BIG RAPIDS, Mich. -- The Western Michigan hockey team went on the road for the first time of the 2015-16 season and battled Ferris State to a 1-1 tie on Saturday night at Ewigleben Ice Arena in front of 1,926 fans.

Kyle Novak and FSU's Kyle Schempp each scored goals in the third period but it was the two players between the pipes that stole show. Senior Lukas Hafner made 39 saves for the Broncos and his bulldog counterpart Charles Williams made 36 on the night. Ten of Hafner's saves came on six FSU power plays, with the Brown & Gold killing off all six.

The two teams battled to a scoreless tie after one period of play. The Broncos (1-0-1) outshot the Bulldogs 13-10 and had two power play opportunities. WMU's penalty kill also kept FSU off the board on its two chances in the first period.

It was more of the same in the second period. Ferris State closed the shots-on-goal gap to 26-24 WMU after outshooting the Broncos 14-13 in the period. Western Michigan did open on the power play and Frederick Tiffels got in all alone but was tripped before his shot attempt. A penalty shot was awarded to Tiffels, the first since Feb. 8, 2013 (Mike Leone vs Miami, missed). Tiffels drove in on Williams but the junior goaltender made a blocker save.

The Broncos finally got threw at 6:01 in the third period. Tiffels created an odd-man rush and dished it to Griffen Molino on the left wing. Molino fired a shot on net and Novak skated in to punch in the rebound for his first goal of the season.

The 1-0 lead lasted until the 12:44 mark of the third period. Matt Robertson's shot was initially saved by Hafner but he got his own rebound and found Kyle Schempp alone in the slot for the game-tying goal.

Novak had another golden chance in the final minute but his chance didn't get high enough and went to the leg pad of Williams.

Neither team took advantage of the extra five minutes but Hafner made three saves to keep FSU out of the back of the net.

Western Michigan has a quick turnaround, hosting No. 16 Bowling Green on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. Tickets are two-for-one by calling 1-888-4-WMUTIX and online at wmubroncos.com.