A first period goal from Vasily Zelenov wasn't enough to take down the defending NCAA champions as Blake Montgomery and his Wisconsin teammates fell, 4-1, to No. 7 Western Michigan in the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off title game at Fiserv Forum.
Wisconsin got on the board first when Vasily Zelenov converted a rebound of a Jack Phelan point shot at 9:51 of the opening frame.
Western Michigan equalized on a scramble in the UW crease at 2:28 of the second period. UW goaltender Eli Pulver stopped the initial attempt, but the puck trickled behind him. Jack Horbach knocked it out of the blue paint, but the puck ended up back underneath the defenseman, where Zaccharya Wisdom shoveled Horbach and the puck into the net. After review, the goal stood.
In the final minute of the second period, the Badgers earned a power play opportunity that carried over into the third frame but failed to convert to even the score.
UW missed on some big third-period chances, including a post off the stick of captain Ben Dexheimer and Christian Fitzgerald breakaway that was stopped.
With 2:46 left in the contest, William Whitelaw scored an empty-net goal to give the Broncos breathing room.
Grant Slukynsky found the back of the net 21 seconds later to seal a 4-1 victory for the Broncos.
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