Western Michigan’s special teams and early surges decided the weekend, as the defending national champion Broncos swept Omaha 7-2 on Friday and 4-2 on Saturday at Baxter Arena. The Mavericks grabbed the first goals in both games and got pushback late Saturday, but WMU’s five-goal second period Friday (including three power-play strikes) and a 3-0 cushion early Saturday proved too much to chase down.
Friday, Nov. 21:
No. 7/8 WMU 7, Omaha 2
Omaha looked sharp early and struck first on the power play just 2:25 in, when Brett Hyland finished a cross-crease feed from Marc Lajoie and Maxime Pellerin for a 1-0 lead. The tone changed late in the period after Hyland was assessed a major for boarding at 19:20, giving Western Michigan a 5-minute man advantage that carried into the second period.
The Broncos blew the game open in the second with five goals, three of them on the power play. William Whitelaw tied it at 2:37 of the second, Ty Henricks scored twice on the man advantage (3:18 and 13:50), and Zach Nehring added an even-strength goal in between to make it 4-1 before the midway point. Omaha briefly regained momentum when Myles Hilman ripped home a goal at 14:05 to cut it to 4-2, but Zaccharya Wisdom answered just 19 seconds later, restoring a three-goal cushion.
WMU tacked on two more goals early in the third to finish the 7-2 win. The Broncos outshot Omaha 43-23, went 3-for-5 on the power play, and controlled the face-off circle (57.8%). Simon Latkoczy made 36 saves in the loss.
Period scoring: Omaha 1–1–0 = 2; Western Michigan 0–5–2 = 7
Key storyline: Ty Henricks’ second power-play goal at 13:50 of the second period extended WMU’s lead to 4–1 and capped a stretch of three Bronco power-play goals in 11 minutes. The strike halted Omaha’s push after the early lead and set the tone for the five-goal period that decided the game.
Saturday, Nov. 22:
WMU 4, Omaha 2
Saturday was a different game but ultimately ended with the same result. Western Michigan came out fast with two first-period even-strength goals: Owen Michaels at 3:57 and Wisdom at 6:26 to give the Broncos a 2-0 lead. The Broncos pushed it to 3-0 early in the second on Cole Spicer’s rebound finish at 2:41.
Omaha didn’t fold. Samuel Huo knocked in his first goal as a Maverick at 16:21 of the second period to get the Mavs on the board. Then, nine seconds into the third period, Cam Mitchell buried one to cut it to 3-2. Omaha carried the play for stretches (winning faceoffs 51.8% to 48.2%) and finished with 29 shots, but WMU goalie Hampton Slukynsky held firm with 27 saves, including one point-blank attempt by senior forward Jacob Slipec that was denied.
With Cowan pulled late for the extra attacker, Iiro Hakkarainen sealed it with a puck fired into the empty net at 19:36. Dawson Cowan stopped 28 shots in 58:30 before being pulled for an extra attacker.
Period scoring: Omaha 0–1–1 = 2; Western Michigan 2–1–1 = 4
Key storyline: Cole Spicer’s rebound goal at 2:41 of the second period put WMU up 3-0 and was the eventual game-winner. Omaha scored late in the second and nine seconds into the third to climb back into it, but Spicer’s early-period finish ultimately created the margin Omaha couldn’t erase.
Weekend themes & notes:
Special teams swing: WMU’s 3-for-5 power play Friday was the series’ defining edge; Saturday both teams went scoreless on limited chances.
Western’s early control: the Broncos scored first in each period that mattered most — five in Friday’s second, then three straight in the first period on Saturday.
Omaha bright spots:
Hyland’s early power play goal Friday.
Huo’s first goal as a Maverick and Mitchell’s first of the season Saturday.
Through the gauntlet: this was Omaha’s sixth straight series against a ranked opponent, and it ends the home portion of that run with valuable experience, but a 0-2 weekend to show for it.
Up Next…
Omaha heads east for a non-conference road weekend at Yale next Friday. It will be the Mavericks’ first series this season against an unranked opponent — a chance to reset, bank points, and carry forward the “pushback” level from Saturday night.
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