Box Score COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Junior Tyler Vesel scored two goals to help the Omaha hockey team knock off Colorado College, 5-2, on Friday at Broadmoor World Arena.

It was the first win for the Mavericks in a series opener at CC, improving their record to 12-8-3 overall and 5-6-0-0/0 in the NCHC, good for seventh place.  The Tigers fell to 6-13-2 overall and 2-7-2-0/0 in the conference, putting them in eighth.

The Tigers broke on top at 9:19 of the first period.  Brendan Makara forced a turnover at the CC blue line and took the puck the other way while the Mavericks were in the middle of a line change.  Makara beat Kris Oldham just under the right pad for his third goal of the year.

The Mavericks countered on the power play a little more than three minutes later.  Austin Ortega fed Jake Randolph at the side of the net.  He quickly sent it in front to Vesel who hammered home the puck at 12:35.

UNO got its first lead of the game with another power play goal from Vesel.  Again, he was set up by Randolph and fired it past goalie Alex Leclerc for his career-best 12th goal of the year.

Less than three minutes later, they stretched their lead.  David Pope collected the rebound of a shot by Joel Messner and slid it through traffic for his eighth goal of the year to make it 3-1 after two.

The Tigers drew to within one just as a power play expired in the third period.  Mason Bergh slipped to the far post and converted a pass from Luc Gerdes at 7:38.

But the Mavericks countered late in the period when Ortega knocked in the rebound of a shot by Mason Morelli at 17:51.  The goal, his team-leading 16th of the year, tied him for the NCHC goal-scoring lead.

Luc Snuggerud scored from 180 feet into an empty net during a late penalty kill to finish the scoring.

Oldham stopped 26 shots to improve to 5-2-1 this season.  Leclerc made 23 saves in the loss.

Ortega leads the NCHC with 33 points following his two-point game.  With a goal and an assist, Snuggerud now leads all NCHC defenseman with 21 points, a career best.

The two teams meet again on Saturday at 7:07 p.m. CT.