Skating | Pexels by Gantas Vaičiulėnas
Skating | Pexels by Gantas Vaičiulėnas
Jason Polin scored twice and Cameron Rowe stopped 24 shots to lead No. 8 Western Michigan to a 4-1 victory over Colorado College Friday night in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Stanley Cooley put the Tigers on the board with a power-play goal at the 4:38 mark of the first period. A shot by Nicklas Andrews was knocked down in front of the net and Cooley gathered it, then beat Rowe from the slot.
Polin, the nation's leading goal scorer, evened things up with a power-play goal of his own at 13:17 of the opening frame. He took a cross-ice pass from Ryan McAllister and sent a wrister from the left circle past Tiger netminder Kaidan Mbereko (17 saves).
The Tigers dominated the second period, outshooting Western Michigan, 15-7, but couldn't put the puck past Rowe and the game remained tied at 1-1 after 40 minutes.
The Broncos put the game away with three goals in the third period, starting with Jack Perbix's game winner at the 9:14 mark. Perbix took a pass from Zak Galambos and beat Mbereko from the high slot to make it 2-1.
Chad Hillebrand extended the lead at the 11:49 mark of the final frame and Polin sealed it with an empty-netter in the final minute.
CC held a 25-21 advantage in shots and was 1-for-2 on the power play. Western Michigan capitalized on its only power-play opportunity of the game.
The teams will battle again on Saturday, Feb. 18, beginning at 4 p.m. (MT).
Original source can be found here.