#2 Western Michigan Sweeps the Weekend from UMass Lowell, 6-0

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On Saturday night, the UMass Lowell River Hawks played game two of their weekend series with the defending national champions, the Western Michigan Broncos. The River Hawks were seeking a split after losing Friday night’s game 2-1 to the Broncos. For UML to be successful on Saturday, staying out of the penalty box and getting off to a good start were key factors.

River Hawks head coach Norm Bazin went right back to Friday night’s starter in goal, Austin Elliott (1-1-0, 1.02 GAA, .960 SV%). Western Michigan head coach Pat Ferschweiler did the same, starting Hampton Slukynsky (2-1-0, 2.71 GAA, .952 SV%).

The Broncos got an early man advantage when the River Hawks were caught with too many men on the ice at 3:08 of the first period. Western Michigan put three shots on net but did not score, moving to 0-for-8 on the power play to that point. At the 8:25 mark, the Broncos scored the game’s first goal for the second straight night. Liam Valente netted his first of the season, assisted by Grant Slukynsky and Zach Nehring.

The Broncos earned another power play chance but again came up empty, now 0-for-9 through four periods. The River Hawks also had a couple of power play tries, but were unsuccessful on their first two. Their third still had 25 seconds remaining as they left the ice down 1-0 after the first period. Shots were 13-6 in favor of Western Michigan.

The second period started with UML on the power play for 25 seconds, but it came to an end with nothing to show for it. The River Hawks managed two shots on goal during their man advantage. At 2:56, Western Michigan made it 2-0 on a goal by Ty Henricks, who stuffed one past Elliott at the side of the net. Assists went to Bobby Cowan and Liam Valente.

At 5:20, Henricks struck again for his second of the period. Off a nice give-and-go with Grant Slukynsky (who had a two-point night), Henricks beat Elliott high on the blocker side. Joona Vaisanen also assisted on the play. For Henricks, the goals were his first two of the season, giving Western Michigan a 3-0 lead.

Before the second period came to an end, the Broncos added to their lead. William Whitelaw, from the slot, beat Elliott to make it 4-0 at 19:23. Zacharya Wisdom and Sole Crusberg-Roseen collected assists. The period ended with Western Michigan up 4-0 and holding a 30-12 shot advantage through two periods.

As ineffective as Western Michigan’s power play was (0-for-3 on the night and 0-for-10 on the weekend), their five-on-five play told a different story. All six of their goals through five periods came at even strength. The Broncos were tilting the ice in their favor and forcing the River Hawks to play from behind — a battle UML was not winning.

The River Hawks started the third period with a new goaltender, Samuel Richard, replacing Elliott (25 saves on 30 shots). The change didn’t stop Western Michigan’s offense. Sam Sjolund scored on a wrist shot that beat Richard at 2:44, assisted by Slukynsky (his third assist of the night) and Vaisanen (his second assist of the game), making it 5-0 Broncos.

Western Michigan made it 6-0 with a shorthanded goal at 16:04. A chipped puck into the neutral zone led to a 2-on-0 breakout, with Whitelaw taking a pass from Tyler Mackenzie and beating Richard five-hole for his second goal of the night and fifth point of the game. Whitelaw now has three goals on the season. Vaisanen added his third assist of the night.

The period and the game came to an end with the Broncos completing a dominant 6-0 victory and sweeping the weekend series with two road wins.