KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Senior forward Mike McKee netted the game-tying goal with 5:19 left in regulation and Wade Allison netted the winning-goal in the shootout as the Western Michigan hockey team earned two points after a 5-5 tie against No. 17 St. Cloud State at Lawson Ice Arena on Saturday night.
Five different Broncos, including McKee, scored for WMU on the night and Collin Olson came in midway through the second period to make 10 saves and earn the tie. Olson also made two stops during the shootout after the 3-on-3 overtime went scoreless. Western Michigan (7-4-3, 3-4-1-1 NCHC) outshot the Huskies 34-23.
Sheldon Dries gave the Broncos an early 1-0 lead with a goal just 3:41 into the first period. Corey Schuenman flipped the puck to McKee and the Detroit Red Wings' draft pick took it to the blue line and found Dries streaking on his left. Dries fired a shot from the top of the left circle and beat Zach Driscoll on his glove side for his fourth goal of the season.
Matheson Iacopelli gave the Broncos a 2-0 lead at 14:56 in the first period. Junior defenseman Paul Stoykewych found Iacopelli on the right side in the neutral zone. The Chicago Blackhawks' draft pick skated into the zone and ripped it past Driscoll for his team-best 13th goal of the season. Freshman defenseman Luke Bafia also earned an assist on the goal for his first collegiate point.
Mikey Eyssimont cut the lead in half with the first of three-straight St. Cloud State power play goals at 16:53 in the first period. Eyssimont fired it past starting goalie Trevor Gorsuch from the right circle during a 5-on-3 advantage.
Jacob Benson scored his first of two goals to tie the game up at 2-2 at 9:21 in the second period. Benson scored from the bottom of the left circle to beat Gorsuch for his fourth goal of the season. Just over a minute later at 10:43 he scored again on the power play from the exact same spot, giving SCSU its first lead of the game at 3-2.
Wade Allison tied the game up at 11:27 with his seventh goal of the season. Taylor Fleming played it up to Allison and the Philadelphia Flyers' draft pick skated it into the zone and used some nifty moves to create a shot that he buried into the net. Fleming notched his team-leading 13th assist on the goal.
The tie didn't last long as Ryan Poehling punched in a rebound on a shot by his brother Nick to give the Huskies a 4-3 lead at 14:27 in the second period.
Hugh McGing tied it up just over a minute later at 15:33 with his second goal of the season. A SCSU defender played the puck off the boards and Frederik Tiffels tipped it on to McGing and he went in all alone and beat Driscoll high to tie it up at 5-5.
Will Borgen gave St. Cloud State a 5-4 lead with 9.6 seconds left on the clock in the second period after he tapped in a rebound on a shot by Patrick Newell.
McKee's game-tying goal came after Olson redirected him the puck and he took off down the ice. The senior forward skated into the right circle and fired a back-hander into the net for his first goal of the season.
Neither team took advantage of the official 5-on-5 overtime or the 3-on-3 overtime. Allison's goal came in the second round of the shootout.
The Broncos are on the road at North Dakota on Friday and Saturday. Both game can be seen live on NCHC.tv and heard live on the Bronco Radio Network.
