Broncos Lose 5-2; No. 1 Seed Still Possible

The Western Michigan Bronco Hockey team lost 5-2 on the first night of the NCHC "Frozen FaceOff" conference tournament. But experts say the team still has a chance of grabbing a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Hockey Tournament.

The Broncos traded goals with UMD for most of the game, but the Bulldog scored late in the 3rd period to go up 4-2, then added an empty net goal to make the final 5-2.

The second game of the night was tight battle as No. 4 North Dakota shut out No. 1 seed Denver 1-0.

Western plays Denver in the 3rd place game at 4pm this afternoon, and then UMD and North Dakota face off at 8:30. That game is on CBSSN. There is no free TV for the WMU game.

Regarding the fourth No. 1 seed for the NCAA Frozen Four tournament, experts say WMU still has a solid chance to get that seed, as the team's RPI ranking is 4th, while their win percentage is 12th. The seeding will be announced Sunday at Noon on  ESPNU.