Vikings spoil Mavericks’ home opener with pair of late tallies
OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha Mavericks carried a 1-0 lead into the third period Friday night, searching for a home-opening win over Augustana.
However, the Vikings struck for a pair of late goals, handing No. 12 Omaha its first loss of the young season.
“We’ve got to find ways to get better and we have to make sure we’re doing the hard things consistently that sometimes aren’t fun to do,” Omaha head coach Mike Gabinet said after the game. “But that’s how you get wins at this level.”
Friday’s loss follows back-to-back wins over ranked opponents – No. 14 UMass and No. 5 Minnesota. Yet the Mavericks followed it up with a loss to the second-year Vikings, dampening a night that started with an NCAA Tournament banner raising.
The loss also snapped a six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1) at Baxter Arena and drops Omaha to 3-5-0 in home openers under Gabinet.
Although the end result was a loss, Gabinet’s club started strong. Zach Urdahl found himself cutting to the top of the crease just 20 seconds into the contest, only to be denied by Augustana goaltender Josh Kotai – who made 34 saves in the win.
Urdahl received the first of several first-period chances for the home side, whether it be an early power play, a Myles Hillman shot over the net or a Brock Bremer 2-on-1 just before the final minute. Among others.
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However, the Mavericks weren’t able to convert and entered the first intermission gridlocked at zero.
“I thought for parts of the game we were doing a lot of good things,” Gabinet said. “Just couldn’t capitalize on some of those opportunities. So some positives there, but definitely some learning things as well.”
Both sides traded chances to open the second period and the Mavs had a golden opportunity roughly three minutes in, as Dylan Gratton’s shot from the point created a mad scramble in front of the Augustana net. Yet the game remained scoreless.
The Vikings answered back, and frankly, Augustana controlled much of the middle part of the second period – at times leaving Baxter Arena rather quiet.
Augustana out-shot Omaha 14-12 in the period and had multiple rushes up ice, testing Simon Latkoczy.
However, Latkoczy stood tall and Zach Urdahl broke through in the final minutes. Urdahl corralled a stretch pass from Noah Ellis at the blue line and skated into the Augustana zone, snapping home a shot from the far faceoff dot.
The goal was the 26th of Urdahl’s NCAA career and gives him three through three games this season.
“He’s doing great,” Gabinet said of the senior forward. “He’s obviously an impact player for us and doing a lot of good things.”
Urdahl’s goal ignited the home crowd, which was announced at 6,338, and seemed to give the Mavericks life heading into the third period. Instead, the game’s final two tallies did the opposite.
Luke Mobley tied the game 6:33 into the third, sneaking a shot through Latkoczy from the top of the near faceoff circle. Mobley’s goal came short-handed against an Omaha power-play unit that finished the night 0-for-2.
Hunter Bischoff then delivered the final blow with just 2:19 left, corralling a loose puck behind the net and banking it off an Omaha defender. Gabinet said his team got caught in a bad change too, which initially helped set up the goal.
Bischoff’s goal gave the Vikings their first lead of the night and ultimately stood as the game-winner.
Omaha will look to respond on Saturday and salvage a split before heading to Minnesota State next weekend. Game 2 is set for another 7:07 p.m. faceoff and will once again be televised on NCHC.TV.
“You have to stick to your identity as a team,” Gabinet said. “You can’t get into a track meet or try and hope you’re gonna score. You have to do things consistently all the time. It’s hard to do that for 60 minutes, but that’s what it takes to win.”
Final line
Omaha 0-1-0 – 1
Augustana 0-0-2 – 2
First Period
None
Second Period
Zach Urdahl (Noah Ellis), 18:06, EV
Third Period
Luke Mobley (unassisted), 6:33, SHG
Hunter Bischoff (Callum Gau, Evan McIntyre), 17:41, EV
SOG
Omaha 10-12-13 – 35
Augustana 9-14-13 – 36
Power Play
Omaha – 0/2
Augustana – 0/0
Saves
Simon Latkoczy, Omaha: 9-14-11 – 34
Josh Kotai, Augustana: 10-11-13 – 34
Attendance
6,338
– Jordan McAlpine
