OMAHA, NE – Returning to the ice for its first game in nearly three weeks, the Union College men’s hockey team was plagued by a slow start in which the hosting Omaha Mavericks scored four-unanswered goals in the first 24 minutes to defeat the Dutchmen, 5-1, on Friday night at Baxter Arena.
Omaha improves to .500 on the season after the win with an 8-8-1 overall record, while Union drops to 10-9-1.
The Dutchmen were unable to get quality puck possession for the majority of the contest, and the Mavericks limited Union to just 12 shots on net through the first 40 minutes. The shots evened up at 7-7 in the third period, but Omaha still owned a 28-19 margin by the final horn.
The Mavericks opened the scoring at the 3:31 mark of the first period and extended its lead to 2-0 before the seven-minute mark. Both Fredrik Olofsson and Ryan Jones scored for the Mavericks before Steven Spinner put Omaha up 3-0 before the end of the first period.
Omaha added a fourth goal, coming on a power play, at the 3:29 mark of the second period. At the next media timeout, Union made a switch in goaltenders and let Jake Kupsky take over duties in net for the remaining 35 minutes of the contest.
The change seemed to spark some boost in the Dutchmen, as Cole Maier erased the goose egg three minutes later with his fifth goal of the season. Unfortunately, the Mavericks responded minutes later on a two-on-one rush to score their fifth and final goal of the game.
After six goals were scored in the first 40 minutes, neither side would find the back of the net in the final 20, as Omaha held on to its 5-1 lead for the win.
Despite the loss, Union did excel in the face-off circle, winning 54-percent of the draws. Maier led the Dutchmen in face offs, going 11-for-15 in the game.
Union and Omaha finish the weekend series tomorrow night back at Baxter Arena at 8:07 p.m. (ET).
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