OMAHA, Neb. - No. 8 Western Michigan built a three-goal lead early in the second period and then turned away (RV) Omaha Hockey's comeback bid as the Broncos won 4-2 Saturday night on Kemp Ice at Baxter Arena.

Omaha cut Western Michigan's lead by 3-2 with a goal nine seconds into the third period.

Omaha then pulled goalie Dawson Cowan in the last two minutes as the Mavs looked for the tying goal, but Western Michigan secured the win with an empty-net goal by Iiro Hakkarainen with 24.5 seconds left.

Western Michigan, the defending national champions, earned a series victory as it improved to 9-5 and 5-3 in NCHC play. Omaha is 5-7 overall and 3-5 in the National, but head coach Mike Gabinet liked his team's effort Saturday after falling behind by two goals in the opening minutes.

"We play like that, we have a chance to be successful," Gabinet said. "From the start we were chasing, but you could tell on the bench the guys weren't giving up."

Western Michigan took advantage of power-play chances in the second period to seize control in Friday's win.

On Saturday, the Broncos scored a pair of even-strength goals in the first seven minutes to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Four minutes into the game, Owen Michaels' shot from near the Omaha bench beat goalie Dawson Cowan. Less than three minutes later, Zaccharya Wisdom made it 2-0, blasting a shot from the face-off circle.

Cowan, who shut out No. 3 Minnesota Duluth last Saturday, kept it at 2-0 the rest of the period as both goaltenders were tested often. Cowan had 15 saves and Western's Hampton Slukynsky had 14 in the opening 20 minutes. 

Omaha finished a penalty kill to start the second period. But shortly after a return to even strength, Western made it 3-0 on a goal by Cole Spicer.

Slukynsky made a number of quality saves before Omaha broke through with 3:39 left in the second period.

Samuel Huo tipped in a shot from near the blue line from Joe Gramer. It was Huo's first goal as a Mav.

Then it took Omaha nine seconds after the second intermission to make it a one-goal game.

Following the face-off at center ice, Cameron Mitchell gathered the loose puck in front of Western's goal and beat Slukynsky on the one-on-one opportunity. It was Mitchell's first goal this season.

Omaha will be on the road next weekend to play at Yale (3-4) on Friday. Yale snapped a three-game losing streak Saturday with a 3-1 win over Brown. 

The Bulldogs will be the first unranked opponent Omaha has faced this season.

"As much as no one wants to go through adversity, that's where you grow," Gabinet said. "That's where you have to dig in and control your response to adversity and take responsibility to get better."

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