OMAHA, Neb. - Ryan McCleary, who joined the Omaha Hockey team last month, scored his first goal as a Maverick on Friday night during a 5-2 loss to No. 8 Denver at Baxter Arena.
McCleary scored with 4:25 left in the game, which cut Denver's lead to 4-2.
Omaha (10-19, 6-13 NCHC) led for most of the first two periods, but Denver (18-11-3, 14-6-1 NCHC) grabbed the momentum and the lead for good late in the second period.
Omaha, which won at No. 3 Western Michigan in its previous game, controlled play early on as the Mavericks grabbed a quick lead.
While on a power play,
Marc Lajoie's initial shot was stopped before
Samuel Huo knocked in the puck with 14:40 left in the period. It was Huo's sixth goal this season.
Goaltender
Simon Latkoczy kept Omaha in front the rest of the period, coming up with quality saves as the Mavericks killed a 5-on-3 power play. Latkoczy had 14 saves in the opening period.
Latkoczy also turned away a flurry of Denver shots midway through the second period before the Pioneers surged in front late in the frame.
Denver tied it at the 4:07 mark. Then with five seconds left in the period, the Pioneers won a face-off in Omaha's zone, which led to a Clarke Caswell goal with 1.1 seconds remaining.
Denver carried that momentum into the final period, scoring 2:23 into the third for a 3-1 lead.
The Pioneers added another goal midway through the third before McCleary scored his first goal as a Maverick with 4:25 remaining.
Trevor Wong got his 12th assist on that goal.
But a minute later, Denver, who is unbeaten in its last six games, added an empty netter to turn back the Mavericks.
Omaha and Denver will complete their series at 7 p.m. CT Saturday as the Mavericks celebrate Senior Night.
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