KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan senior forward Michael Rebry netted the game-winning goal just 34 seconds into overtime to send the Broncos to the National College Hockey Conference Frozen Faceoff Semifinals after beating Omaha 2-1 on Sunday night.
Rebry got the puck from Lawton Courtnall and skated around the net to the left circle. He skated into the slot and fired a back-hander between UNO goalie Evan Weninger's legs to seal the win.
WMU (22-10-5) outshot UNO 32-23 on the night, including an 18-7 advantage in the second period.
The Mavericks struck first at 6:31 in the first period. Tyler Vessel scored the only power play goal of the series, sneaking one through traffic and past Ben Blacker for the 1-0 lead. Austin Ortega and David Pope both notched assists on the goal.
Griffen Molino tied it up at 1-1 with 29 seconds left to go in the first period on a short-handed goal. An Omaha forward passed the puck back to the blue line but it missed his intended target and shot out into the neutral zone. Molino took off and beat the Maverick defenseman down the ice to the puck and fired it between Weninger's legs for his 14th goal of the season.
WMU put the pressure on in the second period but Weninger made 18 of his game-high 30 saves in the period to keep things squared at 1-1.
Neither team took advantage of the final period of regulation, with Western Michigan just edging UNO on shots at 10-8.
The Broncos advance to the Frozen Faceoff Semifinals to take on Minnesota-Duluth on Friday. The time will be announced on Monday morning.
