OMAHA, Neb. –
Johnnie Searfoss scored a hat trick to lead the Omaha hockey team to a 6-1 win over the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology on Monday night. The exhibition game marked the start of the Mavericks' 17th season.
Searfoss picked up two powerplay goals and a shorthanded tally while
Ryan Walters,
Brock Montpetit and
Matt Youso all earned two assists.
The Mavericks outshot the Ooks 14-6 in the first period and cashed in late. Walters slid a pass up the right wing to
Dominic Zombo who slipped between two defensemen and beat Ty Swabb with a low wrist shot. Youso picked up the other assist.
UNO stretched its lead on the power play in the second period. Walters, stationed at the goal line to the right of the net, fed the puck in front to Searfoss who tossed a backhander past Swabb.
Late in the period, the Mavs made it 3-0 when
Brian O'Rourke's shot from the right point rattled in off the post.
The Mavericks put the game out of reach in the third period. Searfoss snapped a shot under the crossbar on a power play at 1:16.
Justin Parizek then scored off a rebound of a shot by Youso at 2:19. Searfoss completed the hat trick less than two minutes later by hammering home a pass from
Jake Guentzel for a shorthanded goal.
Richard Sabourin scored through a screen with a point shot at 5:36 to break UNO's shutout bid.
The netminding duties were shared by all three UNO goalies.
Ryan Massa stopped six shots in the first while freshman
Kirk Thompson turned aside 12 in the second.
Reed Peters gave up the goal in the third but made five saves.
Ty Swabb surrendered all six goals for the Ooks while making 28 saves. Kyle Birch stopped five shots in almost 16 minutes of relief.
The Mavericks finished 2-for-7 on the power play while blanking the Ooks on all nine man advantages including a five-minute major when
Josh Archibald was given a contact to the head penalty early in the second.
The Mavericks are back in action on Friday when they begin a two-game series with Bentley at the CenturyLink Center. Game time is 7:37 p.m.
