TEMPE, Ariz. — In need of wins to move up the NCHC standings, Omaha Hockey got two goals from
Marcus Nguyen as the Mavericks pulled away for a 4-2 win at Arizona State on Friday night.
Omaha now has 21 points on the season as it moves past the Sun Devils into eighth place in the league standings. Arizona State has 19 points. The teams will play their series finale at 6 p.m. CT Saturday.
Omaha (11-20, 7-14) controlled the game, outshooting the Sun Devils 66-44. The Mavericks also went 2 for 4 on power-play opportunities and killed all four of ASU's chances.
Nguyen, who has a team-best 10 goals this season, scored Omaha's first and last goals as the Mavericks netted four unanswered goals in the road victory.
Arizona State (13-20-1, 6-14-1) took a 1-0 lead less than five minutes into the game, but Omaha responded to seize the momentum.
A minute after the Sun Devils' goal, Omaha tied it when Nguyen redirected a long shot from
Griffin Ludtke into the net. It was the first of two assists on the night for Ludtke, who has a team-high 16 assists.
With 11:50 left in the first period, Omaha grabbed the lead with a power-play goal. The puck bounced off Arizona State's goaltender, and Omaha's
Brett Hyland pounced on the loose puck in front of the net to score his seventh goal of the season.
Simon Latkoczy, who had 31 saves on the night, recorded 11 saves in a scoreless second period. In the opening minute of the third period, Omaha went on a power play and capitalized.
A pass from Ludtke in the slot to Jérémy Loranger allowed Loranger to deliver a one-timer for his sixth goal of the season.
Omaha added insurance with 11 minutes left as Nguyen scored again off a pass from
Trevor Wong. Wong also had two assists on the night.
Arizona State scored its final goal with 2:22 left, but Omaha secured the win from there.
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