OMAHA, Neb. – No. 12 Wisconsin held off a late push by the Omaha hockey team, earning a 5-2 win over the Mavericks in the opening game of their weekend series.
The loss dropped the No. 20 Mavericks to 4-2-1 while the Badgers improved to 5-4-0.
Trailing 3-1 after two periods, the Mavericks tightened the game late when
Nolan Sullivan one-timed a pass from
Tyler Weiss for his first collegiate goal at 16:05.
But with UNO goaltender
Isaiah Saville pulled for an extra attacker, the Badgers scored twice into the empty net for the final margin.
Wisconsin emerged from an evenly-played first period with the lead. Ty Pelton-Byce beat Saville with a one-timer from the right circle at 17:24.
The Mavericks tied the game on a power play at 3:09 of the second.
Brandon Scanlin powered a slap shot past goalie Daniel Lebedeff off assists from
Ryan Brushett and
Taylor Ward. It was Scanlin's second goal in three games.
But Wisconsin answered with goals from Alex Turcotte and Roman Ahcan in the back half of the period to lead 3-1 after two.
Saville made 16 saves while Lebedeff stopped a game-high 27. Omaha outshot Wisconsin 29-21 for the game.
The two teams conclude the series on Saturday at 7:07 p.m.
GAME NOTES:
- Sullivan became the fourth Maverick freshman to notch his first collegiate goal, following Josh Boyer, Joey Abate and Scanlin.
- The Mavericks were 1-for-7 on the power play while holding Wisconsin scoreless in six power plays.
- The loss ended the Mavericks' three-game unbeaten streak.
- Senior Zach Jordan played in his 100th career game.
- The crowd of 5,605 was UNO's largest in four home games.
Three stars: 1. Roman Ahcan/UW (Two goals, GWG); 2.
Nolan Sullivan/Omaha (One goal, +1); 3. Alex Turcotte/UW (1-1-2)
