COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Omaha’s upperclassmen responded to a faster-than-expected Colorado College transition attack with a dominant second period that propelled the Mavericks to a hard-fought 5-3 road win on Friday.
The Mavericks won their National Collegiate Hockey Conference opener by matching the Tigers’ speed with a more concerted effort in the second, spearheaded by their veteran leadership, notably senior David Pope (two goals, one assist).
“You could tell we were a little tired in that first period,” Omaha coach Mike Gabinet said “No one was asking for extra ice time. It was good for us to get our legs under us a little bit and adjust to their transition game. They are quick in transition and know how to use their (wider Olympic-sized) ice to their advantage.”
“Getting those goals in the second period was huge for us,” Gabinet added. “(Pope) is one of those veteran guys. We need him to be big for us. You need your older guys to step up like that.”
That response led to four power plays during the second period and three Omaha man-advantage tallies that helped turn a 2-0 Tigers lead into a 4-2 advantage late in the second period.
“Being undisciplined and taking penalties just fueled their fire,” CC junior Trey Bradley said.
Those four goals put Omaha firmly in control. But a defensive breakdown set up the second goal of the period for Bradley with just five seconds left. He knocked in a loose puck in the crease, made it a 4-3 game and gave CC much-needed momentum entering the final 20 minutes.
“First off, that can’t happen in this league,” Gabinet said. “You cannot allow those last-minute goals. We addressed it and showed a little maturity as a team. In the NCHC, you’re going to face a lot of adversity throughout the year.”
Pope scored his second of the night midway through the final period for the Mavs’ fourth power-play goal of the game (4 for 6) to clinch it. The Tigers went 0-for-4 with the man advantage, not including pulling sophomore goalie Alex Leclerc (33 saves) for the final two minutes for the extra attacker. It was to no avail.
Losing the special teams battle by a lopsided margin reminded the Tigers (6-5, 2-3 NCHC) that they must play a sounder defensive style against the Mavs (4-2-1, 1-0).
“That is definitely going to be one of our top priorities,” Bradley said. “We got away from Tiger hockey. We played their game – run and gun. It just comes down to us not playing our game. We tend to bounce back (4-1 Saturday record this season) so we expect better (Saturday).”
NCHC Roundup
No. 3 Denver 4, No. 1 St. Cloud State 2
Defending NCAA champion Denver handed top-ranked St. Cloud State its first loss of the season behind two goals by Jarid Lukosevicius, which included the eventual game-winner early in the third.
Henrik Borgstrom scored his 10th and 11th goals, including an empty-netter to seal the win at Magness Arena in Denver. Mika Ilvonen and Blake Winiecki scored for the Huskies (7-1).
No. 12 Minnesota Duluth 3, No. 18 Western Michigan 0
Goalie Hunter Shepard made 22 saves in the shutout win while senior Avery Peterson scored twice in the third period to give the host Bulldogs their first NCHC win this season.
Peter Krieger scored the eventual game-winner midway through the first period. WMU’s Ben Blacker made 35 saves in the loss.
No. 2 North Dakota 4, Miami 1
Nick Jones scored twice in the second period to break a scoreless tie for and put the Fighting Hawks ahead for good against the RedHawks. Rhett Gardner and Grant Mismash also scored for host North Dakota.
Karch Bachman scored for Miami, which at 4-5 overall is the only league team with a losing record.
