DENVER, Colo. – Using strong defense and explosive offense, Western Michigan was able to take care of Denver, 7-2, Saturday night at Magness Arena. 

The Broncos got goals from six different players, including two from Sam Colangelo. WMU's other goal scorers were Joe Cassetti, Dylan Wendt, Chad Hillebrand, Matteo Costantini and Alex Bump. Five Broncos recorded multi-point nights and Jacob Napier made his college debut in the win. 

FIRST PERIOD
Both offenses came out firing early in the opening minutes of the game, with Denver scoring early to take a 1-0 lead. Moments after that, Zak Galambos nearly tied the game as his shot rang off the right post. 

A few minutes later, the Broncos would get the first power play of the night, as Denver was sent off for hooking. DU would kill off the penalty, but Western Michigan continued to hold the offensive zone. Eventually Cassetti would scoop up a loose puck and bury the wrap-around goal to tie the game at 1-1. 

The flood gates opened from there, as Wendt took a DU turnover down the ice and buried home his 21st goal of the season. Then, with under three minutes to play in the opening frame, Pioneers goaltender Matt Davis played a puck behind the net right to the stick of Cedric Fiedler. He fired a shot on net that was tipped in front by Colangelo to give the Brown and Gold a 3-1 lead heading into the second 20 minutes of play. 

SECOND PERIOD
The Western Michigan offense showed no signs of slowing down in the second period. Just over three minutes in, Carter Berger slid a pass to a wide open Hillebrand, who chipped the puck into the net for a 4-1 Broncos lead. 

A little over two minutes later, a Colangelo shot sputtered in front of the net and Costantini backhanded the puck into the back of the net. That gave Western Michigan a 5-1 lead. 

After WMU's fifth goal, DU switched goalies and went with Paxton Geisel. He was tested right away, as Ethan Phillips fired a shot on the new netminder to begin his night on the scoresheet. 

Down the stretch, Western Michigan would get a few more quality chances, but neither team would score. The Broncos carried a four-goal lead into the final 20 minutes. 

THIRD PERIOD
WMU took a penalty in the first few minutes of the period, and Denver was able to take advantage to make the score 5-2. However, less than five minutes later, Bump found himself on an odd-man rush and ripped a shot into the back of the net to restore WMU's four-goal lead. 

Just over a minute later, some nice passing led to the puck being on Colangelo's stick, and he ripped a shot just under the crossbar to extend the Broncos' lead to 7-2 with under 10 minutes to play in the game. 

Following the goal, DU would head to the box, giving WMU another look on the power play. Bump nearly added an eighth goal for WMU, but the Pioneer defense was able to keep it a five-goal game. 

Western Michigan would go on to close out the game and collect its 16th win of the season. 

UP NEXT
The Broncos return to Kalamazoo for a series with Omaha next weekend. The series opener is set for Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. inside Lawson Arena. WMU took four points from Omaha back in November.