ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Zach Bookman tallied his first goal as a Bronco to lift Western Michigan over St. Cloud State, 6-5, on Friday night at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. The win pushed the Brown and Gold to 5-2-0 overall and 1-0-0 in conference play. 

Lima Valente lit the lamp twice, while Samuel Sjolund, Cole Crusberg-Roseen, William Whitelaw and Bookman each scored once. Whitelaw paced the team with three points on the night. Hampton Slukynsky made 26 saves in net to earn the win. 

FIRST PERIOD
WMU got the game's first power play and didn't waste the chance. Valente got a nice feed from Grant Slukynsky, and he hit the back of the net to make it 1-0 Broncos not even four minutes into the game. 

A few minutes after that, SCSU would head to back-to-back power plays. However, Western Michigan would do well to kill both chances and return to full strength. Later in the period, WMU would get another on the board. 

Sjolund got a nice pass from Whitelaw, and he buried a shot over the Huskies' goaltender to make it 2-0. St. Cloud would get one back with just over two minutes to play in the frame. Then, the officials gave a major penalty to the Brown and Gold, giving the Huskies five minutes on the man advantage as the game moved to the second frame. 

SECOND PERIOD
WMU was given another penalty just a few seconds into the period, giving SCSU a 5-on-3 advantage. The Huskies tied the game on the two-man advantage. However, Slukynsky and the WMU defense were able to work back to even strength from there. 

After some back-and-forth action, SCSU was awarded a penalty shot. Again, Slukynsky was up to the task, making a big-time save to keep the game tied in the middle portion of the period. 

After a pair of Jamison Sluys shots were saved, WMU continued to apply pressure in the offensive zone. Whitelaw found Crusberg-Roseen at the point, and he ripped a shot into the back of the net to push Western Michigan in front 3-2 with just over three minutes to play in the middle frame. 

The Broncos would carry that one-goal advantage into the final 20 minutes of play. 

THIRD PERIOD
The action started to heat up in the third frame, as SCSU tied the game just over three minutes in. However, Whitelaw pushed WMU back in front 20 seconds later with his team-leading fifth goal of the season. 

WMU then went the power play and was able to make the game 5-3 with about 11 minutes to play in regulation. Valente ripped a shot into the net for his second goal of the night. SCSU didn't quit, however, scoring two goals to tie the game with under six minutes to play. 

As it had all night, Western Michigan responded, earning a power play with about five minutes to play in the game. After having his initial shot blocked, Bookman composed himself and fired another toward the net. This one hit twine and pushed the Brown and Gold in front for good. 

The Huskies pulled their goalie late, but Slukynsky and the WMU defense were able to lock down and close out a 6-5 victory. 

UP NEXT
The two teams will finish the series tomorrow night at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. Puck drop is set for 7 PM ET.