KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Sophomore goalie Ben Blacker made 33 saves and Cam Lee netted two goals as the Western Michigan hockey team defeated Bowling Green, 3-1, at Lawson Ice Arena on Tuesday night.
Lee got the Broncos on the board right away with his first of the night, and first of the season, just 60 seconds into the game. Hugh McGing had the puck at the BGSU blue line and dropped it into the deep slot for Lee. The sophomore defenseman then ripped it by Falcon goalie Ryan Bednard. McGing picked up his fourth assist of the season and extended his assist streak to three games, while Aidan Muir tallied his first helper of the season.
The Falcons turned on the pressure and scored on a power play goal at 7:12. Max Johnson fired a shot on net and Cameron Wright banged in the rebound from the left of the crease to tie it up at 1-1.
BGSU outshot the Broncos 15-3 in the first period but Lee answered at 2:34 in the second period on a shot from the left point that ended up in the back of the net for his second of the night. The game-winner came off a draw won by WMU's Paul Washe, who picked up his first collegiate assist.
WMU outshot BGSU 16-9 in the second period but Bednard made 15 stops to keep it a one-goal game.
The momentum shifted towards Bowling Green in the third period as the Broncos were outshot 10-4 but Blacker kept BGSU off the board and Colt Conrad added an empty-net goal, assisted by Wade Allison and Dawson DiPietro.
The Falcons ended up outshooting WMU 34-23 overall and the Broncos finished 0-for-7 on the power play. WMU's penalty kill finished the night 4-for-5.
Western Michigan now hosts No. 15 Clarkson on Friday at 7 p.m. and on Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 1-888-4-WMUTIX and online at wmubroncos.com. Both games can also be seen live on NCHC.tv.
