Broncos post six goals on Miami, advance to CCHA final
By Stefan Kubus –
DETROIT – The Western Michigan Broncos looked like a much different team on Friday evening than they did earlier in the season against the RedHawks of Miami.
The Broncos manhandled Miami the entire game, winning 6-2 and out-shooting them 36-21.
In their regular-season meetings, the Broncos lost both games, by a combined score of 7-1. This time, it was a little different.
“We’ve tried all year not just to be a hard team to play against, but a miserable team to play against,” said coach Andy Murray, who was tenured as a head coach in the NHL for over ten seasons. “And I thought we were kinda miserable to play against tonight.”
The Broncos chased goaltender Connor Knapp after posting four goals in the first 29:47 on the CCHA goaltender of the year. Cody Reichard allowed two goals in relief for the RedHawks.
“Tonight was just one of those games that the pucks were getting in the net,” said senior Greg Squires, who had two of the Broncos’ goals. “We were getting him moving side to side, and we were fortunate to get six on (both goaltenders) today.”
The first period was all Western Michigan, outshooting the RedHawks 14-5, and putting two pucks past senior netminder and Buffalo Sabres draft pick Connor Knapp.
Things kicked off in a back-and-forth fashion, as both clubs were tight defensively and maintained a high tempo. Senior Adam Hirschfield had the first great opportunity of the game seven minutes in, but the Broncos freshman goalie Frank Slubowski shut the door.
Following the huge save, WMU came right back down the ice on a 3-on-1. Freshman defenseman Garrett Haar dished the puck over to Squires, who roofed the puck on Knapp for the first goal of the contest.
The RedHawks would go on to have two power plays in the rest of the first period, both of which were fruitless. At least for Miami, that is.
On a high-sticking call with just under four minutes to play, the RedHawks wrapped the puck around the boards, looking to get the puck to the point. But the puck got past the Miami defenseman, and Broncos senior J.J. Crew gave chase. Crew caught up to the puck, made a nifty move to bury the puck past Knapp for a 2-0 Broncos lead.
Miami would respond, however, on a beautiful tip by RedHawks captain Reilly Smith as he was spinning around in the high slot off a firm pass from defender Chris Wideman. That would cut the Western Michigan lead to one, heading into the dressing room.
In the second, it was more of the same domination from the Broncos, thanks to an undisciplined RedHawks squad.
Just 1:54 in, the Broncos would take to the power play again. And it wouldn’t take long for them to strike.
Thirteen seconds into the man-advantage, an eight-player scrum ensued on the side of the net after Squires threw a puck on net. Squires continued around the net, and the puck squirted right out to him. Making no mistake, he buried it for his second of the night and restoring the two-goal lead, for a 3-1 lead.
With 14 minutes remaining, the Broncos received a little gift from the hockey gods. On the penalty kill, Miami freshman and Washington, Mich. native Austin Czarnik made a great dish to Tyler Biggs on the backdoor, who sent the puck high and wide facing nothing but a gaping net.
Penalty woes would continue to sink in for the RedHawks, and Western Michigan would continue to make them pay.
This time, it was Bloomfield Hills native Will Kessel. Holland native Luke Witkowski stepped in and let a shot fly from the high-slot. Kessel tipped the shot right over the blocker of Knapp for a 4-1 Broncos lead. That would be the last string for Knapp, as the RedHawks brought in their backup goalie Cody Reichard.
On a lengthy 5-on-3 power play, Western tried their now-famous double one-timer play. Three men lined up across in a straight line, just inside the blue line. As the pass came across to the defender for the one-timer, he purposely whiffed on the shot to let the puck go to the man behind him, who wired the puck on net. Reichard wasn’t fooled, however, and he kept the game from getting out of reach.
Western Michigan headed off the ice up 4-1, and a commanding 29-14 lead in shots. Miami picked up the physical play tenfold as they came out in the third period.
Just 27 seconds into the final frame, Gaylord native Will Weber would head off, setting up the second 5-on-3 of the night for the Broncos. However, Reichard and the Miami defense held the fort down, and killed off another 5-on-3.
That would remain the story for most of the third. The Broncos had a lengthy five-minute power play, as Blake Coleman headed off to the sin bin on a five-minute charging call.
Miami’s captain would strike again, as Reilly Smith buried a shorthanded goal, his second of the night, on a backdoor feed from defenseman Cameron Schilling at 10:46 to make it a 4-2 game.
But things were just going too well for Western Michigan.
The Broncos regained the three-goal lead just 29 seconds later on Kessel’s second of the night. Kessel buried a pass in the slot that Kovacs sent from the corner.
Just shortly after that, Slubowski stretched across the goal, from post to post, to magnificently rob Czarnik of a backdoor goal on a Miami 2-on-1 rush.
On a 4-on-3 power play, with six minutes to go, junior Matt Tennyson buried a slap shot on a one-timer from the left circle to make it a 6-2 Broncos lead.
The Lawson Lunatics, out in full force, led a standing ovation for their Western Michigan squad in the last minute, as they should have.
“We came into the season with the idea that we wanted to win 36 hockey games, because that’s what was on our schedule,” Murray said. “If we didn’t plan to win them all, then we shouldn’t play them.”
The Broncos’ performance boosted them into the championship game on Saturday, where they will take on either Michigan or Bowling Green.