OMAHA, Neb. –
Teemu Pulkkinen had a hat trick, and
Fredrik Olofsson notched four assists to power the Omaha hockey team past Manitoba, 6-1, in an exhibition game at Baxter Arena.
Ryan Galt and
Tyler Weiss each added a goal and an assist for the Mavericks in their first action of the 2018-19 season. The result will not count toward their overall record.
The Mavericks opened the scoring on their second power play of the game. Pulkkinen put back the rebound of a shot by
Zach Jordan that was deflected by
Mason Morelli. The goal came at 8:17 of the first period.
Less than four minutes later, the Mavericks doubled their lead when Olofsson set up
Zach Jordan on the right wing. He snapped a hard wrist shot past goalie Justin Paulic at 12:05.
Galt bumped up the Mavericks lead at 6:49 of the second period. He jumped on the rebound of a shot by
John Schuldt and stuffed the puck past Paulic for an even-strength goal.
Galt figured into Omaha's fourth goal, hitting Weiss with a pass. The freshman took the puck from the Omaha blueline around three defenders before firing it home to make it 4-0 after two.
Pulkkinen got his second of the night when he snapped home the rebound of a shot by
Steven Spinner at 6:39 of the third.
Manitoba finally got on the board during a four-on-three power play. Brett Brooks collected a loose puck and fired it past
Matej Tomek at 12:43.
The Mavericks answered 1:59 later when Pulkkinen finished his hat trick with a nice individual effort. He pivoted away from a Manitoba defender at the side of the net and fired in the puck off the leg of a defender.
Evan Weninger started the game and played 29:32, stopping all nine shots he faced. Tomek, who relieved Weninger halfway through the game, made 13 saves.
The Mavericks begin NCAA play on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 12-13, when they visit Union of ECAC Hockey. Each game begins at 6 p.m. CT from Schenectady, N.Y.
NOTES:
- The game was the first between the two schools since the 2008-09 season.
- The Mavericks improved to 12-2-0 all-time against Manitoba.
- Omaha has won the last six meetings with Manitoba and outscored the Bisons, 41-2.
- UNO outshot the Bisons, 56-23, including a margin of 24-9 in the third period.
- The Mavericks finished 1-for-2 on the power play while Manitoba was 1-for-4.
- Attendance for the game was 4,862.
Three Stars: 1.
Teemu Pulkkinen (Hat trick); 2.
Fredrik Olofsson (Four assists); 3.
Tyler Weiss (1-1-2)
