KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan hockey team dominated the USNTDP, winning by a final score of 7-0 on Saturday night at Lawson Arena.
Liam Valente scored twice, while
William Whitelaw,
Grant Slukynsky,
Zaccharya Wisdom,
Zach Nehring and
Bobby Cowan each lit the lamp once. The Broncos had 12 players record at least one point.
Hampton Slukynsky played the entire game in net, making 11 saves.
FIRST PERIOD
USA went to the box under five minutes into the game, giving the Brown and Gold an early look on the man advantage. WMU got three shots on net, but the NTDP would work back to full strength.
Both teams got penalties in the middle portion of the frame. Just a couple seconds after getting back to 5-on-5, Whitelaw ripped a shot into the back of the net to push the Broncos in front 1-0.
Valente, Cowan and
Ryan Humphrey had shots saved in the final two minutes of the period. WMU took a 1-0 lead into the second frame.
SECOND PERIOD
It didn't take long for Western Michigan to strike in the second period, as Slukynsky followed a miss and pushed the puck in for a 2-0 lead. Not too long after that, USA was sent to the box for roughing.
Nothing would come of the opportunity, but the Brown and Gold went back on the man advantage a few moments later. Nehring, Whitelaw and Cowan each had looks on net, but the USNTDP would get back to full strength.
After WMU killed a penalty, Valente was able to light the lamp off of a nice feed from Slukynsky. That made the score 3-0 with under five minutes to play in the frame. Following that,
Jamison Sluys fired a shot on net that was saved. WMU carried a three-goal lead into the final 20 minutes.
THIRD PERIOD
The offense really got going in the third, as Wisdom got the party started about six minutes into the frame. Not even two minutes later, Nehring lit the lamp to make it 5-0 in favor of the home team.
Just under 20 seconds later, Cowan ripped a shot by the USNTDP goaltender to make it 6-0 Broncos. The goal was assisted by
Zach Bookman and
Iiro Hakkarainen. USA then gave WMU another chance on the power play, and the Brown and Gold took full advantage.
Ty Henricks fired a pass to Valente, who promptly ripped a shot into the back of the net to make it 7-0 with about 10 minutes to play in the game. Western Michigan got one last look on the power play with just over four minutes left to play.
The USNTDP would stop the attack, and WMU went on to close out a 7-0 victory.
UP NEXT
The Broncos have their regular season opener next Thursday at Lawson Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 PM.
