The Denver Pioneers struck first eventually taking a daunting three-goal lead. The game scoreless for the first eight minutes until WMU freshman forward Josh Passolt committed a hooking penalty and shortly after was joined by senior forward Paul Stoykewych for cross-checking. The Broncos were 3-on-5 for 43 seconds. Just as Passolt’s penalty ended, Denver sophomore forward Henrik Borgstrom scored the first goal of the game off an assist from freshman defenseman Ian Mitchell. Borgstrom scored three goals the night before when WMU beat Denver five-to-four.
The next goal came with 6.6 seconds left in the first period when Denver’s junior forward Dylan Gambrell scored to make it 2 to 0 heading into the second period.