OMAHA, NEB. – No. 10 Omaha's four-game winning streak came to an end Saturday when Colorado College scored twice during a five-minute power play on its way to a 4-0 victory at Baxter Arena.
The Tigers (3-8-3) broke open a 1-0 contest when captain Brian Hawkinson recorded consecutive goals in the opening minutes of the third period while the Mavericks (12-4) were killing off a major penalty.
Three Omaha players and one from Colorado College were sent to the penalty box prior to the second intermission after the teams began mixing it up in front of the Tiger goal. Maverick defenseman
Jonny Tychonick landed a five-minute major, served at the start of the third period, for grabbing a facemask.
Omaha survived a 5-on-3 disadvantage in the opening two minutes of the third, but Hawkinson's goals came shortly after. Tommy Middleton added an empty-netter toward the game's end to close it out.
"This is the NCHC. You can't take undisciplined penalties and expect to win hockey games," Maverick coach
Mike Gabinet said. "You can't lose puck battles. You can't not outwork your opponent. And you can't take undisciplined penalties if you want to win."
The Tigers outshot the Mavericks 32-17 in their first conference win of the season. Colorado College took a 1-0 lead into the second intermission after Jackson Jutting scored four minutes into the second.
Omaha's 17 shots on goal were a season low. It didn't record more than seven in any period. And it failed to convert on a power play for a second consecutive night as it fell to 3-3 in conference play.
The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak by the Mavericks in their series with the Tigers.
Gabinet said he liked his team's start and finish in its 2021 home finale, but not its effort for the time in between.
"It wasn't good enough," he said. "For glimpses, it's good.
"This is the NCHC. This is Omaha hockey. You're expected to compete the whole game. You're expected to show up and win loose-puck battles. You're expected to show up and play disciplined. We didn't do those three things well enough and that's why we lost."
