Hafner Stops 35 to Blank No. 12 Bowling Green in Toledo

Box Score TOLEDO, Ohio -- In front of his home town, Western Michigan senior goalie Lukas Hafner made 35 saves and earned his first shutout of the season as the Broncos blanked No. 12/13 Bowling Green, 1-0, at the Huntington Center on Wednesday evening.

Nolan LaPorte scored the game's lone goal at 15:21 in the second period. Hafner made 16 of his saves in the third period to produce WMU's first shutout since March 7, 2015, a 3-0 win over Minnesota-Duluth, and the team's first road win of the season.

WMU's penalty kill was a perfect 3-for-3 on the night that also included 31 seconds of a 5-on-3 power play. During the three power plays the Broncos only gave up one shot on goal. In total the team blocked 19 shots to Bowling Green's five.

Neither team got on the board in a competitive first period that saw each squad post eight shots on goal. WMU's best chance came late in the first period when Colt Conrad fed Kyle Novak and the junior forward beat BGSU starting goalie Chris Nell but hit the lewft post on his shot.

Western Michigan struck first late in the second period at the 15:21 mark. Molino left a drop pass for LaPorte and the junior forward ripped a shot on net that was saved by Tommy Burke, who came in for Nell after he took a skate to the head in the early in the period, but the rebound squirted loose to the boards. Burke stayed in his position just above the crease and LaPorte threw a back-hander into the crease from the boards that ricocheted off of Burke's skate and into the net for his fifth goal of the season. Molino notched his eighth point in the past three games with an assist and Chris Dienes tallied his fourth assist in three games.

With BG's ramped up attack and the Broncos bunkered down, WMU was outshot 16-1 in the final period and was outshot 35-24 overall. Sheldon Dries led WMU with seven shots on goal, while LaPorte had four. Defensively freshman defenseman Corey Schueneman and junior defenseman Taylor Fleming each had three blocked shots.

The Broncos are back in action next weekend with a home-and-home series against Notre Dame. Friday's game at Notre Dame can also be seen live on NBC Sports Network. Saturday's game in Kalamazoo will have a later start at 8 p.m. and can also be seen live on CBS Sports Network. Tickets are available by calling 1-888-4-WMUTIX or visiting wmubroncos.com/tickets.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#55 Lukas Hafner: G; 6' 1"; Freshman

#16 Nolan LaPorte: F; 6' 0"; Freshman

#9 Chris Dienes: D; 6' 2"; Freshman

#8 Sheldon Dries: F; 5' 9"; Freshman

#20 Taylor Fleming: D; 5' 11"; Freshman

#21 Kyle Novak: F; 5' 11"; Freshman

#29 Colt Conrad: F; 5' 10"; Freshman

#6 Corey Schueneman: D; 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#55 Lukas Hafner
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: G

#16 Nolan LaPorte
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: F

#9 Chris Dienes
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: D

#8 Sheldon Dries
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: F

#20 Taylor Fleming
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: D

#21 Kyle Novak
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: F

#29 Colt Conrad
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: F

#6 Corey Schueneman
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: D