What ended as a 5-2 win for Western Michigan in the quarterfinal round of the conference playoffs was once a close game. 

A trainwreck to begin the third period changed everything.  

CC entered the final frame down by a score. At the start of the period, Tigers junior center Klavs Veinbergs and Western Michigan’s Grant Slukynsky were both sent to the box after a skirmish to open the period. Tigers’ sophomore right wing Gavin Lindberg was also sent to the box for unsportsmanlike conduct. In the ensuing penalty kill, the Tigers lost senior captain and goalie Kaidan Mbereko to injury. 

Moments later, the No. 4-ranked Broncos capitalized on the man advantage with a goal from center Cole Spicer at the 2:13 mark. 

It’s a situation CC coach Kris Mayotte didn’t believe his players should have been in, saying in a postgame radio interview that Lindberg was simply trying to alert the official to the fact that the clock was running while play had been stopped. 

“Just a start of the third that you just scratch your head. I don’t understand how we’re dealing with the start of the third at this point in the year,” Mayotte said to team personnel after the game. 

To add insult to the injury and the goal, CC is just one loss away from being eliminated from the National Collegiate Hockey Conference tournament, and the end of its season. 

The Tigers seemed up to the challenge of leaving the defending conference and national champion Broncos a loss away from the end of their season after scoring twice in just over two minutes to begin the second period. 

Western Michigan capped off a dominant first period with goals from Slukynsky (17:31) and Garrett Szydlowski (19:38). But CC responded in the second courtesy of sophomore top-line center Owen Beckner. 

Beckner scored his first goal since Nov. 7 last week at Minnesota Duluth and he kept the good times rolling on Friday. His backhanded shot beat Broncos netminder Hampton Slukynsky at the crease at 5:19 of the second period. 

Beckner then set up sophomore defenseman Seth Constance in right circle for the equalizer at 7:36. 

The assist marked Beckner’s fourth point in three games as the Ottawa Senators draft pick moved past Veinbergs to reclaim the title of CC’s scoring leader with eight goals and a team-high 15 assists.  The goal marked the third of the season for Constance. 

“A great start to the second. I think the game slowed down for us a little bit. We were able to make some plays, connect on some plays, find some time and space and I liked how we attacked,” Mayotte said. “I thought this was Owen Beckner’s best game in a long time. He was fantastic.”

But CC eventually gave up the game-winner to Western Michigan’s William Whitelaw, who snuck past defenders in the offensive zone and beat Mbereko at the crease at 15:26 of the second period. 

Grant Slukynsky rounded out the scoring for the hosts with an empty-netter at 18:08 of the final frame. 

The night spoiled a history-making moment for Mbereko, who became the Tigers’ all-time leader in most games by a goalie with his 128th appearance. After the contest, Mayotte had no update on his condition or whether he would be available for the remainder of the series. 

Mbereko finished with 30 saves and Unger had three as Western Michigan outshot CC 38 to 28. 

Game 2 of the NCHC quarterfinal series takes place on Saturday at 4 p.m. 

“We lost the first one. It’s a series for a reason,” Mayotte said.