Nov. 5, 2022; Omaha, NE, USA; North Dakota’s Griffin Ness (11) attempts a play on the puck against Omaha’s Victor Mancini (23). (Photo Courtesy Russell Hons Photography).

OMAHA-Neb.- The Omaha Mavericks defeated the No. 10 North Dakota Fighting Hawks in a shootout 2-1 to earn a series split with the defending Penrose Cup champions.  

After a scoreless first period, Omaha freshman left wing Jacob Slipec scored his first career goal on a wrist shot from North Dakota’s crease after a centering pass from sophomore Victor Mancini to give Omaha a 1-0 lead at 2:58 in the second period.  

Gabinet said Slipec was inserted into the lineup due to injuries with two of Omaha’s top forwards, Brock Bremer and Matt Miller, but also how hard Slipec works in practice. 

“Anytime a guy like that gets rewarded, you’re pretty excited for him,” Gabinet said. 

North Dakota’s Judd Caulfield tied the score at 1-all with 1:22 remaining in the second when he snuck a wrist shot past Omaha goalie Jake Kucharski. 

Kucharski, who was starting at goal on consecutive days, kept the game close for Omaha by allowing just one goal on 27 shots-on-goal for the Fighting Hawks.  

“It was nice to see him go back-to-back and perform so well and made some timely saves at key moments in the game,” Gabinet said.

North Dakota’s Nick Portz nearly gave North Dakota the lead at 1:30 in the third on a breakaway opportunity, but Portz shot attempt deflected off Kucharski’s left pad. 

At 6:08 in the third, Omaha defender Joaquim Lemay was called for a two-minute hooking penalty, six seconds left on the Lemay penalty North Dakota’s Tyler Kleven scored on a one-timer to give North Dakota a 2-1 lead. Omaha challenged the goal for goaltender interference due to Caulfield allegedly obstructing Kucharski’s view of the puck, but the call on the ice stood.

Omaha was quick to respond; however, less than 90 seconds later, Omaha’s Ty Mueller tied the at 2-all when he scored off a no-look assist from Tyler Weiss. 

Omaha took the lead less than two minutes later when Omaha’s alternate captain tipped in his nation-leading 11th goal of the season from in front of DeRidder’s goal giving Omaha a 3-2 lead in the third.  

Randl has scored a goal in six of the Maverick’s eight games. Randl is the only player in program history to score eight goals in the season’s first six games, and Austin Ortega and Brando Scereo held the previous record of seven. 

“He’s the same every day whether it’s practice or games he brings it,” Gabinet said. “I keep putting him out there because he’s a special player, and he continues to make a big impact for our program.”

North Dakota’s Riese Gaber tied the score at 3-all when he scored on a wrist shot from an Owen McLaughlin backhand pass from behind the Omaha goal at 13:53 in the third. 

At 2:35 in overtime, Gaber was called for a hooking penalty giving Omaha a 4-on-3 power play advantage. However, North Dakota killed off the penalty, helping send the game to a penalty shootout.   

“They did a good job on their kill there, and we had a couple of looks but weren’t able to capitalize,” Gabinet said. 

Omaha and North Dakota were rewarded one point each for a tie, but Omaha’s shootout win gave the Mavericks an extra point in the conference standings. 

North Dakota started the shootout by sneaking a wrist shot underneath the right pad of Kucharski to give the Fighting Hawks a 1-0 lead in the shootout. Goals, however, first by Mueller, then Weiss and a missed goal by North Dakota’s Griffin Ness sealed Omaha’s 2-1 shutout win.  

“We all dug in, and we found a way to get that extra point,” Kucharski said.

Omaha improves to 4-4-2 overall and 0-1-1 in conference play with the win, while with the loss, North Dakota drops to 4-3-2 and 1-0-1 in conference play. 

The Mavericks will travel to No. 20 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs for a two-game series on Nov. 11 and 12 from Amsoil Arena in Duluth, Minnesota.