By Bridget (Weide) Brooks
Omaha Hockey built a two-goal lead but couldn’t hold off No. 15 Augustana, falling 3-2 in overtime Saturday night in its regular-season home opener at Baxter Arena.
Parker Berge and freshman Vincent Desjardins scored for the Mavericks, while freshman goaltender William Lacelle made 33 saves in his second collegiate start.
Berge opened the scoring at 17:13 of the first period, with assists from captain Marc Lajoie and Cameron Briere. It was Berge’s first goal of the season and gave Omaha a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
Desjardins extended the Mavericks’ lead to 2-0 just 1:59 into the second period, scoring his first collegiate goal off an assist from Ryan McCleary.
Augustana answered at 9:33 when Leonid Bulgakov scored off assists from Landon Fandel and Easton Young, cutting Omaha’s lead to 2-1.
The Mavericks maintained their one-goal advantage through the remainder of the second period and much of the third.
With 3:13 remaining in regulation, Omaha’s Gavin Hodnett hit the post on a shot that would have extended the Mavericks’ lead.
Just 25 seconds later, Bulgakov scored his second goal of the night, assisted by Owen Baumgartner and Will Howard, to tie the game 2-2.
Omaha had three shots on goal in the final 1:13 of regulation, but Augustana goaltender Mathis Langevin stopped attempts from Trevor Wong and Myles Hilman to send the game into overtime.
Maxwell Chakrabarti scored at 3:57 of overtime, assisted by Jacob Jastrzebski and Hunter Bischoff, giving Augustana the 3-2 victory and a sweep of the home-and-home series.
Lacelle finished with 33 saves on 36 shots, bringing his total to 73 saves through his first two collegiate games. Langevin made 28 saves for Augustana.
The Vikings outshot the Mavericks 36-30. Omaha went 0-for-3 on the power play but killed all three Augustana power plays, finishing the weekend 7-for-7 on the penalty kill.
The Mavericks blocked 14 shots and won 29 of 52 faceoffs. Desjardins was named the game’s third star after recording a goal and four shots on goal.
Omaha (0-2-0) returns to the road next weekend for a two-game series against Lindenwood on Friday, Oct. 23, and Saturday, Oct. 24. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. Central both nights.
