Western Michigan used two gritty goals from Ty Glover and big saves from netminder Brandon Bussi to notch its first NCHC win at the Frozen Faceoff with 4-2 victory Friday night over North Dakota.
The win also solidified a No. 1 seed for the Broncos in next week’s NCAA tournament.
“Just playing my game, getting behind their ‘D,’ being hard on pucks, getting to the front of the net,” said Glover on his pair of goals. “It seems that is where all the goals are scored these days.”
“We talk about our veterans leading the way and stepping up,” added WMU forward Drew Worrad. “It takes an entire team to win a hockey game. We had our goalie making huge saves for us at the end there.”
Bussi made a highlight real save at the midpoint of the third on a back-door shot from Connor Ford to keep the Broncos ahead 3-2 before Max Sasson sealed the deal on an empty-net goal at 18:27 when a North Dakota player mishandled the puck at the blue line.
“They played hard, they checked well,” North Dakota coach Brad Berry said. “They got some key saves at key times from their goaltender and that was the difference in the game.”
It was a back-and-forth heavyweight contest that featured a game of bounces.
North Dakota had a near goal on a shot by Cooper Moore that just trickled inches wide of the net on the far side.
“They were the Penrose Cup champions, and we came out to battle,” WMU coach Pat Ferschweiller said. “It was just a man’s hockey game all over the rink. It was a good battle by us.”
The game almost turned on a five-minute major for boarding on Griffin Ness from North Dakota at 2:24 of the third. It was originally ruled a minor on the ice. The Hawks managed to kill the five-minute major and gathered momentum for a strong third period.
“I thought we were making a good push there at the end, getting opportunities. Just didn’t play well defensively,” commented North Dakota forward Mark Senden.
The second period ended in fireworks with both teams scoring in the final 31 seconds. The sequence played a critical role in the game.
Western notched a goal for a short-lived two-goal lead at 19:29 on a two-on-one fast break where the defender stayed with the skater and Worrad delivered a perfect pass to Hugh Larkin for a one-timer past UND goalie Zach Driscoll.
Just 24 seconds later, Nick Portz tallied a goal as he took a shot from atop the left faceoff circle that beat Bussi just inside the pipe over his right skate allowing the festive pro-North Dakota crowd a sigh of relief to end the period.
North Dakota opened the scoring at 11:45 of the first when Judd Caulfield picked up a loose puck in front and lifted a backhand past Bussi.
The Broncos responded quicky at 13:38 when Glover slid the second rebound under Driscoll. Ronnie Attard started the play with a shot from the blue line that Driscoll kicked out front. Sasson put the puck back on net, finding Driscoll’s right pad. Glover was lurking on the edge of the right crease and finished the scoring play.
“He is a great big excitable ball of energy; that’s what he is,” said Ferschweiller of Glover. “He just walks in the locker room smiling every day. He brings a work ethic and just a presence of love for the game about him. It’s really infectious in the locker room.”
The goal was reviewed for potential goalie interference by Glover. Driscol was able to re-engage the play after the contact and the goal stood as called on the ice. The best theater of the night then took place when the ref went to center-ice and declared “No goaltender interference on the play.” The North Dakota crowd heard “No goal” and started cheering as the ref pointed to center-ice to their confusion.
With the loss, North Dakota is now locked in as the sixth or seventh overall seed in next week’s NCAA tournament. They will be the No. 2 seed in a regional, with a strong possibility of being in the same bracket as Western Michigan or Denver.
“We going to be sharp through the next three or four days of practice,” said Berry. “We will get to a regional and we know it’s one and keep moving or one and done.”
