OMAHA, Neb. – Sophomore
Taylor Ward had a goal and an assist for the Omaha hockey team in a 3-3 exhibition tie with Manitoba on Monday at Baxter Arena.
Ward also scored in the sudden death shootout to send the Mavericks into the regular season on an up note following a game in which led 3-1 but saw the visiting Bisons battle back to tie the game in the third.
The Mavericks spotted the Bisons a 1-0 lead on a goal by Keaton Jameson at 7:54 but bounced back with two to close the first period.
Teemu Pulkkinen took a pass from
Ryan Jones and charged the net, snapping home a shot from in close at 12:54.
Taylor Ward gave the Mavericks their first lead of the night with some nifty stickhandling, slipping the puck under goalie Tyler Brown at 17:19.
John Schuldt bumped the Mavericks lead to 3-1 at 4:27 of the second period.
Kevin Conley threw a rink-wide pass that Schuldt wired home to the top corner.
But following a goaltending change, Manitoba got the goal back when Lucas Skrumeda popped a rebound past UNO's
Austin Roden at 10:53.
In the third, the Bisons tied the game at 13:23 when defenseman Sean Christensen's shot caromed past Roden off the skate of a UNO defender.
The Mavericks had the better of the chances in the 5-on-5 and 3-on-3 overtime, outshooting Manitoba 11-6.
Omaha opens NCAA play on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 11-12, when it hosts Alabama Huntsville.
GAME NOTES:
- Teemu Pulkkinen has scored four goals in the last two exhibition games against Manitoba after netting a hat trick last season.
- Isaiah Saville started the game for UNO and made six saves on seven shots on a little more than 30 minutes. Austin Roden was far busier, stopping 22 of 24 shots.
- The game was the first tie in the all-time series between the two teams. UNO leads the series, 12-2-1.
Three stars:
1.)
Taylor Ward/UNO (1-1-2); 2.)
Teemu Pulkkinen/UNO (1-1-2); 3. Jonah Wasylak/UM (0-1-1)
