KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The 19th-ranked Western Michigan hockey team scored two goals in the third period to upset No. 11/10 Michigan Wolverines, 5-4, at Lawson Ice Arena on Saturday night.
Five different Broncos (3-2-0) scored on the night, while Corey Schueneman had two assists. Austin Rueschhoff, Hugh McGing, Ethen Frank, Colt Conrad and Josh Passolt all lit the lamp, while Conrad also picked up an assist for a two-point night. Austin Cain made 24 saves in net to help hold the Wolverines to just one goal on 11 power plays.
Rueschoff gave the Broncos a 1-0 lead just 1:51 into the game. The big forward stripped a Michigan skater in the slot and buried it past UM goalie Strauss Mann for his third of the season.
Quinn Hughes leveled the score during a period of 4-on-4 play at 6:34 in the first period. Hughes ripped a shot through traffic and into the net for his first goal of the season.
WMU responded on a five-on-three power play goal by McGing at 12:25. Conrad found Schueneman at the left point and he moved the puck to McGing. The St. Louis Blues draft pick fired a shot from the slot and into the net for his third goal of the season and second on the weekend.
Frank opened the second period stripping a Michigan player and sliding a back-hander past Mann for his second goal of the season to put the Broncos up 3-1 at 2:18.
Michigan cut the lead to 3-2 on its lone power play goal of the game at 8:48 in the second period. Brendan Warren punched in a rebound on a shot by Luke Martin.
Josh Norris tied it up at 3-3 late in the second period at 17:23. Norris fired a shot from the left circle after a cross-ice pass from Dakota Raabe for his first goal of the season.
Michigan took its only lead with 58 seconds left in the period after Nick Pastujov put in his own rebound for his third goal of the season.
Conrad tied the game up just 1:22 into the third period on WMU's second 5-on-3 power play goal of the game. Dawson DiPietro had the puck at the right side of the net and dished it across to Conrad for the tap-in. Schueneman also picked up his second assist of the night on the game-tying goal.
Passolt netted the game-winning goal at 6:39 in the third period. The sophomore forward intercept a pass in the left circle and took it to the bottom of the circle, firing a shot over Mann's shoulders and into the net.
WMU held Michigan to just six shots on goal in the final period, and had a season-high 24 blocked shots on the night. Freshman defenseman Mattias Samuelsson led the team with six, while Schueneman had five.
It's another quick turnaround for Western Michigan as the team heads to Bowling Green on Tuesday night for a 7:37 puck drop.
