DULUTH, Minn. – Western Michigan defeated No. 9 Minnesota-Duluth in a shootout after 3-3 tie at AMSOIL Arena on Saturday night.
Ben Blacker stopped UMD's first two attempts and Hugh McGing buried his chance in the second round to give the Broncos (7-9-4, 3-5-1-2 NCHC) the extra point to remain in fourth place in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference standings.
Blacker made 32 saves on the night in his first start for WMU since Nov. 3, 2019. Junior forward Josh Passolt had two goals on the night, while Rhett Kingston tallied for the second time on the weekend. Sophomore forward Cole Gallant had two assists on the season, while Drew Worrad, Michael Joyaux Mattias Samuelsson and Kale Bennett each had one.
The Broncos outshot the Bulldogs 44-35 on the night and held the nation's top power play scoreless on five chances.
WMU took the lead at 13:46 on Passolt's first of the night. Bennett played the puck into the corner and Worrad won the race to the puck and then fed Passolt behind the net. He banked a shot off of UMD goalie Hunter Shepard into the net for his second goal of the season.
The Bulldogs tied it up early in the second period on a goal by Justin Richards from the slot.
Western Michigan responded just 35 seconds late on Kingston's sixth of the season. Joyaux passed the puck ahead to Gallant for a two-on-one rush with Kingston. He fed Kingston at the left point and he skated in and put it between Shepard's legs to give the Broncos a 2-1 lead.
Passolt pushed the lead to 3-1 on a goal with 1.4 seconds left in the second period. Samuelsson fired a shot from the left point and Gallant redirected it toward the net. It then bounced off of Passolt's leg and into the net for his second of the night and third of the season. The assist was Gallant's sixth of the season and Samuelsson's fourth.
Western Michigan carried the 3-1 lead into the third period but UMD scored two goals in just under three minutes in the middle of the period to tie it up at 3-3. Tanner Laderoute scored on a rebound at 9:11 and Scott Perunovich tied the game up with a goal during a period of 4-on-4 at 11:48.
The Broncos return to Lawson Ice Arena for their next two series, hosting Colorado College next Friday and Saturday at 7:05 p.m. WMU then welcomes St. Cloud State on Jan. 24-25. Tickets are available by calling 1-888-4-WMUTIX and online at www.wmubroncos.com/tickets.
