MANKATO, Minn. – No. 16 Omaha hockey dropped its opening game at No. 18 Minnesota State 3-4. The Mavericks trailed 0-3 heading into the final frame and pushed back, scoring three straight goals in just over eight minutes.
The scoring started when Minnesota State sophomore forward Brett Moravec put one through in the Omaha zone to take a 1-0 lead at 14:26 of the first period.
Minnesota State scored two more goals to take a 3-0 lead after the first 40 minutes courtesy of senior and graduate student forwards Brian Carrabes and Josh Groll.
The Omaha Mavericks finally got their groove 13 seconds into the third period. Senior forward
Zach Urdahl took a pass from graduate student defenseman
Nolan Krenzen and slipped through a shoving Minnesota State defenseman in junior Mason Wheeler to net Omaha's first goal and make the deficit only two goals.
Five minutes after Urdahl's team-leading fourth goal, graduate student forward
Sam Stange caught a pass in between the front of the net between the circles and gracefully got a shot past junior goaltender Alex Tracy. This goal at 5:15 of the third period made the comeback less daunting, trailing only 2-3 now.
The (Omaha) Mavericks got another momentum push at the 6:10 mark of the third period when Head Coach
Mike Gabinet challenged a hit by Minnesota State's sophomore defenseman Jakob Stender. Ultimately, Stender was given five minutes in the box due to contact to the head.
Nearly two minutes into the power play, junior forward
Tyler Rollwagen picked up his first goal this season and tied the game at 3-3. Rollwagen fielded a Urdahl rebound off Tracy's pad to complete an unbelievable Omaha comeback.
Senior forward Rhett Pitlick found the back at 19:17 of the third period of the net for an even-strength goal after Omaha killed off a penalty less than a minute and a half before. This goal gave Minnesota State the lead for good at 4-3.
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