KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The eighth-ranked Western Michigan hockey team took down Ferris State, 6-0, in the final home-opener in the history of Lawson Ice Arena in front of a sellout crowd of 3,794 fans on Thursday night.
In his first start as a Bronco, sophomore goalie
Quentin Miller made 26 saves for his first win and first shutout in the Brown & Gold. Senior assistant captain
Garrett Szydlowski had two goals to lead the way.
William Whitelaw,
Joona Väisänen,
Nicholas Sykora and
Tommy Lafrenière also lit the lamp. Vaisanen had two assists for a three-point game, while Whitelaw and Lafreniere also notched helpers.
Cole Crusberg-Roseen had two assists, with
Ty Henricks,
Bobby Cowan,
Michael Neumeier,
Tyler MacKenzie and
Zack Sharp also picked up assists for their first points of the season.
The Broncos outshot the Bulldogs 39-26 and held FSU scoreless on eight power plays.
Western Michigan took a 1-0 lead at 12:05 in the first period on Szydlowski's first of the night. MacKenzie chased down a loose puck in the FSU zone found Szydlowski open in the right circle for the one-timer into the net.
The Brighton, Mich., native picked up his second of the night at 7:18 in the second period to push the lead to 2-0. This time he had the puck on the boards behind the net, skated out and into the left circle and fired it through traffic.
Just 31 seconds later, Whitelaw made it 3-0 when he redirected a shot from Cowan at the right point. Cowan and Crusberg-Roseen both picked up assists on the goal.
Late in the second period Väisänen pushed the lead to 4-0 on a power play goal at 18:40. Väisänen's shot came from the center point and through traffic on a pass from Lafrenière.
Sykora scored his first collegiate goal at 3:04 in the third period to extended the lead to 5-0. Skyora got the puck in the neutral zone from Neumeier and skated it in, ripping a shot from just beyond the circles and into the net. Neumeier's assist was his first as a Bronco, while Väisänen picked up his first two on the night.
Lafrenière tallied his first collegiate goal at 18:16 on the power play to set the final at 6-0. The Edmonton Oilers' draft pick went top-shelf from he right circle on a feed from Väisänen. Whitelaw also tallied a helper on the game's final goal.
The two teams are back at it on Friday night up at Ferris State at 7 p.m.
