GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Last weekend following a win against Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha forward Austin Ortega said that the Mavericks could score on any goalie out there.
And while UNO came out on top in Friday’s shootout, on Saturday, UND goalie Zane McIntyre made his case.
UND led 3-1 after the second period and held on against UNO for a 3-2 win despite a late third-round push by the Mavericks.
Like Friday, UND struck first.
With UNO on the penalty kill from an Ortega contact to the head roughing call at the 38-second mark, Jordan Schmaltz threw a shot that hit Omaha goalie Ryan Massa and tumbled in at 2:02 of the first period.
Despite the early deficit, UNO had chances as the Mavs led UND in shots at 10-6.
Some of the better looks came at 7:59 after Andrew Panzarella was whistled for interference, but the Mavs could never get the puck past McIntyre.
At 12:36, Mark MacMillan took the puck to the front of the net and lobbed a backhander that went over Massa and in.
The goal was reviewed, as it appeared as though a UND player had committed goaltender interference. The goal stood, and UNO exited the period with a two-goal deficit.
The Mavericks got off to a physical start in the second period. UNO’s Luke Nogard and Panzarella were called for unsportsmanlike conduct after jawing before an early period faceoff.
Less than a minute later at the 59-second mark, Brian Cooper was called for cross-checking and the Mavs were down a man playing 4-on-3 for the remaining penalty.
“Every time we play Omaha, it’s always a tough series, it’s always a scrap,” Stephane Pattyn said. “I think both teams like that, it’s hockey. Emotions run high, especially when games are that close and adrenalines are pumping hard.”
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Dominic Zombo ripped a good shot from the circle, but McIntyre was there for the save. Minutes later on the break, Luc Snuggerud fired a shot that deflected off McIntyre into Ortega’s lap, but McIntyre slide perfectly to stop the sophomore’s put back effort.
At 15:52, the Mavs finally converted. Tyler Vesel battled behind the UND net until he got the puck to Jake Randolph, who fired a short strike past McIntyre.
UND was whistled for slashing at 16:08 and the Mavs seemingly rediscovered their groove from Friday. But the Mavs failed to press on the power play and UND capitalized.
With the penalty time ticking to an end, the Mavs turned it over in its own zone. Pattyn got the steal near the blue line and ripped a wrister near the circle that banged off the pipe and in to put UND back up by two.
As clock winded down in the second, Cooper was whistled for another penalty, this time boarding on a huge hit in the Mavericks’ zone, and UNO would exit the second period down 3-1 and looking at a shorthanded start to their final period.
North Dakota led shots on goal through two period 20-19.
The Mavs came out rejuvenated to start the final period and killed the penalty with ease. The David Pope-Avery Peterson-Jono Davis line got chance after chance for the Mavs early on, but couldn’t get one to go.
UND got whistled for tripping at 7:10, but the Mavs still couldn’t get a puck past McIntyre.
UNO and UND continued to grind, but UNO fought and were able get another one to go and keep them in the game.
Brian O’Rourke rifled a shot in that bounced off McIntyre and fell to Grant Gallo, who snuck it in for the score.
With momentum, UNO pressed on in search of an equalizer. Joel Messner had an open look with a little less than three minutes to go, but the shot went wide. After a UNO timeout at 18:01, the Mavs pulled Massa for an extra attacker.
UNO held the puck for nearly the entire final two minutes. The Mavs outshot UND 15-3 in the third period with rush after rush with a chance to even the game.
UNO’s last good chance came on a deflection by Peterson, but McIntyre stretched and was there for the save.
UND collected the puck in the final seconds and held on for the win.
“Close, hard-fought game,” UND coach Dave Hakstol said. “We came out, nice to score the PP goal early, but at no point in time was this anything but a battle, bottom line.”
UND gave UNO a taste of its own medicine in the win as McIntyre came away with 32 saves and effectively shut down the Mavericks’ offense most of the night.
“We had to lean on our guys especially to help me out and bail me out a couple times and vice versa,” McIntyre said. “Boys did a heck of a job in front of me and I have to give them a lot of credit.”
UNO’s third period fire gave UND all it could handle but McIntyre’s veteran presence helped anchor the team.
“Little hectic, obviously fun, but a little hectic,” McIntyre said of the late-game action. “In the third, they got that second goal and I think we held our composure. It was a real character win.”
The win give UND 16 points in the NCHC and propels them to second place in the standings. Omaha, with only six NCHC games played this season, sits at 11 points in fourth.
Haksol praised the play of the Mavericks and the competition his team has faced and will continue to face in NCHC play this season.
“There’s a lot of good teams in the NCHC, and that’s obvious,” Hakstol said. “I’m not talking about the polls or anything like that, I think there are a lot of really good teams in our league. It’s also very important collectively because we help each other by being successful as a league in nonconference [games].”
