The first Hockey Night in Omaha, from UNO's perspective, was a smashing, too-good-to-be-true kind of success.

But in reality, this all has seemed to be building now for a month.

In one of the most surprising performances in program history, the University of Nebraska at Omaha rolled to an emphatic 4-1 win Saturday night over 19th-ranked Michigan. But maybe nobody should be surprised anymore by what Dean Blais can squeeze out of a hockey team.

The red-hot Mavericks got another victory one night after they outlasted the Wolverines 4-3 — a win that snapped a four-year, eight-game losing streak against the Maize and Blue. UNO now is 6-1-1 in its past eight games, and Blais' team ends the weekend sitting alone in fourth place in the CCHA — a mere two points behind Ferris State and Michigan State, which are tied for second with 43 points apiece.

This weekend marked the last regular-season CCHA series the WCHA-bound Mavs will ever host — and what a way this was for UNO to go out. The Mavericks got their first-ever sweep over Michigan — the perennial NCAA powerhouse that entered the series with a 24-4-3 all-time advantage over the Mavs.

And Saturday's fireworks all unfolded in front of a Qwest Center Omaha crowd of 10,628, the third-largest turnout in school history.

“This means a lot to our guys, obviously,” said Blais — who now has as many wins over Michigan at UNO as he did while coaching at the University of North Dakota. “The celebration last night wasn't too out-of-whack — because they knew the job was only half done. But any time you beat a team like Michigan twice, it's a big deal.”

Not only did UNO find a way to deny a loaded Michigan team that was hungry for revenge, the Mavs secured the sweep with an unlikely cast of characters taking center stage.

Senior Dan Swanson scored twice, while John Kemp and Jordan Willert also had goals for UNO. Willert, who has only played in 13 of UNO's 34 games, netted his first of the year. Swanson and Kemp entered the game with a combined seven goals on the year.

“This means a lot. Over the years we've had some really tough games where they beat us up pretty good, and we've also had a couple of close ones where we just couldn't find a way to beat them,” Swanson said. “To come out of here with a sweep is really big, and the guys are really happy about it.

“We're a team that works hard. We might not have the 20-goal guys that other teams have, but we grind it out every night and give it everything we have.”

Brandon Richardson also finished with three assists for UNO, while Terry Broadhurst helped set up the goals scored by Kemp and Willert. And don't forget about the effort turned in by redshirt freshman goalie John Faulkner, who shut out Michigan for more than 56 minutes and tied his career-high saves total by stopping 36 of 37 shots.

“We worked so hard this week getting ready for this,” Faulkner said. “This is big for our confidence, and we just have to work hard again this week and move on.”

Michigan coach Red Berenson wasn't happy that the Wolverines took five penalties — compared to UNO's one — during the first two periods. But overall, Berenson said, his team played much better on Saturday than it did during the series opener.

“It's a close game — it wasn't a 4-0 type game, it probably should've been a 2-1 game,” Berenson said. “We couldn't score that one goal we needed early. But that's the way the game was, and you've got to put your chances in on the road and stay out of the penalty box.”

Added Berenson: “The one thing I will not miss when I'm done coaching is the officiating in this league — I won't miss that.”

On Saturday, for the first time in five games, UNO found a way to strike first. It happened at 3:09 into the first period, during a Mavs' man advantage, when Kemp beat Michigan goalie Bryan Hogan off a pair of nifty passes from Nick Fanto and Broadhurst.

UNO went up by a pair at the 13:09 mark of the second. Working the puck behind the Wolverines' net, Richardson found Willert alone in front of Hogan. The sophomore forward fired in a wrist shot for his third career goal and first since November 2008.

Then midway through the third, Swanson gave UNO all the cushion it would need when he clicked just 23 seconds apart, both off assists from Richardson. On each goal, Swanson got the puck high — just under the crossbar — past a helpless Hogan.

Swanson's first goal truly was a thing of beauty, with the senior blasting a one-timer that blurred into the net before Hogan could move.

“I saw the puck coming over. I just buried my head, took a shot, and I didn't even see if it went in,” Swanson said. “I don't know if it was my nicest goal ever or not, but I'll take it, that's for sure.”

Louie Caporusso ended Faulkner's shutout bid with just 3:27 left in regulation. But with the victory well in hand, UNO successfully chewed down the clock without the Wolverines threatening much the rest of the way. Michigan outshot UNO 15-7 in the third, and 37-28 for the game, but it still didn't matter.

When the final horn sounded, fans threw a few brooms onto the ice to symbolize the sweep. A couple of UNO's players held them aloft during their postgame stick salute.

Top-ranked Miami and No. 14 Michigan State were the only other teams to sweep the Wolverines this season. But now UNO must find a way to keep this momentum rolling next weekend, when it faces the daunting task of closing out the regular season playing Miami in Oxford, Ohio.

“I don't know how good we are — we'll find out next weekend,” Blais said. “But I think we've been doing things the right way.”

Michigan (17-15-1, 12-11-1-0).......................0 0 1—1
At UNO (16-12-6, 12-11-3-2)..........................1 1 2—4

First period: 1, UNO, Kemp 5 (Fanto, Broadhurst), 16:51 (pp).

Second period: 2, UNO, Willert 1 (Richardson, Broadhurst), 13:09.

Third period: 3, UNO, Swanson 4 (Richardson, Koehler), 10:01. 4, UNO, Swanson 5 (Richardson), 10:24. 5, Michigan, Caporusso 11 (Glendening, Hagelin), 16:33.

Shots on goal:

Michigan...................7 15 15—37
At UNO......................11 10 7—28

Power plays: Michigan 0 for 4; UNO 1 for 7.

Penalties-minutes: Michigan 7-14; UNO 4-8.

Goalies: Michigan, Hogan (28 shots, 24 saves, 59:58). UNO, Faulkner (37 shots, 36 saves, 59:44).

Three stars: 1, Swanson. 2, Faulkner. 3, Broadhurst.

Attendance: 10,628.

Contact the writer:

444-1207, chad.purcell@owh.com