Monday, January 22, 2007

Broncos beat, lose to No. 3 Notre Dame

Western Michigan surprised No. 3 Notre Dame Friday night in Kalamazoo, but couldn't keep the momentum going and split the series Saturday night.

Friday, Jeff Pierce's goal with 2:46 left in regulation lifted the Broncos to a 3-2 win over the Irish. In the process, the WMU notched its fifth win against a Top 20 team and the fourth at home this season.

"It was a tremendous effort by our team against a very good Notre Dame squad," WMU coach Jim Culhane said afterwards. "I thought we showed a lot of composure when the game got tight at 2-2. It was a great crowd and environment in the building tonight."

Patrick Galivan and Jeff LoVecchio also scored and in goal, Daniel Bellissimo finished with 29 saves.

Saturday, the Irish pitched a 3-0 shutout.

"It's awfully tough to sweep in the CCHA, and although we came up short tonight, I thought we battled hard," Culhane said. "We'll take our two points from this weekend and get ready for Tuesday's game."

Bellissimo made 23 saves in net.

Western Michigan (9-13-1, 8-10-1 CCHA) plays host to Ferris State Tuesday and Alabama-Huntsville this weekend.

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