KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A trio of power play goals and a 34-save performance from Brandon Bussi guided No. 4 Western Michigan past ninth-ranked North Dakota, 4-1, on Friday night from Lawson Ice Arena in Kalamazoo.
In an arena that UND (13-9-0, 8-3-0-0-0-0 NCHC) had only lost three times in the previous 14 games played, the Broncos (15-5-0, 7-4-0-0-0-0 NCHC) scored a pair of tallies with the man advantage over a 1:31 span in the third period to turn a 2-1 lead into a 4-1 advantage.
Judd Caulfield scored the lone goal for the Fighting Hawks in the loss, snapping a career-long stretch of 12 straight games without a point, late in the first period; however, Hugh Larkin’s first-collegiate goal just 2:54 into the second period proved to be the difference.
Despite not having played a game since Dec. 29, Bussi was sharp in net for the Broncos with 34 saves to notch his league-leading 15th win of the season. Bussi made his best save in the third period, robbing Ashton Calder with a glove save early in the final stanza to keep the Broncos in front, 2-1.
North Dakota came out with the start it wanted, firing the first six shots on goal, but Bussi was up to the task to keep the game scoreless. WMU started to build some pressure as the period went along, earning a pair of power play opportunities, where Ronnie Attard opened the scoring with a strike on the man advantage to take a 1-0 lead with just under five minutes to play in the opening frame.
The game seemed to be headed to the intermission at 1-0, but Caulfield won a race to a loose puck following a great pass from Matteo Costantini and fired it past Bussi with just 22 seconds remaining to even the score at 1-1 after 20 minutes.
WMU took the lead back early in the second period, when Larkin’s shot deflected off a UND defender and past Driscoll to give the Broncos a 2-1 advantage.
The deficit didn’t slow down the attack from UND, with the visitors throwing everything towards Bussi and the net over the final two stanzas. Louis Jamernik nearly tied the game on the power play but was denied by the leg of the goaltender to keep the Broncos in front by one, 2-1, after two.
Calder’s golden chance in the third wasn’t the only for the Hawks, as Jake Sanderson was thwarted on a driving 2-on-1 chance during 4-on-4 play with just under seven minutes to play; however, a penalty to Riese Gaber on the play gave Western Michigan a 5-on-3 power play for over a minute.
On that man advantage, WMU struck twice over a 1:31 span to put the game away and close out the 4-1 victory.
North Dakota and Western Michigan will conclude the weekend series on Saturday night at 6:05 p.m. from Lawson Ice Arena.
NOTES: UND has dropped three straight games for the first time since Nov. 2018 … The Hawks finished with a 35-23 shot advantage … Riese Gaber led with six shots … Judd Caulfield scored his first goal since Oct. 30 vs. Penn State … UND won the faceoff battle, 29-27 … Jake Schmaltz and Connor Ford each led UND with 10 wins … Schmaltz went 10-4 in the dot … The Hawks are now 5-6-0 on Friday nights … UND will remain in at least a tie for first place entering Saturday.
*Alec Stocker Johnson, UND Athletics
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