OMAHA, Neb. – Fredrik Olofsson scored two goals, and Mason Morelli had a goal and three assists to lead the Omaha hockey team to a 6-4 win over No. 16/14 Arizona State on Friday at Baxter Arena.

The win was the Mavericks' third in the last four games, boosting their record of 3-7-1 overall.  The Sun Devils dropped to 10-5-0 on the season.

The game featured three lead changes and finally saw the Mavericks go in front to stay with 15:03 gone in the third period.  Olofsson scooped up the rebound of a shot by Morelli and knocked in the game-winner from his knees.

Steven Spinner added an empty-net goal in the final minute to make it 6-4, but the Mavericks had to lean on goaltender Evan Weninger.  He twice stopped Arizona State's Jake Clifford with sprawling pad saves in the final seconds to preserve the score and UNO's first win in three tries against ASU this year.

With the game tied 3-3 after two, the Sun Devils got the lead back when Dylan Hollman scored shorthanded at 11:57.

But Taylor Ward put back the rebound of a shot by Morelli in tight during the same power play to retie the game at 12:51, setting the stage for Olofsson's heroics.

The Mavericks played much of the night shorthanded when seniors Jalen Schulz and Ryan Galt were both given five-minute majors and game misconducts in the first period.  In spite of being shorthanded for 6:30 of major penalty time, the Mavericks resurgent penalty kill held ASU to only two shots on goal.  They have stopped 15 straight opponent power plays.

The night got off to a bad start for UNO when the Sun Devils struck just 55 seconds into the game.  Brett Gruber beat Weninger with a one-timer for his third goal of the season.

The Mavericks countered just 41 seconds later when Riley Alferd swirled the net and threw a pass across the crease to Travis Kothenbeutel who hammered home his first career goal.

Omaha then took its first lead when Olofsson found Morelli alone in front of the goal during a four-on-three power play.  Morelli spun and threw the puck past goalie Joey Daccord at 18:43.

ASU tied the game at 6:41 of the second when an errant pass found Brinson Pasichnuk at the left point.  His shot hit a UNO defender in the slot and ricocheted past Weninger.

The Mavericks took the lead again midway through the period.  Morelli's shot in the slot was knocked down, but Olofsson scooped up the rebound and slipped it just over the goal line at 11:50.

The Sun Devils tied the game once again when Austin Lemieux finished off an odd-man rush at 13:10 of the second.

Weninger made 23 saves to improve to 3-6-1 on the season.  Daccord stopped 21 shots as both teams fired 27 shots on goal.

The second game of the weekend is Saturday at 7:07 p.m.

GAME NOTES:  

• The Mavericks went 2-for-3 on the power play against Arizona State which came in with the second-best penalty kill in the nation.
• Freshman Tyler Weiss made his collegiate debut after missing the first 10 games of the season with an injury.
• Ward finished the night with a goal and an assist, the second multiple-point night of his young career.
• The Mavericks improved to 4-2-1 all-time against the Sun Devils, including a mark of 4-0-1 at home.

Three Stars:  1. Fredrik Olofsson/UNO – Two goals, one assist; 2. Mason Morelli/UNO – One goal, three assists; 3. Brinson Pasichnuk/ASU – One goal, two assists.