OMAHA, Neb. – The No. 17 Omaha hockey team set a new record for goals in a 11-7 win over No. 20 Miami on Friday night at Baxter Arena.

David Pope led the offensive explosion, tying a school record with a goal and four assists for five points.
 
On a night when multiple school records were either set or tied, goaltender Evan Weninger capped the offensive explosion by scoring the first goal ever by a UNO goaltender at 17:21 of the third period.  After Weninger made a save, an errant pass by a Miami player ricocheted off the boards and rolled into an empty net at the far end of the ice.

The Mavericks tied a season high by allowing seven goals for the second straight game but still improved to 11-9-1 overall and 4-7-0-0/0 in the NCHC, moving into a three-way tie with Minnesota Duluth and Colorado College for sixth.  Miami fell to 9-10-2 overall and 4-6-1-0/0 in the conference, remaining in fifth, one point ahead of the three trailing teams.

UNO led 4-1 after the first period, but Miami got a power play goal from Louie Belpedio at 3:07 and an even-strength marker from Phil Knies to cut the lead to 4-3.

But less than two minutes later, Zach Jordan stuffed in a shot from the crease to make it 5-3, and Tyler Vesel followed by finishing off a tic-tac-toe play with linemates David Pope and Jake Randolph to make it 6-3.

Knies got his second of the period at 18:18, but Pope answered with a power play goal a little more than a minute later to make it 7-4 after two.

Miami closed the gap to two 3:12 into the third on a goal by Gordie Green, but the Mavericks responded with a power play goal from Teemu Pulkkinen at 5:53 and an unassisted goal from Luke Nogard just seven seconds later to go up 9-5 just six minutes into the period.

The RedHawks kept coming, getting a shorthanded goal from Ben Lown at 9:34.  Again, the Mavericks had an answer as Randolph scored his second of the night on a power play at 13:46.

Casey Gilling earned Miami's third power play goal of the game at 16:14 after Miami had pulled goaltender Chase Monroe for an extra attacker.  That set up Weninger's goal to close the scoring at 17:21.

The Mavericks tied a season high by scoring four power play goals in the game but also allowed a season high three power play tallies.

The Mavericks opened the scoring halfway through the first period.  Grant Gallo skated down the left wing and threw a lunging shot toward the Miami net.  It hit a defender in front and deflected past goalie Ryan Larkin for his first goal of the year.

UNO doubled its lead when Randolph collected the rebound of a shot by Joel Messner off the end glass and threw home his third goal of the season.

Miami cut the lead in half with power play goal from Kiefer Sherwood at 18:22 but just 20 seconds later, Tristan Keck scooped up a loose puck created by good work from Jordan and slipped a shot through the five hole of Larkin at 18:42.

Messner capped the scoring in the period by firing home a power play tally from the high slot at 19:23.

Weninger made 19 saves to earn the win.  Larkin, Miami's starting goaltender, allowed six goals on 21 shots but got no decision.  Monroe took the loss after relieving Larkin late in the second, allowing four goals on 11 shots in 19:25 of work.

Both Jordan and Messner had a goal and three assists each.  Of the 11 goals scored by UNO, only Randolph had more than one goal.

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

GAME NOTES:

• Weninger became the 10th NCAA goaltender to score a goal, the first since 2013. (Source:  College Hockey, Inc.)
• Pope's four assists also tied the school record for assists in a game.  It was the second time Pope had earned four helpers in one game (Nov. 5, 2016 vs. Colorado College).
• Gallo's goal was his first since scoring UNO's first goal against Harvard in a 4-1 win in the 2015 Midwest Regional.
• Randolph ended a 13-game goal drought in the win.
• Other stats from the night, Gallo and Lawson McDonald led the Mavericks with a +4 rating.  Jordan had a team high seven shots on goal.  Ryan Jones had a team best four shot blocks.
• The previous school record for goals in a game was set in the Mavericks' 10-1 win over Niagara on Oct. 20, 2006.
• The Mavericks and RedHawks set an NCHC record for most goals in a game by both teams.  The previous record was 14 in an 8-6 UNO win over St. Cloud State on Feb. 1, 2014.
• The Mavericks tied the NCHC record for most goals by one team in a game.  St. Cloud State beat Western Michigan 11-1 on Nov. 14, 2015.
• In the three conference games played on Friday, the six teams combined for 41 goals.  Western Michigan beat St. Cloud State, 7-5, and Minnesota Duluth edged Colorado College, 6-5.  North Dakota beat Bemidji State 5-1 in the only non-conference game.

Three Stars:  1. David Pope (UNO); 2. Jake Randolph (UNO); 3. Joel Messner (UNO)