OMAHA, Neb. — For Nebraska-Omaha this season, goaltending has been a key contributor to their rise as the 12th-ranked team in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll and the No. 2 team in the PairWise Rankings.
Saturday, in just his third start of the season, Kirk Thompson was 11 seconds away from a shutout as the Mavericks defeated Alabama-Huntsville 2-1.
“It was kind of tough [and] it was one of those games where a lucky bounce could put the game the other way,” said Omaha defenseman Brian Cooper.
Both teams were scoreless and penalty-free until 18:39 of the first period when the Chargers’ Matt Salhany was whistled for hooking and 17 seconds later, Cooper smashed a shot that tipped off a stick and found its way in for the goal. Tyler Vesel was accredited with the assist, his second of the game and his seventh of the year.
UNO scored its second goal a few minutes after another power play later in the third period. At 9:45, Justin Parizek ripped one from the circle to give the Mavs a two-goal cushion.
“It was kind of like next goal wins when it’s 1-0,” Omaha coach Dean Blais said. “When they tie that game, it goes to desperation and momentum and confidence, but tonight’s game was a tough game.”
Alabama-Huntsville’s Jeff Vanderlugt scores with just 11 seconds left in regulation, squandering Thompson’s potential shutout. It would have been the first one for Thompson, who is the only UNO goaltender to win his first two career starts with wins against Bentley and Northern Michigan.
“I was just real disappointed that with 10 seconds left he didn’t get the shutout and they guys on the bench were talking ‘Let’s get this one for the goaltender,’ ‘Let’s win this one for Kirky’ now and that one snuck in there,” Blais said.
UNO has faced a gauntlet of a schedule, hitting the road to face the best of the NCHC and other competitive nonconference opponents in the first half of the season. With school now on break, the holidays approaching and one of the lesser opponents they’ve faced all year, it felt like a struggle game for the Mavs.
“Mental things like shooting the pucks over the top of the net and missing the net too many times when you have great chances, and not making plays where pucks will hit your sticks and bounce off that’s a sign of not quite being there,” Blais said. “That’s a sign of finals are over, we’re going home tomorrow, a lot of them are Monday morning, so we’ve got to play better than that.”
Omaha had several chances with a solid window, but the shots went wide or chances were lost off sticks or skates. The Mavs know they need to come out better and more focused tomorrow.
“We’re going to come out a bit harder tomorrow,” Vesel said. “I’ve got a real good feeling about that but yeah we just have to be focused. We just have to loosen up and play a little bit more aggressive.”
UNO faces New Hampshire at home again Dec. 30-31.
Blais said he know the feeling of staying focused at this time of the year, but emphasized that it’s no excuse to lose a game.
“The players know that they got away with not playing their best hockey of the year and we’ve been doing that so we’re not asking to get blood out of a turnip but I’m asking for an effort,” Blais said. “And if we get beat, we get beat, but not because of effort.”
