UNO beat the No. 3 and 4 Michigan Wolverines 4-2 Friday night at Yost Ice Arena. The victory is the third-straight shocker for a team expected to struggle some this season.
The Mavs have developed a certain trend in their recent victories over ranked opponents: score early, and hold on tight.
While it may be a temptation to play conservatively after early leads, the Mavs' have maintained tempo.
“We play the same way [when we get early leads]," said UNO head coach Dean Blais. "It’s not that we get up four goals and sit back."
Last Friday night at Minnesota, the Mavs jumped out to a 4-0 lead and then had it slowly shrink away before the Gophers tied the game late in the third period. The Mavs eventually came away with a 5-4 victory.
The following night the Mavs jumped out to a 3-0 lead. The Gophers fought back to make the score 3-2 before the Mavs scored an empty-netter to make it a 4-2 final.
“I think we need to work on our shutdown defense a little more," said senior defenseman Eric Olimb following the victory. "But when they got that first [goal] we talked on the bench and knew we had to give them nothing for the rest of the game.”
The early leads have put added pressure on the Mavs defense who has faced a fury of shots late in games.
Last night in Ann Arbor, Mich. the Mavs scored all four goals before the third period. Then UNO held on with sophomore goaltender John Faulkner fending off 26 of 28 Wolverine shot attempts in the second and third periods. The Wolnerines scored back-to back goals in the third to make the score 4-2 with five minutes remaining but couldn't get anymore as Faulkner brought his season saves total to 150, good for second best in the nation behind junior Dan Morrison of Canisius.
It was the third straight Friday that the No. 1 offense in the nation has lead 4-0.
"It's disappointing to be down 4-0 in a game," said Michigan junior forward Luke Glendening. "I think we worked hard in the third period, but sometimes that's not enough. I thought we played hard, but four goals is a tough deficit to come back from."
Game two is set for 6:35 p.m. CT tonight at Yost Ice Arena.
 |
| Coach Blais and the UNO Mavs are 5-0, thanks in large part to their early scoring bursts. |
“We play the same way [when we get early leads]," said UNO head coach Dean Blais. "It’s not that we get up four goals and sit back."
Last Friday night at Minnesota, the Mavs jumped out to a 4-0 lead and then had it slowly shrink away before the Gophers tied the game late in the third period. The Mavs eventually came away with a 5-4 victory.
The following night the Mavs jumped out to a 3-0 lead. The Gophers fought back to make the score 3-2 before the Mavs scored an empty-netter to make it a 4-2 final.
“I think we need to work on our shutdown defense a little more," said senior defenseman Eric Olimb following the victory. "But when they got that first [goal] we talked on the bench and knew we had to give them nothing for the rest of the game.”
The early leads have put added pressure on the Mavs defense who has faced a fury of shots late in games.
Last night in Ann Arbor, Mich. the Mavs scored all four goals before the third period. Then UNO held on with sophomore goaltender John Faulkner fending off 26 of 28 Wolverine shot attempts in the second and third periods. The Wolnerines scored back-to back goals in the third to make the score 4-2 with five minutes remaining but couldn't get anymore as Faulkner brought his season saves total to 150, good for second best in the nation behind junior Dan Morrison of Canisius.
It was the third straight Friday that the No. 1 offense in the nation has lead 4-0.
"It's disappointing to be down 4-0 in a game," said Michigan junior forward Luke Glendening. "I think we worked hard in the third period, but sometimes that's not enough. I thought we played hard, but four goals is a tough deficit to come back from."
Game two is set for 6:35 p.m. CT tonight at Yost Ice Arena.
No comments:
Post a Comment