Article by Felicity Harding. Photo by Felicity Harding.
After getting shutout on Friday night, the Huskies and the Broncos returned to Lawson Arena on Saturday to play the second game of their series.
After being out with an injury for almost three months, the Huskies saw a return from sophomore goaltender Isak Posch in net. On the other side of the ice, the Western Michigan Broncos started freshman goaltender Hampton Slukynsky.
Similar to Friday night, the Broncos got the scoring started early, this time from sophomore forward Owen Michaels as he dove to the ice to deflect senior forward Matteo Costantini’s shot over the left shoulder of Isak Posch. Michaels’ goal came 3:13 into the period and was assisted by Costantini and sophomore forward Alex Bump.
Only 20 seconds later, the Broncos struck again with a goal from sophomore forward Grant Slukynsky. Graduate defenseman Brian Kramer initially tried to take a shot but whiffed, causing Kramer to try a 180 turn. But as he tried to shoot the puck again, it deflected off freshman forward Zach Nehring, allowing sophomore forward Grant Slukynsky to pick up the deflection. Slukynsky was then able to take a shot and beat Posch on his glove side. Slukynsky’s goal was assisted by Kramer and sophomore defenseman Cole Crusberg-Roseen.
The game calmed down for a little bit in the first before the Broncos found the back of the net again. After a turnover at the blue line and then a failed attempt at getting the puck out of their zone, the Huskies turned the puck back over in their zone. Posch was able to make the initial save, but freshman forward Ty Henricks was able to pick up the rebound and beat a diving Isak Posch. Henricks’ goal came 15:37 into the period and was assisted by graduate forward Cam Knuble and freshman defenseman Joona Vaisanen.
The Broncos had a 3-0 lead at the end of the first after outshooting the Huskies 12-9.
Similar to the first period, the scoring got started early in the second, but this time it was a goal for the Huskies to prevent being shutout again. The Huskies goal came 1:16 into the period after freshman forward Austin Burnevik led the rush down the ice and took a shot near the blue line. Broncos goaltender Hampton Slukynsky made the initial save, but Burnevik was able to pick up his own rebound and put it between Slukynsky’s right pad and blocker. Burnevik’s goal was assisted by sophomore forward Tyson Gross and freshman defenseman Thor Byfuglien.
Burnevik’s goal became the only goal for the Huskies as Western Michigan went on to pile on three more of their own goals. Graduate forward Tim Washe and graduate defenseman Brian Kramer were both able to find the back of the net in the second period.
The Broncos had a 5-1 lead at the end of the second after outshooting the Huskies 14-10.
After not playing for almost three months and being able to get his feet wet back in gameplay, the Huskies pulled goaltender Isak Posch and started James Gray for the third period.
The lone goal of the third period came 12:08 into the period off of a powerplay goal for Matteo Costantini, the first powerplay goal for either team in the series.
The Broncos outshot the Huskies 12-7 in the third period.
The Huskies lost by a final score of 6-1 after being outshot 38-26 by the Broncos. The Huskies were able to go 3/4 on the penalty kill but were 0/2 on the powerplay. The Broncos went 2/2 on the penalty kill and 1/4 on the powerplay. After struggling with faceoffs Friday night, the Huskies were able to takeover faceoffs going 28-22 in the dot. Senior forward Mason Salquist went 9-5 in the dot while sophomore forwards Tyson Gross and Verner Miettinen both went 9-7.
Huskies starting goaltender Isak Posch had 21 saves on 26 shots for a save percentage of .808 while Huskies relief goaltender James Gray had 11 saves on 12 shots for a .917 save percentage. Broncos goaltender Hampton Slukynsky had 25 saves on 26 shots for a save percentage of .962.
The Huskies are on a bye this week but will be back in action at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on Friday, February 21 and Saturday, February 22. Puck drop is set for 7:30 pm CT on Friday and 6:00 pm CT on Saturday.
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