OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha hockey team used a four-goal second period to pull away for a 5-3 win over No. 19 Union on Saturday night at Baxter Arena.

The win gave the Mavericks their second series sweep of the season and improved their record to 9-8-1 overall.  Union dropped to 10-10-1 after losing its third straight game.

The game also was the final non-conference game of the season, improving UNO's record outside the NCHC to 7-2-1.  UNO's senior class finishes with a regular season non-conference record of 30-6-6 in that four-season span.

The Dutchmen got their first lead of the weekend during a power play in the final minute of the first period.  Ryan Walker got loose in front of Kris Oldham and roofed a shot over the Maverick netminder at 19:55.

The Mavericks got a five-minute power play when Josh Kosack took down Jalen Schulz with a knee-on-knee hit.  The power play was shortened by a minor to Jake Randolph, but enough time was left for the Mavericks to use it take the lead.  First, Fredrik Olofsson finished off a nifty passing play, slamming home a pass from Randolph at 8:51.

Just 1:02 later, the Mavericks went ahead.  Tristan Keck slipped in back door, took the rebound of a shot by Luke Nogard and potted his second goal of the weekend and sixth of the year.

Omaha continued to pour it on at even strength.  Nogard picked up his fifth of the year when he scooped up a deflected shot from Joel Messner and fired a quick wrister over the shoulder of goalie Jake Kupsky.

Riley Alferd made it 4-1 at 17:48 off of prolonged pressure in the Union zone.  He beat Kupsky through a screen for his first goal of the year.

In the third, Union closed the gap during a late power play.  With Kupsky off to create a 6-on-4 attacker advantage, Cole Maier tipped in a blast by Brandon Estes at 17:06.  

David Pope scored into an empty net at 18:04 to re-establish the three-goal lead before Walker added his second of the game with 52 seconds remaining.

Oldham earned his first win of the season with 31 saves while Kupsky took the loss, making 27.

The Mavericks return to the road for the first time since mid-November, visiting North Dakota on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 5-6.

GAME NOTES:

• The Mavericks finished the season with a record of 5-0-1 in non-conference home games.
• The win gave the Mavericks a record of 6-3-1 at home this season, already matching their home win total from last year.
• The Mavericks improved to 5-2-0 all-time against Union and 4-1-0 against the Dutchmen at home.
• Pope and Nogard both finished the night with a goal and an assist for two points.  Tyler Vesel and Ryan Jones each had two assists.
• Also from the stat sheet, Keck led the Mavericks with four shots on goal; Pope, Alferd and Lukas Buchta paced the team with a +2 plus/minus rating; and Jones led the team with three blocks.
• With two power play goals in the game, the Mavericks have now scored power play goals in four straight games and in five of their last six.

Three stars:
1.    Luke Nogard (UNO); 2. Tristan Keck (UNO); 3. David Pope (UNO)