PALM DESERT, Calif. – Omaha Hockey (8-10-0, 4-4-0 NCHC) fell to No. 10 UMass Lowell (12-4-2, 5-3-1 Hockey East) in the inaugural Cactus Cup tournament's championship game on Saturday evening at Acrisure Arena.
The game was about as evenly matched as it could have been through the first and second periods, as there was no scoring.
Neither team scored in the first period. Shots on goal were matched at 7-7, and total shots were 17-16 in favor of the Mavericks.
The Mavericks applied pressure in the second period but could not score a goal through UMass Lowell goaltender Beni Halasz after 40 minutes.
The third period is when the scoring started. UMass Lowell's Scout Truman scored the game-opening goal in the 42nd minute of regulation. Jack Robilotti scored nearly three minutes later, and then Truman extended the River Hawks' lead to 3-0 at 5:12 into the final frame.
All three UMass Lowell goals were scored in under four minutes.
The Mavericks found themselves in a 0-3 hole late in the game but continued to play aggressively until the final horn.
12:35 into the third period, junior defenseman
Griffin Ludtke tallied his first goal of the year, ripping one from the blue line just in front of UMass Lowell's bench, getting it through to make it 1-3.
Omaha pulled junior goaltender
Simon Latkoczy late in the game to bring on an extra attacker to try and tie it up late. With 46.7 seconds remaining, junior forward Cam Mitchell caught a rebound on a missed shot, did a 180 with the puck and found graduate forward
Brady Risk scored his third goal of the season with an empty Maverick net.
Omaha continued to pile on attempts in an effort to score one more and send the game to overtime. However, it could not execute, and time expired in the tournament's title game.
Latkoczy made 25 saves in the contest.
NCHC play returns when the Mavericks host No. 8 Colorado College on Friday, Jan. 10 and Saturday, Jan. 11. Puck drops at 7:07 p.m. for both games on the Kemp Ice at Baxter Arena.
Season and single-game for Omaha hockey home games at Baxter Arena are on-sale now at OMavs.com/Tix.
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