Broncos earn series split with Nebraska-Omaha; team raises $26K on “Ice Duchenne” Weekend

By Sam O’Toole –

KALAMAZOO – It took the Western Michigan Broncos hockey team exactly 3:07 during the third period to overcome Nebraska-Omaha’s two-goal lead that the Mavericks had protected since halfway through the second period.

On the series finale and final night of “Ice Duchenne” weekend, the Broncos (15-12-5, 9-9-2-2 NCHC) netted four unanswered goals in the third period to defeat the Mavericks, 5-3.

Five different Broncos tallied goals for the home team, and Frank Slubowski was steady in net making 25 saves, including some critical stops down the stretch to halt any momentum the Mavericks were trying to gain.

After a scoreless first period, Nebraska-Omaha star Josh Archibald scored the first of his two goals on the night 3:08 into the second period to bring some life to a team that only mustered six shots through the first twenty minutes.

It didn’t take long for Western Michigan to respond to Archibald’s 25th goal of the season.

Justin Kovacs finished a breakaway opportunity just 37 seconds later after a pass from Taylor Fleming broke the Grosse Pointe Woods native free.  Kovacs slipped the puck through Mavericks’ goaltender Ryan Massa, who recorded 20 saves on Saturday.

Archibald struck again after Jordan Oesterle received a five-minute major and a misconduct for a checking from behind penalty.  The NCHC point leader fired a shot past Slubowski on the five-on-three powerplay for his second goal of the game and 26th of the season, second in the nation only to Boston College’s Johnny Gaudreau.

With their backs against the wall, it was the Broncos’ penalty kill during the five-minute powerplay that head coach Andy Murray said really propelled his team to victory.

“I think it was more than the four goals in the third period,” Murray said.  “I thought it was the job that we did on the penalty kill in the second period, where they had scored on the five-on-three.  So, we had over four minutes to kill and didn’t get anything up, and I thought that was a really important part.  I thought there was a real sense of purpose in the game tonight.”

Despite the tenacious play from the Broncos, the Mavericks were able to capitalize on one of the home team’s mistakes when Tanner Lane caught a pass off the boards behind the Bronco defense for the breakaway goal.

Western Michigan was 20 minutes away from seeing their winless streak extend to four games, their longest since the middle of November.

“Between the second and third periods, you could sense the energy that was in there,” Murray said.  “They were a determined group.  We were obviously disappointed in our performance last night.”

The Broncos outshot the Mavericks, 33-26, but struggled to find the back of the net on Friday night and fell to the Mavericks, 5-1.  Scoring the lone goal for the Broncos was Chase Balisy.

The third period of Saturday night’s game started physical with both teams finishing their checks whenever possible.

The Broncos came out with the energy Murray spoke to and played the style that they play best, a team that doesn’t get out worked.

It took until 8:55 remaining in the third period for the Broncos to cut down the two-goal deficit.  Nolan LaPorte drew a penalty, and with 28 seconds remaining on the powerplay, LaPorte fired a wrist shot past Massa.

“There is energy on the bench, and after someone makes a big hit or has a good play, everyone on the bench is up and moving around telling them good job,” LaPorte said.  “It definitely gets the guys going and a big goal helps out.”

Just 1:17 later, Colton Hargrove caught a pass in the slot from LaPorte and fire a shot five-hole to tie the game for the Broncos.  Hargrove’s game-tying goal electrified the entire arena, and now the fans were feeling that energy the Broncos were feeding off of.

Captain Chase Balisy got in the act 1:50 later and gave the Broncos the lead when he put home a shot out in front.  Balisy had a couple of good scoring chances earlier in the game but wasn’t able to capitalize.  This time, Balisy was able to beat Massa for the game-winning goal.

Murray said after the game that having those type of players show up when it matters is critical.

“You need your minute players, your puck possession players, to be good,” Murray said. “They got it going there in the third period. Chase played a lot of minutes and in games he kills penalties, and he is a leader by example on the ice and off the ice in every situation.”

Murray was also pleased with how his defensive unit came together after they were down to five when Oesterle received his major penalty.

“We had a couple of freshman, Taylor Fleming and Thomas Nitsche, who played a lot of minutes tonight and our defense really battled,” Murray said.  “Matt Stewart, Dennis Brown, Kenney Morrison, they all had to log more minutes when we lost Oesterle.  It was great show of heart by them.

“No Bad Days”

The real story of the weekend was the story of Louie Facca, son of Broncos associate head coach Rob Facca. Before the game, Louie, his grandfather and former Bronco standout  and current Detroit Red Wing Danny Dekeyser took part in the ceremonial puck drop for “Ice Duchenne” weekend in Kalamazoo.

Signs were posted all around Lawson Ice Arena with the “No Bad Days” logo that was on the rally towels given away at this weekend’s games.

During the second intermission, it was announced that the Western Michigan hockey program was able to raise more than $26,000 this weekend to support Louie and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

All NCHC teams also wore “No Bad Days” stickers on their helmets this weekend.

Next weekend, Nebraska-Omaha (13-15-2, 10-8-2-1 NCHC) hosts Colorado College, who are on a three-game winning streak.  The Broncos will host Denver, who swept the Broncos in Denver back on Nov. 15 and 16.