KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The third-ranked Western Michigan hockey team took down No. 10 North Dakota, 4-1, in front of a sold out Lawson Ice Arena on Friday night.
 
Junior goalie Brandon Bussi made 34 saves, while junior defenseman Ronnie Attard had two goals and an assist on the night. Fifth-year senior Josh Passolt also had a three-point night with a goal and two assists with the Broncos also picking up two assists from freshman forward Max Sasson. Sophomore forward Hugh Larkin netted the game-winning goal in his first action of the season.
 
North Dakota outshot Western Michigan 35-23 on the night but WMU took advantage of its chances, going 3-for-5 on the power play.
 
Attard gave the Broncos a 1-0 goal late in the first period, scoring on the man advantage with 4:43 to play in the period. Passolt passed it down to the right of the crease to Sasson and he made the no-look pass behind him to Attard in the left circle and the Philadelphia Flyers' draft pick punched it into the net for his sixth goal of the season. Sasson picked up his third assist of the season, with Passolt tallying his ninth.
 
Judd Caufield won a race to the puck with 22 seconds left in the first period and beat Bussi for his fourth goal of the season to tie it up at 1-1 before the break.
 
WMU retook the lead on Larkin's first goal of the season just 2:54 into the second period. Attard threw the puck toward the slot from the bottom of the right circle and Larkin won the battle for the loose puck and batted it past Fighting Hawk goalie Zach Driscoll. Attard picked up his 14th assist of the season and Tim Washe tallied his first of the year on the eventual game-winning goal.
 
The Broncos were under fire early in the third period, with Bussi making four saves in the first 3:29 of the period. WMU flipped the script and dominated possession for the next six minutes before UND landed another shot on net.
 
Attard was called for hooking at 11:47, giving North Dakota a crucial late power play but it ended early as Louis Jamernik hit Cedric Fiedler in the cage with his stick and was called for high sticking. Just 1:16 later Riese Gaber was given a cross checking penalty to give the Broncos a 5-on-3 advantage.
 
WMU wasted no time, with Attard firing a rocket into the top-right corner of the net from the inside edge of the left circle for his second of the night and seventh of the season at 14:02. Michael Joyaux and Passolt each picked up assists as the Broncos pushed ahead 3-1.
 
Still on the power play the Broncos scored just over a minute later to push the lead to 4-1. Sasson had the puck at the bottom of the left circle and passed it across the slot to Passolt in the right circle and he rifled it under the cross bar for his third goal of the season.
 
The Broncos and the Fighting Hawks go at it again on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. Limited standing room only tickets are still available at www.wmubroncos.com/tickets. The game can also be watched live on NCHC.tv and heard live on the Bronco Media Network.