The second period, so good to No. 3 Denver this season, was anything but good on Saturday night.

No. 6 Western Michigan blew open a close game with three consecutive goals to start the second en route to a 6-4 NCHC victory and a series split at Kalamazoo, Mich.

One night after Denver played a disciplined road game against a fellow high-scoring team, the Pioneers regressed in the composure department.

The Broncos (20-8-1, 11-7-2 NCHC) scored four special-teams goals, including three on their eight-power play chances.

Bobby Brink scored shorthanded and power-play goals for the Pioneers (22-7-1, 15-5), who also saw North Dakota move ahead of them by one point for first place in the NCHC.

WMU’s second-period outburst of goals by Ty Glover, Michael Joyaux and Jamie Rome came in a span of 5:25 and spelled the end of the night for Magnus Chrona in net. Reliever Matt Davis did not allow a goal the rest of the way.

The Broncos carried a 2-1 lead into the second after Ethen Frank scored the first of his two goals while WMU was on a power play, and Josh Passolt got a shorty with 4:28 to go in response to Brink’s shorty 8 minutes earlier.

Give DU credit, however. It battled back with the next three goals after WMU had seized what proved to be an insurmountable 5-1 lead with half the game to play. Brink struck on the power play with 7:01 to go in the second, and Carter King scored his third goal of the season, all the past five games, on a redirection of an Antti Tuomisto shot 22 seconds later.

Cameron Wright got his team-high 18th goal of the season on a rebound early in the third period to make it interesting. And the Pioneers, who had 46 shots on goal, kept firing away. However, Frank’s nation-leading 23rd goal went into the empty net with about a minute left to seal the split.

Notes: Next weekend, Denver will travel to play Omaha, which swept St. Cloud State this weekend.

©First Line Editorial 2022