WMU hockey makes history with Frozen Faceoff semifinal win over North Dakota

For the first time in program history, Western Michigan will be playing for the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Tournament Championship, after the Broncos defeated North Dakota, 4-2, in Friday’s semifinal round of the Frozen Faceoff at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

Sophomore forward Ty Glover scored WMU’s first two goals, the first of which came off a rebound from a Ronnie Attard Slapshot and evened the score at 1 less than two minutes after North Dakota’s Judd Caulfield put the Fighting Hawks ahead at the 11:45 mark.

Glover’s second came on the power play and was a redirect of a point shot from Michael Joyaux that slid under the pads of North Dakota goalie Zach Driscoll with 6:26 left in the second period.

The Broncos went up 3-1 with 32 seconds left in the second Stanza, when Hugh Larkin left the penalty box to create a 2-on-1 Rush with Drew Worrad, who carried the Puck into the zone and fed a perfect centering pass to across to Larkin, who buried the Puck past a sliding Driscoll.

The seventh-ranked Broncos appeared ready to take a two-goal lead into the second intermission, but North Dakota showed why it’s the nation’s No. 5 team, as the Fighting Hawks found the back of the net with 7.8 seconds left in the period due to a pair of WMU miscues.

Defenseman Cedric Fielder failed to keep the Puck in the zone or slow down a streaking Nick Portz, who skated down the wing and wristed a shot past Brandon Bus’s glove from just outside the faceoff Circle.

WMU’s junior goaltender Redeemed himself in a big way Midway through the third period when he slid his 6-foot-5 frame across the crease and snagged a point-blank shot from Connor Fordwho saw his wide-open net vanish in front of a North Dakota cheering second ready to explode.

Bussi finished with 21 saves, but none were bigger than the third-period stop that preserved a 3-2 lead.

WMU benefitted from a five-minute power play early in the third period when North Dakota’s Griffin Ness was whistled for cross-checking Josh Passolt into the boards from behind, and while the Broncos didn’t generate a goal, they registered five shots and took a chunk of time out of the Fighting Hawks’ comeback bid.

North Dakota pulled Driscoll for an extra skater with 1:58 left in the third, and after WMU senior and the nation’s leading goal scorer Ethen Frank blocked a shot, teammate Max Sasson won a race to the Puck at his blue line and skated it into an empty net with 1:33 left, giving the freshman a goal and an assist in the game.

“I’m just proud of this team. I’m proud of their poise, I’m proud of their maturity, I’m proud of their work ethic, ”WMU head Coach Pat Ferschweiler said. “Obviously, I think Brandon would like to have that second goal back at the end of the third period, but it didn’t faze anyone. And then, Brandon pays us back with that great save in the third period… That’s a game-saving save at a big, big moment. Everyone in that Locker room just believes in each other, and I believe in them, as well. ”

WMU improved to 18-0 when leading after two periods, but North Dakota’s goal in the final Moments before the second intermission created little margin for error in the third.

The Broncos responded by outshooting the Fighting Hawks 11-6 and winning 11 of 23 faceoffs in the third period.

“I think if you were ask us at the start of the game if we’d be happy with a 3-2 lead going into the third, we would’ve taken it, so it was just refocusing,” Worrad said of his team’s Mindset heading into the final period. “Obviously, that gave them a little bit of momentum, but we had a lot of good happen for us in that second period. We played really well and made it hard on their D, and I think it showed that they were wearing down a little bit. Credit to them, though, they played a great game for 60 minutes.

“I think the message was just to stick to our process because we really did a lot of good in that second period, so it was focusing on that and making sure that we stick to the positives and just not let that get to us, and I think we did an excellent job at that. ”

WMU’s Victory gives them the series tiebreaker over North Dakota, after the Broncos swept at home in late January, and the Fighting Hawks returned the favor in their barn a month later.

With St. Paul just a five-hour drive southeast of Grand Forks, ND, Friday’s Matchup had the feel of an away game, which made it even sweeter when the Broncos were able to celebrate with a small contingent of fans that made the 550- mile trip from Kalamazoo.

“To come out on the ice and just this a sea of ​​green, it did feel like an away game, but having our fans there, that’s awesome,” Larkin said. “They came all the way from the west side of Michigan, and seeing them there really gets us going, and we want to win for them, for having them come out, so it was awesome.”

Up next for WMU is Saturday’s 8:30 pm Championship Matchup with Minnesota Duluth, whom the Broncos split with during their four regular season contests.

The eighth-ranked Bulldogs (20-15-4) entered the Frozen Faceoff semifinals as the tournament’s No. 4 seed and delivered a 2-0 upset win over top-Seeded Denver to set up Saturday’s meeting with the third-Seeded Broncos (25-10-1).

“Scott Sandelin prepares his team as well as anyone in the country; they’re going to be ready to play Tomorrow, ”Ferschweiler said of Minnesota Duluth and its head Coach. “They played an unbelievable game against Denver today. Their compete was high; their goalie showed why they were Goalie of the Year, for sure. Wyatt Kaiser was an Absolute star on defense today, so they’re going to make it hard on them, and we’re going to try to make it hard on them, and it should be another great contest. ”

The Frozen Faceoff Championship is the first thing at stake, but a WMU win could also secure one of four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament, as the Broncos currently sit at No. 3 in the Pairwise rankings, which are a good Predictor of the 16 teams that will qualify for the Division-I college hockey Playoffs.