OMAHA, Neb. — Both Omaha and Western Michigan have had up-and-down power plays in the NCHC this season. And Friday night, it was special teams that made the difference.
Behind two power-play goals, the Broncos edged the No. 4 Mavericks 2-1.
The Mavericks have only been held to one goal three times this year, losing for the first time tonight.
The Broncos broke the game open with their first power-play goal at 10:74 in the first period. Frederik Tiffels was sandwiched by two Mavericks defenseman and found an open Colton Hargrove, who scored on Ryan Massa’s glove side.
At 19:19 in the second period, Taylor Fleming flicked a wrister near the right wing to push the cushion to two goals and send an early message to the Mavericks.
“Huge goals for us to capitalize on the power play, particularly after we killed their power play in the first period,” Broncos coach Andy Murray said. “They got the first one in the hockey game. To get that first goal, for us on the power play was huge.”
The Broncos have just nine power-play goals in conference play prior to the game, for last place in the NCHC, despite having 14 goals on the power play out of conference.
[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000W35JQWdRAcI” g_name=”20150213-Omaha-WesternMichigan-MBishop” f_show_caption=”t” f_show_slidenum=”t” img_title=”casc” pho_credit=”iptc” f_link=”t” f_bbar=”t” fsvis=”f” width=”500″ height=”375″ bgcolor=”#AAAAAA” bgtrans=”t” btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” crop=”f” trans=”xfade” tbs=”4000″ f_ap=”t” linkdest=”c” f_fullscreen=”f” f_constrain=”f” twoup=”f” f_topbar=”f” f_bbarbig=”” f_htmllinks=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”f” f_show_watermark=”f” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”f” f_up=”f” target=”_self” wmds=”llQ6QNgpeC.p1Ucz7U.f22T7cRoRak2YTm6ZIBfMMpE_AM7RFyoIdhFmpVwdoxSHqfcxYQ–” ]UNO scored its lone power-play goal after pulling goalie Ryan Massa for a six-on-four advantage. Ian Brady sent a shot in from the left circle that ricocheted to the side of the net and Jake Guentzel lunged forward to poke the puck in the net.
UNO pressed for the remaining 1:55 in search of the equalizer, but came up short.
“We needed to play that kind of game; we certainly are capable of it,” Murray said.
WMU is now 5-2-2 since the New Year with points against Miami, Minnesota-Duluth, and now the No. 4 Mavericks.
“If somebody looks at our last 16 games, our record’s pretty good so we just have so much respect for Omaha that if you don’t play at the top of your ability they’re going to embarrass you,” Murray said. “We just came in and played a solid NHL-style game.”
UNO was 1-5 on the power play, something the Mavericks struggled with prior to their recent series against North Dakota. Despite having an extra week to prepare for the Broncos, Omaha came out flat.
“I figured we’d be a little bit rusty making plays, finishing off, but not coming down the ice and competing,” Dean Blais said. “They scored the first goal, and we lost all of our momentum, and then we were looking for offense instead of working for it.”
The Mavericks were also playing without captain Dominic Zombo, who was sidelined with a nagging groin injury. Blais said inconsistent play from a couple Mavericks is holding his team back from their aspirations of pursuing a championship.
“At this time of year, eight games left, it’s a player’s game right now,” Blais said. “It’s up to them to deliver. It’s up to them to execute. They’re talking championships. They’re the ones that are writing it on the board. Then they’ve got to deliver and play that way. It’s up to them to get together and discuss what are you going to be?”
With the loss, Omaha forfeited the No. 1 spot in the NCHC standings to North Dakota, which beat Denver Friday. The Mavericks now share second place with Miami. Minnesota-Duluth’s win against St. Cloud brought the Bulldogs within one point of second place in a neck-and-neck race for home ice in the conference playoffs.
The Mavericks also tumbled from fourth to eighth in the PairWise Rankings.
