Feb. 5, 2005

Box Score

KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Western Michigan (11-14-1, 6-13-1 CCHA) scored on two of its first three shots and then added the game-winner midway through the third period to snap Miami University's (12-14-4, 8-11-3 CCHA) four-game winning streak on Saturday night at Lawson Arena.

Western Michigan broke the ice, on the power play, when Mike Erickson, streaking in off the left wing, beat Miami's Brandon Crawford-West (San Diego, Calif.) between the legs at the 8:00 mark of the first period. It was WMU's third goal of the series while playing with a man-advantage.

Daryl Moore gave the Broncos a 2-0 lead, just 2:24 later, when he picked up a loose puck in the slot and slid it underneath Crawford-West for his fourth goal of the year.

Senior Todd Grant (Indianapolis, Ind.) got Miami on the board at 8:38 of the second with the RedHawks on the power play. Grant and junior Chris Michael (Glenview, Ill.) worked a beautiful give-and-go that culminated in Grant one-timing Michael's pass from behind the net. It was Grant's third goal of the weekend, after a two-goal performance on Friday, extending his point-scoring streak to five games, and his goal-scoring streak to three games.

Miami scored the equalizer at the 10:41 mark of the second while shorthanded. Freshman Nathan Davis (Rocky River, Ohio) took a pass from classmate Mitch Ganzak (Canton, Mich.) and outraced a WMU defender to find the back of the net with his fourth shorthanded goal of the year, tying him for the NCAA lead.

Western Michigan regained the lead at 6:14 of the third when a dump-in by Brent Walton bounced hard off the boards right into the high slot, where Ryan Mahrle blistered a slapshot past Crawford-West, making the score 3-2.

The Broncos' Nathan Ansell was whistled for tripping with 2:29 remaining in the third period, putting Miami on the power play. With just over 1:15 to go, the RedHawks pulled Crawford-West in favor of an extra attacker, but, despite several good scoring opportunites, couldn't solve WMU's Daniel Bellissimo.

The WMU victory snapped Miami's four-game winning streak and ruined the RedHawks' bid to win four consecutive CCHA road games for the first time since the 1993-94 season.

Crawford-West stopped 24-of-27 Western Michigan shots while Bellissimo turned away 30 of the 32 shots that Miami threw his way. Crawford-West's record dropped to 9-12-4 while Bellissimo improved to 11-13-1.

The RedHawks went 1-for-7 on the power play while Western Michigan was 1-5 with the man-advantage.

Miami will return home to Goggin Ice Arena for a pair of CCHA games versus Lake Superior State on Feb. 11-12. The game on Friday, Feb. 11, will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Detroit, beginning at 7:35 p.m.

Notes: FR D Mitch Ganzak scored in consecutive games for the third time this season ... FR F Nathan Davis moved into a fourth-place tie on Miami's single-season list for shorthanded goals ... Miami is now 2-8-2 when the opponent scores first and 0-3-1 when trailing after one period.