For the first time in program history, Western Michigan hockey is headed to the Frozen Four.
The top-seeded Broncos recovered from a first-period deficit with a pair of goals 4:12 apart at the end of the second period and the start of the third to take down 3-seed UMass in the Fargo region final on Saturday night in Fargo, North Dakota.
The Broncos (32-7-1) will face Sunday’s winner of the Manchester (N.H.) region — either 1-seed Boston College or 3-seed Denver — in the national semifinals at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 10 (ESPN2). The national final will be played on April12. On the other side of the bracket, 2-seed Boston University advanced out of the Toledo region after knocking off Cornell, which upset 1-seed Michigan State on Thursday. B.U., meanwhile, will face Sunday’s Allentown (Penn.) region winner between UConn and Penn State.
On Saturday, after the Minutemen took a 1-0 lead midway through the first, WMU made the most of a 5-minute major penalty with 1:47 left in the period on Ayday Suniev (who also received a game misconduct) for hitting from behind, meaning the penalty would continue for the duration regardless of if WMU scored. Just 22 seconds after the penalty, Liam Valente evened the score at 1-all. The penalty continued into the third period and with less than a minute remaining on the man advantage, Tim Washe scored the eventual winner.
Freshman goalie Hampton Slukynsky stopped 28 of 29 shots to give the Broncos their third-ever NCAA tourney victory, in 10 appearances.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Western Michigan hockey makes history with first Frozen Four berth
