Mav Comeback Falls Short, NMU Wins Series
Mar 11, 2006 | Hockey
MARQUETTE, Mich.--Nebraska-Omaha rallied for two third-period goals but the comeback fell short as Northern Michigan swept the best-of-three CCHA quarterfinal series with a 3-2 win Saturday night at the Berry Events Center.
UNO (20-14-6) has been eliminated from the CCHA Tournament and will now await word to see if it receives an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament when the 16-team field is announced on March 19. Northern Michigan (22-14-2) extended its winning streak to six games and will advance to the CCHA semifinals in Detroit, Mich., March 17.
After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, Northern Michigan struck for three unanswered goals in the second stanza. Pat Bateman slipped a loose puck past UNO goaltender Jerad Kaufmann from the side of the net 1:41 into the period. NMU's special teams units then helped build onto the Wildcat lead. Jamie Milam connected on a slapshot from the point at 5:22 of the period while Northern Michigan was on the power play. Andrew Contois then gave NMU a 3-0 lead when he took the puck coast to coast and scored shorthanded at the 12:03 mark.
UNO then converted on two power play opportunites in the final seven minutes when Kaleb Betts connected on a slap shot from the point with 7:55 remaining and Alex Nikiforuk knocked in a rebound just three minutes later.
The Mavs skated with an extra attacker for the final 1:02 and had several chances to score but Northern Michigan and goaltender Bill Zaniboni stood their ground.
UNO outshot Northern Michigan 30-18 in the game, including a 15-3 advantage in the final period. The Mavericks were 2-for-7 on the power play while NMU was 1-for-3.
UNO (20-14-6) has been eliminated from the CCHA Tournament and will now await word to see if it receives an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament when the 16-team field is announced on March 19. Northern Michigan (22-14-2) extended its winning streak to six games and will advance to the CCHA semifinals in Detroit, Mich., March 17.
After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, Northern Michigan struck for three unanswered goals in the second stanza. Pat Bateman slipped a loose puck past UNO goaltender Jerad Kaufmann from the side of the net 1:41 into the period. NMU's special teams units then helped build onto the Wildcat lead. Jamie Milam connected on a slapshot from the point at 5:22 of the period while Northern Michigan was on the power play. Andrew Contois then gave NMU a 3-0 lead when he took the puck coast to coast and scored shorthanded at the 12:03 mark.
UNO then converted on two power play opportunites in the final seven minutes when Kaleb Betts connected on a slap shot from the point with 7:55 remaining and Alex Nikiforuk knocked in a rebound just three minutes later.
The Mavs skated with an extra attacker for the final 1:02 and had several chances to score but Northern Michigan and goaltender Bill Zaniboni stood their ground.
UNO outshot Northern Michigan 30-18 in the game, including a 15-3 advantage in the final period. The Mavericks were 2-for-7 on the power play while NMU was 1-for-3.
Players Mentioned
Tuesday, September 01
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
