GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Hours before No. 18 Omaha's NCHC series finale with North Dakota on Saturday, coach Mike Gabinet told his players that, if they kept pounding at the rock, it would eventually crack.

The allegory suggested that a breakthrough doesn't come easily, and that persistence is often the key.

The Mavericks seemed to have taken its meaning to heart, rallying from a two-goal deficit in the third period to edge the No. 12 Fighting Hawks 3-2 in overtime before a crowd of 11,632 at Engelstad Arena.

Brandon McManus netted the game-winner 2:27 into overtime to put the final touch on a rally that began when Davis Pennington's one-timer through traffic on a power play made its way into the net.

"We've been so close so many times," Pennington said. "We didn't need to change much. We just need to keep doing what we were doing, and it was going to eventually come. It's nice that it finally came in a big game like that."

Omaha improved to 17-11 with the victory and matched its highest win total in its five seasons under Gabinet. His first Maverick team, in 2017-18, finished with 17 wins. This squad still has eight games left.

"We just kept showing up and putting in the work," Gabinet said. "When you see that out of the group, you can't help but love the players. We got rewarded for it tonight, and what a huge win."

Omaha continued its season-long trend of success in series finales as it moved to 12-2 in such games.

The Mavericks fell behind early when Riese Gaber scored after a turnover 7:07 in. Judd Caulfield's power-play goal in the second period sent the Fighting Hawks (15-11-1) into the third up by a 2-0 count.

Pennington cut the lead in half when he blasted a Tyler Weiss pass past UND goaltender Zach Driscoll 5:43 into the third. Less than three minutes later, Kevin Conley tipped in a Nate Knoepke shot to tie it.

"We just needed a couple more bounces," McManus said. "[That was a] great shot by Penny to get us going and get more confidence like that. We just stuck with it and showed some resiliency there."

Omaha outshot North Dakota 3-1 in the 3-on-3 overtime period. Taylor Ward set up the game-winner by taking a pass from Brandon Scanlin in the defensive zone, cutting across the ice while advancing through the neutral zone and then hitting the brakes to feed McManus on the opposite side for a shot to end it.

"When we go out there, it's just 'let's finish this thing,'" McManus said. "Obviously, when you're with guys like Wardo and Scans, they're going to make plays. We came in with speed, and I just kind of got open for Wardo. It was a [heck] of a pass by him, and I've got to shoot that right in the house."

The Mavericks, 7-9 in the NCHC, picked up two conference points for the overtime win to pull into a tie for fifth place with St. Cloud State in the standings. Pennington said they have a late push left in them.

"Those games are kind of what you dream for," he said. "That's a big-time win for us."