William Whitelaw scored four goals and defenseman Joona Väisänen added a hat trick as No. 6/5 Western Michigan beat LIU 10-2 on Thursday night at Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo. They are the first teammates in NCHC history to record hat tricks in the same game, and it was the first collegiate hat trick for each. The win moved the Broncos to 5-1-0 in the first-ever meeting between the programs; LIU fell to 2-6-0.
How it happened
Whitelaw opened the scoring at 4:33 of the first period, Väisänen made it 2-0 at 10:54 from Michael Neumeier and Ty Henricks, and Whitelaw scored on the power play with five seconds left in the period, set up by Väisänen and Tommy Lafrenière.
Luc Bydal got LIU on the board 1:26 into the second, but Western Michigan answered with five goals in the period. Edison Engle scored his first career goal at 3:44, assisted by Zach Nehring and Lafrenière. Väisänen scored at 12:26, Whitelaw finished his hat trick 24 seconds later off a Bobby Cowan feed, Henricks scored at 17:55, and Väisänen completed his hat trick at 19:07 from Theo Wallberg and Zaccharya Wisdom.
Garrett Szydlowski scored at 10:00 of the third, and Whitelaw added his fourth at 15:28, assisted by Adam Benák and Cowan. Brennan Nelson scored LIU’s second goal at 18:05.
Standouts and milestones
Whitelaw finished with four goals and an assist on seven shots. His four goals tie the NCHC single-game record and are the most by a Bronco since Ethen Frank scored four against St. Cloud State on Nov. 19, 2021. He has seven goals and 12 points this season, both among the national leaders, and extended his point streak to six games.
Väisänen had three goals and an assist, also on seven shots. He is the sixth defenseman in NCHC history with a hat trick and the third Bronco, joining Ronnie Attard and Michael Joyaux, and he now has five goals and 11 points, second nationally among defensemen. Lafrenière had three assists.
Quentin Miller made 20 saves for Western Michigan. The Broncos outshot LIU 56-22, went 1-for-2 on the power play, and killed LIU’s only power play.
What’s next
The teams finish the series Friday at 7 p.m. at Lawson Arena, which is hosting Bronco hockey for the final season after more than five decades. The game streams on NCHC.TV, with radio on WKZO. Western Michigan opens NCHC play after this weekend. Our preview: Western Michigan Game Preview: vs. LIU (Oct. 29).
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