OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha hockey team lost to St. Cloud State, 5-3, on Sunday night in the conclusion of the first week of the NCHC Pod at Baxter Arena.

The Mavericks, who were playing their fourth game in six days, are now 2-2-0 overall and 2-2-0-1-0 in the NCHC, good for fourth place.  The Huskies improved to 3-0-0 and 3-0-0-0-0 in the conference, tying them with Minnesota Duluth for first.

INSIDE THE FIRST PERIOD
The Mavericks scored before the game was five minutes old.  Matt Miller took a pass from Chayse Primeau and fired a shot that clanked in off the post at 4:53.  It was his third goal of the year.

St. Cloud State tied the game with a goal from Veeti Miettinen a little over a minute and a half later.

The Mavericks retook the lead on the first collegiate goal from Brock Bremer.  He worked a give-and-go with Tyler Weiss off the left wing and snapped a shot past goalie Jaxon Castor.

Omaha held the lead with a sturdy penalty kill on a five-minute boarding major to Joey Abate late in the period.

INSIDE THE SECOND PERIOD
St. Cloud State took its first lead of the game, getting goals from Easton Brodzinski and Jami Krannila just a minute apart midway through the period.

The Mavericks re-tied it 1:32 later when Taylor Ward flipped the puck into traffic in front of the Huskies' net and watched it flutter over Castor for his first of the year.

But the Huskies replied late, getting a goal from Brady Ziemer at 18:45 to make it 4-3.

INSIDE THE THIRD PERIOD
The teams traded chances in a tightly-played period, but the Huskies eventually built on their lead when Jared Cockrell poked the puck past Isaiah Saville while falling to the ice.

The Mavericks had an extended man advantage when they pulled Saville for an extra attacker with 3:15 left, but they could not put another puck past Castor.

Saville finished with a game-high 30 saves.

The Mavericks will be off until Wednesday, Dec. 9 when they face Colorado College at 7:35 p.m.  Omaha is the designated away team for the game.

GAME NOTES:

• With the goal, Miller tied Martin Sundberg for the team goal-scoring lead with three each.
• Sundberg saw his three-game goal-scoring streak to begin the season end.
• Bremer became the third Maverick freshman to notch his first career point and second to net a goal.
• The Mavericks were perfect on the penalty kill for the second straight night stopping two SCSU power plays including the five-minute major.

Three Stars:  1. Veeti Miettinen/SCSU – (1-2-3); 2. Jami Krannila/SCSU – (1-1-2); 3. Brock Bremer/Omaha – (One goal).