KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Owen Michaels buried an overtime winner to lift Western Michigan to a 4-3 victory over No. 3 North Dakota on Saturday night at Lawson Arena. The win pushed WMU to 24-9-1 overall and 16-7-1 in NCHC play. 

Liam Valente, Sam Huck, William Whitelaw joined Michaels by scoring in the game, while Grant Slukynsky tallied two assists. Hampton Slukynsky made 24 saves in net to earn the win. 

FIRST PERIOD
The Broncos got off to a fast start, getting a Theo Wallberg shot just over a minute into the opening frame. From there, the Brown and Gold controlled the puck in the offensive zone and got a tip out front from Valente to go in front 1-0 not even four minutes into the game. The goal was his 19th of the season. 

However, a few minutes later, ND would tie the game at 1-1. Just under seven minutes into the period, Western Michigan earned a 5-on-3 advantage. Despite a flurry of chances, the Fighting Hawks would return to full strength. 

Later in the period, WMU would get another look on the man advantage. Again, the Hawks were able to get back to 5-on-5 hockey without any damage. With time winding down, both teams were given penalties to send things to 4-on-4. The score was tied going to the second frame.

SECOND PERIOD
Just as it did in the first period, Western Michigan got off to another fast start in the second 20 minutes of action. Huck got a nice pass from Alex Calbeck and potted his fourth goal of the season to make it 2-1 in favor of the home team. 

UND would eventually go on to tie the game a few minutes later. But the Broncos kept pushing on offense, as the Hawks were sent off for interference with nine minutes to play in the middle stanza. Samuel Sjolund had the best shot on net, but North Dakota worked back to even strength. 

Down the stretch of the period, Western Michigan killed off a NoDak power play, outshooting the Fighting Hawks during the two-minute stretch. The game moved to the third period tied at 2-2. 

THIRD PERIOD
After some back-and-forth action to start the period, Whitelaw found some open space in the slot and ripped home a wrister to make it 3-2 Broncos. The goal was his 18th of the season. 

A little bit later, WMU had to kill off a 4-on-3 power play for the Hawks. Slukynsky and the penalty killers did well to limit the chances and returned to full strength. With under six minutes to play, UND got another power play. 

The Fighting Hawks didn't score on the chance, but they did find the back of the net moments after the time expired on the penalty. Zack Sharp then had a shot saved late in the game and the two teams went to overtime. 

OVERTIME
Slukynsky made some beautiful saves early in the overtime session to set up a breakout for the Broncos. Michaels threw a puck at the net that deflected in for a 4-3 WMU victory. 

UP NEXT
The Broncos will host Colorado College in the NCHC Quarterfinals next weekend, beginning on Friday at 7 PM.