Box Score | PDF Box Score

KALAMAZOO, Mich. - A quick Western Michigan outburst dug the Miami hockey team into a hole it could not recover from as it dropped a 4-1 decision on Saturday night.

The Broncos (8-19-3, 5-14-1-1 National Collegiate Hockey) snapped the RedHawks' (13-14-3, 7-11-2-2 NCHC) three-game winning streak with the result.

Miami created a 2-on-1 rush on its first shift of the night as Sean Kuraly brought the puck up ice for a shot that Trevor Gorsuch stopped. Some extended cycling by Western Michigan drew a Miami penalty 2:07 into the contest, giving the Broncos the first power play of the night. That lasted a mere seven seconds as the Broncos committed an interference penalty immediately after the ensuing faceoff, leading to some 4-on-4 hockey.

Both teams took turns on the attack as shots on goal were 6-5 in favor of the Broncos midway through the opening stanza. Friday night's two-goal scorer Anthony Louis was hit in stride on a breakout and was able to handle the puck through the WMU defense until he got into the middle for a shot that Gorsuch got a pad on. A few moments later, Alex Gacek caused a turnover in MU's defensive zone and skated in for a breakaway that Gorsuch kept out to leave it scoreless.

Jade McMullen gave Western Michigan a 1-0 lead with 1:23 remaining in the frame as Jade McMullen redirected a point shot from Chris Dienes, giving WMU its first lead of the weekend. The Broncos then got one more chance to set up in the offensive zone as the RedHawks were called for a penalty with 1.6 seconds left until the break. That was all WMU needed as Nolan LaPorte won a draw to Griffen Molino, who wristed a shot by Jay Williams just as time expired to put MU into a 2-0 hole after 20 minutes.

Miami got a power play 50 into the second period, but it was Western Michigan that found the net as a clearing attempt from Corey Schueneman went down the ice on goal to Williams and the rebound got to Molino, who picked the top corner to make it 3-0 with 18:30 to go in the second. The RedHawks then were given a chance to get on the board as the Broncos were called for another minor 24 seconds after the tally to give MU 54 seconds of 5-on-3 time to work with.

Sensing the importance of the ensuing minute, Western Michigan used its timeout before the two-man advantage started and Miami followed suit after a stoppage 23 seconds later. WMU managed to whittle away the first penalty, but MU finally converted on the second power play with five seconds left on the second penalty as Kevin Morris redirected a centering feed from Louie Belpedio at the 3:51 mark to cut the deficit to 3-1. Kiefer Sherwood also assisted on Morris' sixth goal of the year.

Some sustained attack led to another WMU penalty at the 7:37 mark to give MU another chance to get closer, but the Broncos held the RedHawks off the board to maintain a 3-1 lead midway through the second period. Miami continued hemming Western Michigan in its end, but a turnover created a bit of a chance to break out and the puck found Molino with a step on the defense down the left wing. Molino cut in and picked the corner to complete the hat trick and make it a 4-1 game after 40 minutes of play.

The RedHawks were forced to kill a penalty off 4:11 into the third period. Though they did so successfully, it left them under 14 minutes left to get their offense going still trailing by three. Miami's first shot on goal of the period didn't come until nine minutes in, and Gorsuch stopped that one through traffic off Jack Roslovic's stick. Another Miami penalty gave Western Michigan a power play with 10:41 left in regulation.

With time becoming a factor, the RedHawks began to pull Williams for an extra attacker with under seven minutes to go. Some neutral zone faceoffs forced them to bring Williams back in and disrupted play, but Miami managed to get set up with four minutes to go and nearly got within two when Louis threaded the seam to Belpedio at the doorstep, but his one-timer went wide. Gorsuch made a couple more quality saves and time eventually ran out on the MU comeback bid.

The RedHawks narrowly outshot the Broncos by a 31-28 margin overall and went 1-for-4 on the power play while WMU went 1-for-5 with the man advantage. Gorsuch saved 30 of 31 shots in goal for Western while Williams made 24 stops at the other end.

Miami returns home for a weekend series with Colorado College that begins on Friday and the Red and White seniors will be honored in the Saturday game at Steve `Coach' Cady Arena. Friday's series opener starts at 7:35 p.m.