DATE: Dec. 17, 2004
Hat trick from Western Michigan’s Brent Walton fuels Bronco rally from two goals down

BEMIDJI, Minn. (John Glas Fieldhouse) [stats] - Western Michigan’s Brent Walton, who entered tonight’s contest as the second-leading per-game scorer in Division I men’s ice hockey, scored the first hat trick of the season by a Bemidji State opponent and helped the Broncos rally past the Beavers, 4-3, in overtime

Bemidji State held a two-goal lead at the first intermission after dominating both ends of the ice in the opening stanza. The Beavers picked up their first goal just 49 seconds into the contest when freshman Matt Pope (Langley, British Columbia) scored from Andrew Martens (Friendswood, Texas).

The 1-0 lead held until the 17:15 mark of the first period. There, Myles Kuharski (Neepawa, Manitoba) and Andrew Murray (Selkirk, Manitoba) found Luke Erickson (Roseau, Minn.) at the top of the right circle. Erickson uncorked a wicked one-timer and beat Bronco netminder Daniel Bellissimo to put the Beavers ahead, 2-0.

Bemidji State penalties allowed the Broncos to claw back into the game in the second period. The Beavers were whistled for three penalties in a span of just 1:41 - tripping on Kuharski at 8:31, checking from behind on Nathan Schwartzbauer (Wasilla, Alaska) at 9:06, and slashing on Peter Jonsson (Astorp, Sweden) at 10:12 - leaving BSU two men down for several minutes.

Western Michigan would take full advantage. Walton got the Broncos on the board at 9:16 of the second with a five-on-three power-play goal, and the rally was on. BSU killed off Jonsson’s penalty at 12:12, but the Broncos needed just over a minute to score again. Ryan Mahrle scored even-strength at 13:54 with helpers from Brian Bicek and Jeff Pierce, evening the score at two goals apiece.

The teams took the 2-2 draw into the third period, where Murray put BSU ahead with his team-leading ninth marker of the season at 12:53. It marked Murray’s sixth consecutive game with a goal scored, equalling Stefan Bjork’s school Division I-era record set in 2000. He was assisted by linemates Erickson and Brendan Cook (Reston, Manitoba).

In the final minutes of regulation, Western Michigan began their comeback. At 17:30 of the third period, Jonathan Lupa wound up from the left faceoff circle and fired a shot on net, which deflected off Walton and then off the left net pipe. Play was stopped as the officials conferred with the goal judge, and after the discussion the Broncos were awarded the goal which evened the score at three goals apiece and forced the extra period.

Walton needed just 12 seconds of the extra period to complete his hat trick and secure victory for the visitors. Paul Szczechura won the opening draw and hit Mike Lesperance behind the net. Walton circled around and Lesperance found him at the top of the crease, and Walton fired true and gave the Broncos the overtime win.

“Good teams find a way to win, and Western Michigan did that tonight,” BSU head coach Tom Serratore said.

Despite the loss, Serratore was pleased with BSU’s performance.

“We played real good tonight, and just found a way to lose,” he said. “That might have been our best 60 minutes of hockey this season, except for the Ferris State series.”

Freshman goalie Matt Climie (Leduc, Alberta) lost in overtime for the second consecutive start. He saved 20 of 24 shots faced and saw his season record fall to 1-2-0. Bellissimo picked up the win for Western Michigan, saving 39 of 42 shots faced, improving to 9-6-1.

Murray extended his personal scoring streak to six games, and with a goal and an assist tonight has five multi-point games during that streak. He now has 98 points for his career and sits just two points shy of BSU’s career Division I-era scoring record. Erickson also finished with a goal and an assist, improving his season total to a team-leading 6-16=22 points. Cook’s assist gave him 79 career points; he is attempting to become just the fifth player in BSU’s Division I era to score 80 points.

BSU and Western MIchigan were meeting for the first time tonight. The Beavers fall to 3-11-0 in their Division I era against Central Collegiate Hockey Association foes, while WMU improved to 5-0-0 against CHA opponents this season and 11-2-0 all-time.

The loss dropped Bemidji State to 8-7-0 on the season, while Western Michigan saw its season mark improve to 9-7-1. The teams wrap up their two-game series tomorrow evening with a 7:05 p.m. opening face-off at the John Glas Fieldhouse. It will be BSU’s last contest until Jan. 7, 2005.

--bsu--