Box Score OMAHA, Neb. – The No. 1/2 Omaha hockey team got off to the best start in program history following a 4-1 win over Air Force on Saturday night at Baxter Arena.

The Mavericks are 6-0-0 for the first time in the 19-year history of the program after their third consecutive sweep of a non-conference opponent.  Their previous best start came during the 2010-11 season when they won their first five and eight of the first nine games.

The milestone night came in the second game at Baxter Arena where another sellout crowd of 7,898 got a look at UNO's new home for hockey, basketball and volleyball.

The Mavericks had scored first in their previous five games, and the streak was extended by Aaron Pearce at 7:54 of the first period.  He drove the net and knocked in a pass from Luke Nogard for his first goal since Nov. 15, 2013 against Michigan.  The assist for Nogard was the first point of his collegiate career.

UNO extended its lead late in the period when Jake Randolph pounced on the rebound of a shot by Justin Parizek and slipped it under Air Force goalie Shane Starrett at 17:01.

In the final minute, Austin Ortega added to his NCAA-leading goal total.  Jake Guentzel threaded a pass from the left wing to the crease where Ortega chipped it just under the crossbar for his seventh goal of the season.

The UNO lead grew to 4-0 at 7:03 of the second period when Guentzel flipped the puck into the slot and it ricocheted in off the shin pad of an Air Force defender and bounced into the net.  Freshman defenseman Lukas Buchta earned an assist on the goal, the first point of his collegiate career.

Air Force got a goal from Evan Okeley just 1:26 into the third period, the first of his collegiate career, to close the scoring.

Freshman goalie Evan Weninger, starting at home for the first time, stopped 27 shots to improve to 3-0-0.

Guentzel and Ortega finished the night with a goal and an assist each, extending their point-scoring streaks to four games.

The Mavericks open NCHC play next weekend when they visit Western Michigan on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 30-31.