KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The 18th ranked Western Michigan hockey team and Air Force battled to a 5-5 tie at Lawson Ice Arena on Friday night. Senior forward Aaron Hadley netted a goal during the exhibition three-on-three overtime to give the Broncos momentum heading into Saturday's rematch.
Griffen Molino led the Broncos with two goals, while Chris Dienes, Hugh McGing and Wade Allison all each tallied goals. Taylor Fleming had three assists for the second time in a game this season, and Matheson Iacopelli and Frederik Tiffels each tallied two helpers. WMU (6-3-2) was outshot 36-32 on the night and went 2-for-5 on the power play.
Molino got the Broncos on the board early, just 1:18 into the first period. Iacopelli found Molino and the sophomore forward skated into the left circle and beat Air Force starting goalie Shane Starrett for his third goal of the season.
The Falcons tied it up at 1-1 with a goal at 4:59 in the first period. Evan Giesler tapped a loose puck past Gorsuch on the power play.
Just 41 seconds later Dienes' second goal of the season gave Western Michigan a 2-0 lead. Iacopelli passed it to the senior defenseman and he skated along the right boards. Dienes threw the puck on net from the sharp angle and it trickled past Starrett and into the net.
Air Force struck again on the power play at 11:26 in the first period. Phil Boje ripped a slap shot past Gorsuch from center point for his fourth goal of the season.
Wade Allison gave WMU its third lead of the game just a minute later when he fired a shot from the right circle into the net. Tiffels brought the puck down the ice and found Allison on the left side. Allison ripped a shot wide and Tiffels hunted down the rebound, passing it back to the Philadelphia Flyers' draft pick for the goal. Fleming also tallied his second assist of the game as WMU took a 3-2 lead.
McGing scored his first collegiate goal with just 1:25 left in the first period to give the Broncos a 4-2 advantage. The power play goal came from the right circle after a feed from Sheldon Dries.
The Falcons struck first in the second period on a short-handed goal by Jordan Himley. Kyle Haak intercepted a pass and created a two-on-one rush. Haak took the puck into the WMU zone and passed to Himley in the slow and he roofed it into the top-right corner of the net to cut the lead to 4-3.
Molino netted his second of the night at 13:02 in the second period, firing the puck past backup goalie Billy Christopoulos for his fourth goal of the season. Fleming weaved his way through traffic on the power play and dished it to Molino for the tap-in just left of the crease.
The 5-3 lead didn't hold as Air Force cut the lead down to one with 2:35 left in the second period. Dan Bailey's slap shot hit the right post and bounced behind Gorsuch and over the goal line.
Matt Pulver netted the game-tying goal with 5:24 left in the third period. The Broncos called a timeout after a save by Gorsuch to regroup. Falcon center Brady Tomlak won the faceoff and took the puck to the back boards. Tomalk then dished it off to Pierce Pluemer and centered it to Pulver. A scramble to clear the puck out was won by Pulver and he punched it into the net.
Neither team took advantage of the first and official overtime, with Air Force outshooting WMU 4-2.
Hadley went on to score in the exhibition overtime, weaving his way through traffic and lighting the lamp on a back-handed shot.
The Broncos and the Falcons go at it again on Saturday at 8:05 p.m. The game can only be seen on NCHC.tv and heard live on the Bronco Radio Network.
