OMAHA, Neb. - Myles Hilman scored a tie-breaking goal with 11:31 left and Omaha Hockey tacked a pair of late goals for a 5-2 win over No. 13 UMass as the Mavericks earned a series split Saturday night on Kemp Ice at Baxter Arena.
UMass scored two minutes before Hilman's goal to make it 2-2.
Omaha immediately responded as Hilman took a pass across the crease from
Aidan de La Gorgendiere and beat goalie Michael Hrabal to put the Mavs back in front.
Omaha (2-2) added two goals in 10 seconds to secure the win late in the third period.
Marcus Nguyen scored an empty-netter from near center ice, followed by
Brett Hyland's first first goal of the season.
UMass won Friday's opener 5-4 when it scored with 58 seconds left. It was Omaha's second win over a ranked opponent in the young season as it also split with No. 20 Minnesota State.
Following Friday's loss, Omaha turned in a sharp opening period on both ends of the ice. While goalie
Simon Latkoczy recorded eight saves, the Maverick offense kept pressure on the Minutemen.
"I thought our first period was excellent. We came out ready to play," Omaha head coach
Mike Gabinet said. "Big win, proud of the guys."
Omaha had a handful of shots go just wide of the net in the first 10 minutes before
Maxime Pellerin scored with 8:30 left in the period on a second-chance opportunity after his initial shot was blocked.
It was the third goal of the weekend for Pellerin, a sophomore from Quebec.
Three minutes later, Omaha was on a 5-on-3 power play and made it 2-0 as a wrist shot from de la Gorgendiere whistled past Hrabal.
Da la Gorgendiere finished the night with a goal and two assists.
"Obviously a great goal on the power play," Gabinet said. "And he did an excellent job of being tough at the net."
UMass survived another 5-on-3 power play early in the second period. Latkoczy maintained a shutout until Vaclav Nestrasil scored with 8:21 left in the second to pull UMass within 2-1.
The Minutemen caught the Mavericks with 13:43 remaining. Fifteen seconds after UMass went on a power play, Jack Musa, who scored Friday's winning goal, tied it 2-2. But Omaha pulled away late.
Omaha plays its first road game of the season Friday, Oct. 31 against No. 16 Colorado College to begin conference play.
As the Mavs hit the road, Gabinet was glad to see his team take steps forward this weekend.
"You can tell these guys are getting more comfortable," Gabinet said. "I think for the first time, some of the guys looked confident out there."
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