OXFORD, Ohio — It took overtime yet again at Steve Cady Arena to determine the outcome of Miami and Nebraska-Omaha’s second battle of the weekend.
This time, however, it was the Mavericks who finished off their NCHC opponent in overtime.
Jake Randolph received a sneaky pass from Tyler Vesel on a broken play that turned into an offensive rush and fired it past a sprawling Ryan McKay to secure the 3-2 overtime win.
Nebraska-Omaha (9-2-1, 3-2-1-0 NCHC) triggered the scoring again on Saturday. This time, it was David Pope,who benefitted from a generous McKay rebound not too dissimilar from Friday’s first goal. The tally came at 8:29 of the first period.
“These are conference games, they get you fired up,” Mavericks forward Riley Alferd said. “Scoring early certainly helps.”
Following a five-minute major penalty for boarding on RedHawk captain Sean Kuraly, the Mavericks doubled their lead nearly four minutes into the second frame off the stick of Brian Cooper late in the man-advantage. The goal was the first and only of the power play variety for Miami this weekend, and just the third man-down point that Miami has allowed all year
Despite being outplayed and allowing a number of scoring chances, Miami (5-7-1, 2-5-1-1 NCHC) battled back with a couple strikes of its own late in the middle frame. Anthony Louis scored his second of the weekend to bring his team within one and three minutes later, Kiefer Sherwood opted to keep the puck on a two-on-one opportunity and buried his wrist shot short side.
The score remained knotted at two for the duration of regulation until Randolph silenced the crowd with a dagger of a game-winner in overtime. The 3-2 win in the initial, full-strength extra session earned Omaha the outright win and three points in the conference standings, giving them four out of a possible six on the weekend.
“Those points are so important,” UNO coach Dean Blais said. “Even that one point last night, if Miami wins in [the first] overtime, that puts more pressure on us. But that win tonight is what we were after.”
Alferd also mentioned how points are at a premium in the NCHC, and taking care of business on the road is how one puts their team in the position they want to be at the end of the year.
“It’s so nice to finish one in overtime, especially after last night’s ending,” said Alford, who picked up an assist on his team’s opening goal. “These conference points mean a lot. And it makes the bus ride home a lot easier.”
Evan Weninger was back in net after having the night off Friday, and looked masterful at times. He turned aside 28 of the 30 shots directed his way.
Despite a largely successful evening in all three zones, Miami was plagued by turnovers and seemingly insignificant bad decisions that turned into Omaha chances, including the overtime finisher.
“All those little things add up,” RedHawks coach Enrico Blasi stated, recalling missed opportunities and Miami miscues. “We need to continue to clean those things up from zone to zone. At the end of the night, it catches up to you.”
