KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Five different Broncos scored as the Western Michigan hockey team snapped its six-game winless streak with a 5-2 victory over Colorado College on Friday night at Lawson Ice Arena.
Ethen Frank,
Wade Allison,
Hugh McGing,
Lawton Courtnall and
Rhett Kingston all scored, while freshman goalie
Brandon Bussi made 26 saves for WMU (8-9-4, 4-5-2-2 NCHC). Sophomore defenseman
Michael Joyaux and sophomore forward
Cole Gallant each had two assists on the night. The Broncos reached 40 or more shots on goal for the fifth time in the last seven games, outshooting the Tigers 42-28 on the night. Western Michigan's penalty kill finished 3-for-3 on the night and the power play finished 1-for-2.
Frank gave WMU the early 1-0 lead on a power play goal at 7:27 in the first period. With the power play winding down
Austin Rueschhoff deflected a shot by Joyaux on net and the rebound popped to Frank, with the junior forward tapping it in the net for his sixth goal of the season. Rueschhoff picked up his third assist on the season, while Joyaux picked up his 10th and first on the night.
Allison pushed the lead to 2-0 on his second goal of the season.
Cam Lee played him the puck at the top of the right circle and then skated in front for a screen. Allison fired a shot into the back of the net, just missing Lee as he skated through the path. The assist was Lee's fourth of the season, with
Luke Bafia also picking up his sixth.
Just 53 seconds into the second period, McGing scored just as a CC power play ended to take a 3-0 lead. Gallant created a turnover in front of the Tiger bench.
Mattias Samuelsson picked up the puck and pushed aside a Colorado College skater, creating a 2-on-0 chance. He fed McGing in the right circle and the senior captain blasted it into the net for his third of the season. Samuelsson picked up his fifth assist on the year, while Gallant notched his sixth.
Tiger captain Chris Wilke scored on breakaways at 5:06 and 11:37 in the second period to cut the lead to 3-2.
for his fourth goal of the season. Washe picked up his eight assists, while Joyaux tallied his 11th.
Kingston put the game away at 12:37 when a shot fired toward the net deflected off of a CC player's stick and into the net for his seventh goal of the season. McGing tallied his 13th assist of the season, while Gallant picked up his second on the night for his second straight game with two assists.
The two teams battle it out for the final time during the regular season on Saturday at 7:05 p.m.
