KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Western Michigan rallied on a goal by Colton Hargrove with 13 seconds left in regulation to force overtime and battled No. 9/8 Miami to a 3-3 tie and 2-1 shootout loss in front of a sold out crowd at Lawson Ice Arena on Saturday night.
WMU's Nolan LaPorte sent a pass through the slot to Hargrove on the right side. The junior forward fired it into the back of the net for his 11th goal of the season to square the game up at 3-3. Sheldon Dries also notched an assist on the game-tying goal.
Miami's Anthony Louis and Cody Murphy netted goals in the shootout and Ryan McKay made three stops in the four rounds to earn the extra point. Lukas Hafner nearly tied a career-high with 39 saves on the night.
Matthew Caito gave MU a 1-0 lead at 10:19 into the second period. Louis found him at the top of the slot and he fired a low back-hander past Hafner for his second goal of the season.
The Broncos (11-10-4, 4-7-4-3 NCHC) tied it and took the lead in just a span of 29 seconds near the end of the second. Frederik Tiffels poke the puck past McKay at 17:00 after receiving a pass from Scott Moldenhauer at the left corner of the crease. Mike McKee gave WMU its only lead of the game at 17:29 when Josh Pitt found him in the right circle and he powered toward the net before punching it in for his first goal of the season.
The RedHawks tied it up and took the lead with two quick goals of their own at 14:11 and 14:31 in the third period. Louis tallied on the power play with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle for his 11th goal of the season to tie the game at 2-2. Just 20 seconds later Sean Kuraly punched in a rebound on a shot by Alex Gacek to give Miami a 3-2 lead before Hargrove tied it up.
The shootout loss for Western Michigan was the team's first since joining the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.
WMU's penalty kill went 5-for-6 on the night with Hafner making nine of his 39 saves while on the disadvantage. The Broncos were held scoreless on three power plays.
Overall the RedHawks outshot Western Michigan 42-27, including a 19-8 advantage in the third period.
The two teams square off next Saturday at Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill., for the Hockey City Classic at 4 p.m.
