No. 5 Western Michigan ties No. 10 North Dakota 2-2 and wins the shootout

KALAMAZOO — No. 5 Western Michigan opened NCHC play with a 2-2 tie at No. 10 North Dakota on Friday and took the extra point in a shootout.

The Broncos’ recap said freshman Adam Benák, named HCA co-rookie of the month the same day, scored unassisted 52 seconds into the game, his fourth goal. North Dakota tied it on a power play at 6:25 of the first, Hudson Malinoski from Jack Kernan and Sam Laurila. Brasen Boser put the Fighting Hawks up 2-1 forty-one seconds into the second, from Ollie Josephson and Cody Croal. Western Michigan thought it had tied the game later in the period. Tommy Lafrenière’s goal was waved off after a review.

The tying goal came at 15:22 of the third. Quentin Miller was pulled for an extra attacker on a delayed penalty at 13:27, and Ty Henricks finished a power-play setup from Joona Väisänen and Lafrenière, Henricks’s fourth of the season. Neither team scored in the five-minute overtime. Western Michigan was shorthanded to start the extra period, then outshot North Dakota 3-0. William Whitelaw scored in the first round of the shootout. North Dakota missed all three. Miller stopped all three shootout tries and finished with 24 saves, 12 of them in a second period North Dakota outshot the Broncos 13-3. The recap said the game included the 750th save of his career.

The shot chart, and the point

Western Michigan put 17 shots on goal. North Dakota had 26. Each team scored once on the power play. The Broncos were called for four penalties and eight minutes. North Dakota had six penalties and 12 minutes. Faceoffs went 30-24 to the home team. College Hockey News listed attendance at 11,571 at Ralph Engelstad Arena and said Western Michigan won the shootout 1-0 in three rounds. North Dakota’s recap called the official result a 2-2 tie and said the Broncos took the extra NCHC point. Both descriptions are the same game. Western Michigan is 6-1-1, 0-0-1 in the NCHC. North Dakota is 4-3-1, 0-0-1.

What is left in Grand Forks

The Broncos’ recap said the teams play again Saturday at 7 p.m. Eastern. That game is still in Grand Forks, not in Kalamazoo. North Dakota’s recap put Saturday at 6:07 p.m. Central on Midco Sports, NCHC.tv, and the Fighting Hawks radio network. Six-oh-seven Central is 7:07 Eastern, one minute off the Broncos’ “7 p.m.” The faceoff is Saturday night in Grand Forks either way. The photograph is Lawson Ice Arena, the home building. It does not show Friday’s ice or the shootout.

Sources:
Western Michigan athletics, “Broncos Win Shootout at #10/10 North Dakota,” Nov. 7, 2026, https://wmubroncos.com/news/2026/11/7/mens-ice-hockey-broncos-win-shootout-at-10-10-north-dakota-to-open-nchc-play.aspx
North Dakota athletics recap, Nov. 6, 2026 (sellout 11,571, shootout point, series note), https://fightinghawks.com/news/2026/11/6/mens-hockey-no-10-north-dakota-opens-nchc-play-with-2-2-tie-against-no-5-broncos.aspx
College Hockey News box score, Nov. 6, 2026 (shots by period, penalties, shootout rounds), https://www.collegehockeynews.com/box/final/20261106/wmu/ndk/
Photo: Greg-ography from Grass Lake, USA, “Tim Miller (18) and Louie Caporusso (29) (3037483464).jpg”, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ATim_Miller_%2818%29_and_Louie_Caporusso_%2829%29_%283037483464%29.jpg

Kalamazoo

Tags: Kalamazoo · Western Michigan · Hockey · North Dakota · NCHC