Broncos swept in Alaska

By Tom Morelli/WMU Beat Writer

Western Michigan made the long trek out to Fairbanks, Alaska but came back with little to brag about. In both games, Alaska won by a 3-2 margin.

In Friday’s game, Western Michigan was down early by a goal, but defenseman Tyler Ludwig put his team back in contention with a power-play goal. Forwards Jeff LoVecchio and Dave Krisky were credited with the helper.

Senior Jeff Pierce gave the Broncos their first lead of the game with less than three minutes in the second period. Nathan Ansell and Max Campbell assisted on the goal, which came with the man-advantage.

Braden Walls scored a game-tying goal for the Nanooks just before the end of regulation. Teammate Dion Knelsen finished off Western Michigan at the 4:14 mark of overtime, scoring his ninth goal of the season.

The Broncos power-play converted on two of seven opportunities, and goaltender Jerry Kuhn stopped 40 shots.

Despite firing a season-high 45 shots, Western Michigan found themselves on the losing end once again on Saturday night.

Much of the Broncos offense waited too long, with both of their goals coming in the final period of play.

Down by a 3-0 margin, Western Michigan used an extra attacker to their advantage, as co-captain Chris Frank notched his second goal of the season with 1:53 gone by.

Freshman Ryan Watson joined in on the scoring fray, taking a pass from linemates Travis Paeth and Patrick Nagorsen with about six minutes left in the game.

While they didn’t tally any goals on the power-play this time around, the Broncos went a perfect 4 of 4 on the penalty kill.

Seeing action between the pipes in this game for Western Michigan was junior Riley Gill, who finished with 34 saves.

The Broncos (7-19-2 overall, 3-16-2 CCHA) will have a great opportunity to better their record this weekend, as they face Lake Superior State in a two-game series at Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo. The puck-drop is expected to be at 7:35 pm on Friday and Saturday.

Both teams currently rank at the bottom of the conference standings, but the Lakers (5-16-5 overall, 3-13-4) remain ahead of Western Michigan by three points.