OMAHA, Neb. – One night after surrendering four goals in one period, the Omaha hockey team turned the tables on No. 14 Arizona State.  The Mavericks blew open a tie game with four goals in the third period to pull away for an 8-4 win over the Sun Devils to earn the series split.

Senior Teemu Pulkkinen led all scorers with four points, all assists to tie a school record.  Taylor Ward had two goals and an assist, and Kevin Conley and Tyler Weiss each had a goal and an assist.

The Mavericks head into the holiday break with a record of 8-8-2 overall while the Sun Devils dip to 10-6-2.

With the game tied at four entering the third period, the Mavericks got a boost from one of their youngest and one of their oldest players.  Freshman Nolan Sullivan caused a turnover from defenseman Brinson Pasichnuk, feeding senior Tristan Keck who scored on a wrist shot from the low slot to put the Mavericks in front for good just 47 seconds in.

It was Omaha's first shorthanded goal of the year and the second point of the weekend for Keck who returned to action on Saturday after missing 11 games with an injury.

The Mavericks put the Sun Devils away in the closing stages of the third.  Joey Abate put back the rebound of a shot by Jason Smallidge at 13:04, and Ward picked up his second goal of the night and team-leading 10th of the season on a power play, tipping in a shot by Brandon Scanlin at 15:16.

Zach Jordan finished the scoring when he fired into an empty net at 16:28.

The goal capped a stretch of six unanswered tallies for the Mavericks who earned their fourth win over a ranked team this season.

Arizona State got on the board just 1:20 into the game when Jordan Sandhu fired home a pass from James Sanchez during an odd-man rush.

The Mavericks tied the game at 6:52 when Ward scooped up the rebound of a shot by Kirby Proctor and slipped it under goalie Evan Debrouwer.

The Sun Devils restored their lead off another odd-man rush.  PJ Marrocco beat goalie Austin Roden with a wrist shot at 12:10 to give ASU the edge at the intermission.

Omaha tied the game again midway through the second period when Weiss fired a low shot in tight for his fifth of the year.

Arizona State again took the lead during its second power play of the game.  Johnny Walker tipped in a blast from Brinson Pasichnuk at 13:54.

Just 11 seconds later, that lead ballooned to 4-2 when PJ Marrocco converted a UNO turnover for his fifth goal of the year.

But the Mavericks battled back to tie it before the intermission.  First, Conley converted a nifty passing play with Weiss and Pulkkinen, firing into a near-empty net for a power play goal at 17:33.  

Then in the final minute of the period, Chayse Primeau got free on the left wing and converted a pass from Pulkkinen for his fifth goal of the year at 19:19.

Roden picked up his second win of the season, making 30 saves, while Debrouwer took the loss with 16 saves and seven goals against.  Max Prawdzik played the final 3:46 for ASU.

The Mavericks will return to action after the holiday break on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 3-4, at Maine.

GAME NIGHT:

• The eight goals scored by the Mavericks were a season high.
• In all, 12 of Omaha's 19 skaters registered at least a point with six posting multiple-point nights.
• Omaha finished 2-for-4 on the power play, scoring their goals on just three shots.  ASU was 1-for-4 with nine shots.
• The Mavericks improved to 6-3-1 all-time against Arizona State including a mark of 6-1-1 at home.
• The win was Omaha's first at Baxter Arena since Nov. 9 against Wisconsin.

Three stars:  1. Teemu Pulkkinen/UNO (0-4-4); 2. Taylor Ward/UNO (2-1-3); 3. PJ Marrocco/ASU (2-0-2).