By Bridget (Weide) Brooks
Omaha Hockey was a tale of two teams over the weekend, rolling to a convincing comeback win Friday before dropping a tightly contested game on Saturday as the Mavericks and St. Cloud State split their NCHC series at Baxter Arena.
Friday: Omaha 6, St. Cloud State 2
After falling behind early, Omaha flipped the script on Friday night, scoring six unanswered goals to erase a two-goal deficit and cruise past St. Cloud State, 6-2.
The Huskies struck twice in the opening 11 minutes, capitalizing on an Omaha interference penalty before adding an even-strength goal less than four minutes later to take a 2-0 lead. From there, however, the night belonged to the Mavericks — and to Dawson Cowan.
Cowan slammed the door for the final 49 minutes, finishing with 28 saves and making several key stops as Omaha steadily took control of the game.
The comeback began late in the first period when Maxime Pellerin pounced on a loose puck following a failed clearing attempt and buried his team-leading seventh goal to pull Omaha within one. Just over two minutes later, freshman defenseman Spencer Sova wired a shot from the blue line to tie the game 2-2 heading into the intermission.
Omaha grabbed its first lead midway through the second period after crisp puck movement off a faceoff saw Samuel Huo find Jeremy Loranger, who fed Trevor Wong racing to the net for a one-timer and a 3-2 advantage. The Mavericks weren’t done.
Marcus Nguyen made it four straight goals with a rebound finish later in the period, and Omaha continued to apply pressure in the third. A power-play goal from Huo extended the lead, and Sean Tschigerl sealed the win with an empty-netter as the Mavericks matched their season high with six goals.
Six different players found the back of the net, marking the fifth time in six games (including the exhibition game) that Omaha scored at least four goals.
Saturday: St. Cloud State 2, Omaha 1
Saturday night told a very different story.
With both teams tightening defensively, chances were harder to come by as Omaha and St. Cloud State traded momentum in a low-scoring battle that ultimately swung on special teams.
Omaha opened the scoring early in the second period when Brett Hyland slipped a pass to Samuel Huo in front during a power play, and Huo finished for his second goal of the weekend. It marked Omaha’s seventh shot on goal of the night after a quiet first period that saw the Mavericks generate limited offense despite multiple power-play opportunities.
St. Cloud answered less than three minutes later, converting to tie the game 1-1 before the second intermission.
Cowan continued his strong weekend, making several key saves early in the third period to keep the game deadlocked. But the Huskies broke through on a power play midway through the final frame, scoring the eventual game-winner in transition.
Omaha thought it had equalized late when Cam Mitchell fired a shot that appeared to sneak across the goal line, but video review ruled the puck did not fully cross the line.
Despite a late power play and sustained pressure, Omaha managed just one shot on goal over the final five minutes as St. Cloud held on for the 2-1 win.
Series Notes
Omaha outscored St. Cloud State 7-4 over the weekend.
Samuel Huo led Omaha with power play goals in both games, scoring twice across the series.
Dawson Cowan stopped 48 of 52 shots on the weekend and did not allow a goal over the final 49 minutes of Friday’s win.
Friday marked the fifth time in six games Omaha scored four or more goals.
Up Next
Omaha hits the road next weekend to open an NCHC series at Miami (Ohio), with puck drop set for 6 p.m. CT on Friday and 5 p.m. CT on Saturday.
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