Omaha, Nebraska: Mavericks Beat St. Cloud State 5-3 on Pellerin Power Play Winner

Omaha beat St. Cloud State 5-3 on Saturday night at Baxter Arena in Omaha, Nebraska, as Maxime Pellerin scored on the power play with 3:53 left in the third period to break a 3-3 tie and Sean Tschigerl added an empty net goal, his second goal of the night. The win gave the Mavericks five of the six conference points on the weekend, after a 2-2 tie on Friday night that Omaha followed with a shootout win for the extra point.

The Mavericks scored twice in the first 2:48. Tschigerl opened the scoring alone in front after a stretch pass from Luke Woodworth, snapping a shot over the pad of Huskies goaltender Yan Shostak for his second goal of the season. Ryan McCleary made it 2-0 at 2:48 with a move to the middle and a shot to the top shelf. William Ahlrik cut the lead to 2-1 on the power play at 6:24, deflecting a centering pass from Carson Pilgrim. Gavin Hodnett restored the two goal lead at 14:45, scoring on a rebound after an odd bounce off the end wall.

The Huskies tied it on the power play

St. Cloud State scored all three of its goals on the power play and all five of its goals in the series came with the man advantage. Nolan Roed made it 3-2 at 17:09 of the second period, redirecting a shot from Noah Urness. Pilgrim tied the game 3-3 at 9:08 of the third with a wrist shot from the left dot that went in off the glove of the Omaha goaltender. It was the first goal of Pilgrim's career, and he added the primary assist on the Ahlrik goal for his first multi-point game.

The game turned late. Hayden Paupanekis was called for boarding, and the Omaha power play, held without a goal until then, broke through at 16:07 when Pellerin one timed a pass from Woodworth. Tschigerl sealed it into the empty net at 18:25. St. Cloud State led in shots 26-24 and won the faceoff battle 33-30. Shostak finished with 19 saves.

The win came on a hard night for the visitors. St. Cloud State defenseman Finn McLaughlin was carted off the ice behind the net after a heavy collision in the Saturday game, and St. Cloud State Athletics had no update on his condition in its game account. McLaughlin had scored the tying goal and added an assist on Friday for his first career multi-point game, in front of a career high 42 saves from Omaha freshman goaltender Will Lacelle.

What is next

Omaha is 3-4-1 overall and 1-2-1 in the NCHC. St. Cloud State is 3-5-1 and 1-2-1 in league play, and the Huskies are now 31-22-5 all time against Omaha. St. Cloud State returns home to host No. 6 and No. 7 ranked Minnesota Duluth on Nov. 13 and 14 for Military Appreciation Weekend at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.