Broncos Downed in Shootout

The Broncos nearly pulled the upset against Miami Saturday night, but fell short in a shootout.

Riley Gill stood on his head the entire game.  Without him, this game could have easily been 7-1.  Gill made 42 saves on the night but couldn’t stop Miami’s Jarod Palmer and Carter Camper in the shootout.

Camper got the RedHawks on the board first when he picked off a pass and made a nifty move to beat Gill with a backhanded shot high to the blocker side.

Derek Roehl answered back about eleven minutes later when he intercepted a pass of his own right outside Miami’s crease, and one-handed the puck past Connor Knapp.

Derek Roehl

Photo Courtesy of Western Herald

The Broncos played very poorly in the second period, allowing 23 shots on goal.  The third period was a complete turn around though.  The Broncos were dictating the play for good stretches of time. 

Overtime was back and fourth, non-stop action.  It was really something to watch, especially because the Broncos were doing most of the shooting.  They had some great chances to put the game away.

Greg Squires scored the lone shootout goal for the Broncos as he faked right and brought the puck back to the left, backhanding it over Knapp’s blocker.

I was really surprised how the Broncos hung in the game.  They were blocking a lot of shots and they kept traffic away from Gill for the most part. 

Miami is so much faster than WMU on the ice.  It was clearly evident in the first period when our speedsters couldn’t hang with the Miami forwards. 

I give WMU a lot of credit tonight.  They played a period and a half of great hockey, and a stellar overtime.  When it came down to it, Miami had more guys suited for pressure shootouts than WMU, plain and simple.

Coach Culhane said after the game that there was nothing to hang their heads about and that the team had a really good weekend despite the pair of losses.

Here’s my IH recap:  http://www.insidehockey.com/columns/5032

The Broncos are going to Omaha to take on Nebraska-Omaha next weekend.  The Friday game starts at 8:30 ET, and the Saturday game starts at 8 ET.

Broncos Drop Third Straight

The Broncos lost their third in a row Friday night against Miami by a score of 3-0.

The RedHawks got a goal in each period, including shorthanded goals in the second and third periods.

Andy Miele scored two and Tommy Wingles potted the other for Miami.  The RedHawks outshot the Broncos 24-15 on the night.

The Broncos and RedHawks will go at it again tomorrow, 7:35 ET at Lawson Ice Arena.