SAINT PAUL, Minn. - The Western Michigan Broncos entered this weekend as one of three NCHC teams without a win at the Frozen Faceoff in program history. That number dropped to two Friday night as the third-seeded Broncos charged to a 4-2 victory over No. 2 seed North Dakota at Xcel Energy Center in the Semifinals.

“I thought the game was exactly what we thought it was going to be -- a contest between two really, really good hockey teams,” said Western Michigan head coach Pat Ferschweiler. “They’re the Penrose Cup champions and we came out to battle. It was just a man's hockey game all over the rink and it was a good battle by us.”

Judd Caulfield gave UND a 1-0 lead 11:45 into the contest, back-handing home a shot from the top of the crease. However, the next three goals came from the Broncos, and they had a similar theme. They came from what Ferschweiler called the “dirty areas.” 

Ty Glover tied the game with 6:22 left in the opening period. The sophomore winger found himself in a scrum and stuffed home a loose puck, which stood after a review. 

Glover then made it 2-1 at the 13:34 mark of the second period and Hugh Larkin doubled the lead with 31 seconds left in the period. Larkin buried a Drew Worrad feed past Zach Driscoll for just his third goal of the season.

“No matter who scores on our team, every guy is just as happy for him as they would be if they were scoring their own goal,” Ferschweiler said. “And Ty is a kid that’s behind the scenes a little bit as far as our star players go, but he's improved a ton. I think he's a year or two away from an NHL contract. 

“He's big, he’s athletic, he’s hyper-competitive, and he has come a long, long way from not playing at the start of the season to getting his chance."

Ferschweiler praised the play of both Glover and Larkin after the game, saying both are guys that “do it right” and he’s happy to see them get rewarded. The first-year head coach also praised the type of goals that were scored as WMU's first three goals came from the front of the net.

Glover, who said he just tried to play a simple game Friday night, netted the first multi-goal game of his career. Glover gave most of the credit to his linemates Max Sasson and Jason Polin, but he was the one who got the Western Michigan offense started. 

Sasson had a goal and an assist himself as the freshman iced the game with an empty-netter.

“I was just playing my game, getting behind their D and being hard on pucks,” Glover said. “(I was) getting to the front of the net and it seems that’s where all the goals are scored these days.”

Up 3-1 late in the second period, the Broncos looked like they’d carry all of the momentum with them into the third. That was until a Nick Portz shot snuck past Brandon Bussi with just seven seconds left on the clock.

A shot Bussi surely wanted back, Portz's goal made it a 3-2 game. However, the junior goaltender responded with six saves in the final period, including one that saved the game late.

“I’m just proud of this team,” Ferschweiler said. “I’m proud of their poise and proud of the maturity and proud of their work ethic. Obviously Brandon would like to have that second goal back at the end of the second period, but it didn't faze anyone. And then Brandon pays us back in the third with that great save.”

The Broncos are now 18-0-0 when leading after 40 minutes this season and Friday’s win was a team effort in every sense.

“I think if you were to ask us at the start of the game if we'd be happy with a 3-2 lead going into the third, we would’ve taken it,” said Worrad, who had a pair of assists. “Obviously, that (goal) gave them a little bit of momentum, but we had a lot of good happen for us in that second period. We played really well. 

“We made it very hard on their (defensemen) and I think it showed that they were wearing down a little bit. Credit to them though. They played a great game for 60 minutes, so yeah, I think the message was just to stick to our process.”

The loss drops North Dakota to 24-13-1 on the season, but the Fighting Hawks are far from done. UND will now shift its attention to the NCAA Tournament, which gets underway next weekend.

“I’d like to congratulate Western Michigan and Pat Ferschweiler’s team,” said UND head coach Brad Berry. “I thought they played an excellent game tonight and wish them luck tomorrow.”

Western Michigan (25-10-1) will face Minnesota Duluth (20-15-4) Saturday night in the Frozen Faceoff championship. Although UMD might've been the lowest seed heading into this weekend, the Broncos know it’s going to be yet another battle.

“Scott Sandelin prepares his team as well as anyone in the country,” Ferschweiler said. “They're going to be ready to play tomorrow. They played an unbelievable game against Denver today. Their compete was high, their goalie showed why he’s Goalie of the Year for sure. Wyatt Kaiser was an absolute star on defense today, so they're going to make it hard on us. 

“But we're going to try to make it hard on them. It should be another great contest.”

--#NCHChockey--