone goal for the Broncos in regulation. The Fighting Irish outshot WMU for the second straight night, 38-26. Western Michigan once again held Notre Dame scoreless on the power play, shutting them out on three tries.

Rust gave the Fighting Irish a 1-0 lead at 10:38 in the first period. Lee won a faceoff to Eric Johnson and he found Rust alone by the net. The Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick fired a shot that was initially saved but he punched in the rebound for his 12th of the season and second on the weekend.

The Broncos responded after being outshot 10-2 in the first 10 minutes of the period with Cichy's power play goal at 16:16. Luke Witkowski cycled the puck to Dan DeKeyser at the point and he found Cichy at the top of the left circle. The Montreal Canadiens draft pick fired a shot that hit the left post and bounced into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season.

From there the two teams battled in an even hockey game. Both combined for just 11 shots in third period and the Fighting Irish had the edge in the overtime period, 4-2.

Western Michigan has secured home ice for the second round of the CCHA Playoffs on March 15, 16 and 17 and can finish no worse than third place in the final standings. WMU heads to Michigan State to close out the 2012-13 regular season with a pair of games televised by Comcast on Friday and Saturday at 7:05 p.m.