Brocos Swept by Irish

The Western Michigan University hockey team struggled at both ends of the ice in the opening two periods Saturday night against Notre Dame and as a result dropped an 8-5 CCHA contest.

The Broncos found themselves trailing 3-1 after the first period, mostly due to the fact WMU trailed significantly in offensive opportunities. UND outshot the Broncos 14-3, netting two even strength goals to build the lead.

The critical portion of the game for the Broncos came late in the second period. Dana Lattery's power play score pulled his team to within 5-2 and the momentum had swung. However, moments after his goal, Lattery was called for a five-minute major (clipping) and Notre Dame was able to tally a pair of goals on the ensuing man advantage.

Western Michigan's offense finally got going in the third period. Of the team's 22 total shots, 14 came following the second intermission. Freshman Vince Bellissimo opened the scoring less than two minutes in and sophomore Pat Dwyer added another at the 3:08 mark.

WMU closed the gap to 7-5 with 10 minutes left, but the only scoring that remained was an empty net tally by UND.