OMAHA, Neb. -- The Western Michigan hockey team dropped its penultimate game at the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Pod, falling to No. 17 Omaha 6-5, at Baxter Arena on Friday evening. 

Five different Broncos scored on the day but WMU was unable to hold a 3-0 advantage after the first period. 

The Broncos took a very early 1-0 lead on a goal by Michael Joyaux just 1:27 after the start. Drew Worrad won the faceoff in the UNO zone back to Joyaux and the junior defenseman skated it into the slot and let a shot rip into the back of the net for his first of the season. 

WMU pushed the lead to 2-0 at 13:37 on Chad Hillebrand's first collegiate goal. Jason Polin played the puck up the ice to the UNO blue line and Cole Gallant. Gallant threaded the pass through traffic to spring Hillebrand for the breakaway and the freshman forward buried it. 

Brett Van Os scored his fourth goal of the season with just 32 seconds left in the first period to push the lead to 3-0. Van Os redirected a blast by Scooter Brickey from the deep slot and into the net. Brickey tallied his third assist of the season on the goal and Josh Passolt also picked up his sixth. 

UNO scored two goals to open the second period to cut the lead to 3-2. The first came just 1:10 directly off of a faceoff by Taylor Ward. Jack Randl scored on a major power play at 5:13 to get within one. 

Nebraska native Ethen Frank scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season to give the Broncos a two-goal lead at 8:19. Worrad found him streaking along the left boards and he threw a back-hander on net from the left circle that trickled past Maverick goalie Austin Roden and into the net. Roden was pulled for Isaiah Saville after Frank's goal made it 4-2. 

Omaha scored three straight goals to take its first lead of the night, 5-4. Ward scored again just 1:21 after Frank's goal to cut the lead to 4-3. Jonny Tychonick took advantage of a screened Austin Cain and netted a goal at 5:58 in the third period to tie it up at 4-4. Martin Sundberg was left open alone in front of the net and out-waited Cain to score his fourth goal of the season and give the Mavericks at 5-4 lead. 

Paul Washe scored the game up at 5-5 on his second short-handed goal of the season at 10:38. Washe stripped a UNO forward at the Maverick blue line and beat Saville on the breakaway for his fifth goal of the season. 

Chayse Primeau netted the game-winner minutes later in a scramble in front of the net. 

The Broncos pulled Cain for the final minutes of play, including a power play for the final 44 seconds but were unable to convert. 

Western Michigan closes out the NCHC Pod on Saturday evening against No. 7 Denver at 5:05 p.m.