KALAMAZOO, Mich- Lawson Ice Arena was packed from wall to wall in Western Michigan's Saturday night showdown against the University of Michigan; 4,295 were in attendance. Most were Western Michigan fans wearing all black shirts and jerseys, a few maize and blue's were scattered throughout the crowd. The WMU Lunatics section was expanded even farther towards the wall, giving more students the chance to catch the game live.

Broncos goaltender Riley Gill faced 34 shots last night at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, and only let one slip by him, giving Western the 2-1 upset win against Michigan, ranked 8th nationally.

Gill was astonishing in last night’s performance in front of the home Wolverine crowd where there were 6,852 Michigan fans present. The Broncos have earned two victories in their last four chances at Yost, Gill wining both games. The Broncos decided to have Gill play the second game.

The Wolverines senior goalie Billy Sauer let two by him on 17 Bronco shots in last night’s game; they decided to give sophomore goalie Bryan Hogan a chance, he was 5-0 going into tonight’s game.

Junior Riley Gill was 2-2-1, giving the Broncos their only wins this season.

The first drop was Won by U of M center Louie Caprousso and knocked back to the defense. Sophomore Chris Llewellyn brought the puck up the ice with dignified purpose and determination; the increased intensity could be attributed to the one goal loss last night, where Michigan doubled Western’s shot total.

Defenseman Tristin Llewellyn passed the puck to right wing Travis Turnbull, who then fired it to his teammate, right wing David Wohlberg, who was wide open in front of the net. Wohlberg scored on Michigan’s first shot of the game at just 14 seconds of the first, catching Riley Gill lying defenseless on the ice.

The Wolverines were manhandling the Broncos in the games opening minutes, trying to show them that they were the tougher team, not “overrated” like the Lunatics chanted. They managed to pummel the Broncos on the boards and put the pressure on Riley Gill.

At 8:56 of the first period, WMU earned their first shot on goal, and it came from beyond the blue line, Hogan saw it the whole way and was uncontested on the rebound. The puck spent the majority of the time in the Bronco zone in the first; at 7:00 minutes Western was vulnerable once again with Michigan on the hunt for their second goal.

Michigan's senior left wing picked the puck up from a scuffle on the boards near the blue line, and entered the zone backward while still maintaining possession. He made it all the way to the net, displaying crafty puck handling skills and faking out Riley Gill, putting the puck through his five-hole and giving his team the two goal lead.

Michigan’s offensive and defensive pressure was undeniably superior late in the first, boasting their two to nothing lead. Even on the power play Western Michigan was rendered completely ineffective, going 0-for-6 on the night.

“We need to score some power play goals,” said WMU coach Jim Culhane.

The physical intensity was palpable and rendered through the Lunatic faithful as they held their hopes high with an ovation when left wing Dave Krisky sent Turnbull into the boards late in the first. The Lunatics knew, just like everyone else did that WMU was capable of beating U of M. The Wolverines lead in shots 11-5 after the first period.

The second period saw no scoring, but plenty of action. Both teams managed to fight their way through a penalty-ridden period, six for Western Michigan and four for Michigan.

Partly responsible for the high influx of penalties was a fight that happened at 11:16 of the second period, after U of M right wing Aaron Palushaj went flying in on a Wolverine fast-break, crashing into Riley Gill. He put his gloves up to stop Palushaj and things got ugly.

Assistant Captain Tyler Ludwig skated to the front of the net to protect his goalie, confronting Palushaj; who had been called for unsportsmanlike like conduct for running into Gill. The two squared off and went at it for a few seconds. They got two minutes each, and so did Western defenseman Kevin Connauton and Michigan left wings Tim Miller and Ben Winette, all called for roughing after the whistle. Western Michigan had the man advantage on the power play.

“It is a very intense and emotional game," said Culhane. "I’m not surprised that there were a few more calls here tonight.”

Western Michigan was unable to capitalize on the late second period power play, only hitting Hogan once. WMU started the third period with a 2-0 disadvantage, one goal greater than last night, but by no means insurmountable. Despite Western’s record on paper, they have proven that there is no quit in their team.

The Broncos started the third shorthanded; the Wolverines changed their line to include centers Matt Rust and Louie Caporusso together, they are both well known threats on offense. The switch paid off and Caporusso put one in at just 51 seconds of the third period, the Wolverines were up 3-0.

“The first minute of play in the first period and the first minute of play in the third period we gave up those goals," said Culhane. "Those were huge momentum swings, not in our favor.”

The goal spawned another U of M power play, defenseman Steve Silver was sent to the box for cross-checking right after the Caporusso goal.

On the Maize and Blue power play, left wing Cam Watson lost his stick. It was as if WMU was playing two men short deep in their own zone, though Watson did jump in front of a shot from the blue line, doing the very best that he could. They escaped the penalty kill without any real damage.

The Broncos did put the puck in the back of the net midway through the third, but the goal was waved off because senior center Patrick Galivan used his hand to put it in. Boos roared from the Lunatic section as the goal was waved off, they were getting ornery looking at the goose egg on the scoreboard.

Michigan’s Caporusso struck again at 7:06 of the third period, assisted from Palushaj, giving him his second goal and Palushaj his second assist.

At even strength the Wolverines were handling the Broncos. Even on the penalty kill, U of M was able to limit WMU to one shot in scoring opportunities. The pucks were not bouncing the Broncos way.

“They definitely came out extremely hard, they played with very high intensity,” said junior center Chris Clackson, who was even in the plus/minus category.

Bryan Hogan, who was more highly contested then his teammate Billy Sauer, still had a shutout deep into the third period. The hopes of a come back were slim for the Broncos, trailing by a 4-0 deficit. Western still fought hard and tried everything in the book to put one in; they just couldn’t get one past Hogan.

Caporusso earned a natural hat trick in tonight’s game, throwing down three goals in a row in the third period's only scores. Riley Gill was noticeably upset as he felt like he had been interfered with in front of the net. The Wolverines now boasted a 5-0 lead with just 56 seconds to play. Bronco fans headed for the exits.

Though the Broncos were beaten badly, they walked away even in the series with the Wolverines. They proved to themselves this weekend that they can hang with the best in the CCHA.

Said Culhane: “I’m real proud of the victory down there on the road last night, and I’m disappointed with the outcome here tonight."