First-period surge carries Western Michigan
By Brian Kalisher –
DETROIT – Winning teams know that hockey’s back-and-forth nature makes it tough to take control for an entire game. It is a game of momentum, with unexplainable swings and surprises.
Yet the momentum and pressure the Western Michigan Broncos exhibited early in their 6-2 defeat of the Miami RedHawks never ceased, as they cruised to a semifinal victory and a shot for the CCHA title tomorrow night.
Through a combination of strong defensive play – especially from Clay Township native Danny DeKeyser – constant pressure in the Miami zone, and countless quality scoring chances, WMU created a strong platform to work from heading into the championship game.
“Solid team effort tonight, our guys worked hard, we played with some tempo,” first-year coach Andy Murray said.
Murray, a former bench boss in the NHL, knows that one of the keys to winning is making it hard on the opposing squad.
“We tried all year to not just be a hard team to play against but be a miserable team to play against,” Murray said. “I thought we were kind of miserable to play against [tonight].”
Each time Miami found themselves with a scoring opportunity, WMU would strike back shortly after with a better chance of their own. According to RedHawks’ head man Enrico Blasi, the Broncos did a quality job of responding.
“They did a lot of good things tonight,” Blasi said. “They anticipated well, they finished checks early, they finished, they executed, and it seemed like when we scored to make it 2-1 we were in the game, and then they got another one. We made it 4-2 and then didn’t execute on the back-check and they make it 5-2, the game is over.”
Repeating the things they did well tonight will be essential in whether the Broncos can show the same momentum in tomorrow night’s contest. The players that stepped up with big performances will look to continue that strategy on a bigger stage. Greg Squires and Will Kessel each had two goals on the offensive side of the puck, while Danny DeKeyser was a force on the defensive side.
The play of DeKeyser was one of the main reasons WMU looked so secure in their own end. The 6 foot-3 inch, 190-pounder skated smoothly and never panicked while holding down the back-end for the Broncos, feeding forwards on breakout passes all game long. While nobody is quite sure where he’ll end up next season, whichever team claims his services is likely to improve their defensive game significantly.
The Broncos’ offensive game benefited from their strong play in their own zone. Pucks never lingered around in WMU territory for too long before being either skated or chipped out, and consequently picked up by one of their speedy forwards for an opportunity at the other end of the ice.
Murray looks forward to seeing his players compete again for a larger prize.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow night’s hockey game,” Murray said. “I told our guys at the end of the game there to act like we’ve been here before, we need to win tomorrow.”