Nobody will be able to say the UNO hockey team didn't earn these five points.

One night after rallying for a dramatic 6-5 shootout win over Ohio State, the Mavericks again had to fight and claw past the Buckeyes on Saturday to secure a 4-3 comeback victory in the series finale.

Eddie Del Grosso, Terry Broadhurst, Alex Hudson and Jeric Agosta all scored for the University of Nebraska at Omaha, which now is 4-1-1 in its past six games.

“Both nights they score first, and that's kind of a backbreaker,” Agosta said. “It takes the wind out of your sails. But we kept on believing in each other and competed for 120 minutes.”

Ohio State in fact built 2-0 leads in both games of the series. The Buckeyes worked out two-goal leads on five occasions this weekend, but the visitors only came away with one of a possible six CCHA points.

“It wasn't a perfect start for us, but it's the perfect finish,” said UNO associate head coach Mike Hastings. “It's something we'll address, but just like last night, there wasn't a sense of panic. It was more that we've done this before, and I think the guys are starting to gain a lot of confidence.”

Broadhurst — who had a hat trick Friday — set up Agosta for the winning goal, while one of John Kemp's two assists on the night also came on Agosta's decisive score. Del Grosso enjoyed a three-point weekend to move his career points total to 101, becoming only the second defenseman in UNO history to pass the century mark.

One night after drawing a school-record crowd of 13,417 to cap off UNO's “Sell Out Ohio State” campaign, the turnout for Saturday's game dropped to 7,259. But Buckeyes coach John Markell said both games at Qwest Center Omaha felt like rowdy playoff contests, and he said his players ultimately didn't do enough to overcome the Mavs' noisy home-ice advantage.

“It's really disappointing getting the lead again and not being able to sustain it,” said Markell, whose team was coming off a 4-1-1 January. “We needed (the points) just as much as they did. The crowd got into it, and we didn't do the little things we needed to do.”

C.J. Severyn beat UNO goalie John Faulkner just 15 seconds after the opening faceoff for one of the fastest goals allowed in the history of Mavs hockey. Shane Sims then made UNO pay during Ohio State's first man advantage. With Faulkner heavily screened by traffic in front of his net, Sims ripped in a shot from the point.

“What are my thoughts at that point? My thoughts are, ‘You've got to be kidding me,'” Hastings said, laughing. “But again, I'm a big believer, and so is our entire staff, that you find out the most about people when things aren't so rosy. It's important for us to have better starts, but it's also important for us to continue to finish games like we did tonight.”

Del Grosso cut the Buckeyes' lead in half at 12:15 in the first. During a 5-on-3 UNO power play, Del Grosso blasted the puck past Ohio State goalie Dustin Carlson from the slot. Sims clicked again at 5:18 of the second, this time while the Buckeyes skated on a 5-on-3 man advantage.

Then Broadhurst buried his fourth goal of the weekend to make it 3-2. With the Mavs on a power play, Joey Martin clanked a shot off the post that bounced out to Broadhurst, who quickly slipped the puck into the net before Carlson could slide into position.

In the third, it was UNO that finally found a way to strike quickly. With the Mavs working the puck in Ohio State's zone after the period-opening faceoff, Brandon Richardson battled with a Buckeyes defenseman and knocked the puck back to a charging Hudson. Hudson slid a long wrist shot between Carlson's legs, knotting it 3-all at the 0:56 mark.

Seven minutes later, UNO went ahead 4-3 when Agosta and Broadhurst raced free for a 2-on-1 rush. Broadhurst sent in a gorgeous centering pass, and Agosta directed the puck in as he crashed the net.

“We just got up the ice, and in the neutral zone built up a lot of speed,” Broadhurst said. “It was actually a play that (Agosta) and I work on a lot. I saw him going to the net, got it to him, and it was a big goal.”

After taking the lead, UNO had to kill off a late Ohio State power play. Inside the final 90 seconds, the Mavs did a masterful job of eating the clock — with Agosta, Martin and Matt Ambroz both working the puck along the boards for long stretches.

The Buckeyes briefly pulled Carlson for an extra attacker. But after Ohio State stopped play with a late icing infraction, Carlson had to finish the final 30 seconds in net as UNO refused to let Ohio State bring the puck out of its own zone.

UNO plays another high-profile home series next weekend against Michigan.

“The guys are believing in themselves, and in each other,” Hastings said. “They were rewarded for that this weekend.”

OSU (11-14-3, 9-10-3-1)..............................2 1 0—3
At UNO (14-12-6, 10-11-3-2).......................1 1 2—4

First period: 1, OSU, Severyn 7 (Albert, Bishop), 0:15. 2, OSU, Sims 4 (Somma, Boyd), 7:44 (pp). 3, UNO, Del Grosso 5 (Hudson, Kemp), 12:15 (pp).

Second period: 4, OSU, Sims 5 (Reed, Stefishen), 5:18 (pp). 5, UNO, Broadhurst 9 (Martin, Olimb), 13:01 (pp).

Third period: 6, UNO, Hudson 9 (Richardson, Purslow), 0:56. 7, UNO, Agosta 14 (Broadhurst, Kemp), 8:38.

Shots on goal:

OSU..............................9 10 6—25
At UNO......................12 17 10—39

Power plays: OSU 2 for 5; UNO 2 for 7.

Penalties-minutes: OSU 7-14; UNO 5-10.

Goalies: OSU, Carlson (39 shots, 35 saves, 59:39). UNO, Faulkner (25 shots, 22 saves, 60:00).

Three stars: 1, Agosta. 2, Sims. 3, Broadhurst.

Attendance: 7,259.

Contact the writer:

444-1207, chad.purcell@owh.com

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