BIG RAPIDS, Mich. — Bob Daniels was so preoccupied with making his first overtime line switch, the Ferris State coach wasn’t even looking at the action on the ice.

Casey Haines seemed so surprised by his own heroics, it took him at least a second or two before he started to celebrate.

It hardly seemed like a fitting conclusion for a hockey game that was so hard-fought and so filled with tension. But this night would end with Ferris State feeling elation, and with UNO trying to cope with a surreal dejection.

Haines scored just 23 seconds into overtime on Saturday, lifting the 13th-ranked Bulldogs to a 3-2 victory over No. 18 UNO. It marked the fifth straight year that the University of Nebraska at Omaha ended its season by getting swept out of the second round of the CCHA playoffs, and it goes in the books as the last game the Mavs will ever play as a member of this league.

After working out a 3-1 win in Friday’s series opener, Ferris State ended the best-of-three series in a flash — locking up the program’s first trip to Detroit for the CCHA semifinals since 2003.

“You want to kind of grind it out in overtime and make them earn it,” said UNO coach Dean Blais. “But we certainly had a better performance tonight than we did last night. Tonight I thought we had the puck most of the night and had better scoring opportunities than they did.”

But it was the Bulldogs’ last opportunity that counted most. On the series-clinching play, Ferris’ Cody Chupp pinched in on the boards to steal the puck as UNO defenseman Eddie Del Grosso tried to chip it out of the Mavs’ zone.

Chupp fed a pass in the corner to teammate Blair Riley, who then found Haines sitting in the slot. Haines took advantage of a screen in front of UNO goalie John Faulkner and buried a high wrister that blurred into the net.

It was the first goal by either team since the midpoint of the second period — and it seemed to take everybody in the rink by surprise. But once Haines realized what he’d done, he raised his arms, raced toward center ice and flopped on his stomach. As the celebratory air horn at Ewigleben Arena blared, Ferris’ players mobbed Haines as the crowd of 1,147 cheered wildly.

It marked the first time in UNO’s 11-year association with the CCHA that the Mavs’ season ended with an overtime loss.

Faulkner said he didn’t even see the game-winning goal.

“There was traffic in front of me,” he said, “and as soon as it left his stick, all I did was hear it go down behind me. Obviously it’s not a good feeling giving up a goal in overtime. You want to win this game so bad for everyone on the team — it’s just really tough.”

UNO, which will join the WCHA next year, ends its debut season under Blais with a 20-16-6 record. It marked the highest victory total in five years for the Mavs. Nonetheless, UNO now has no shot of earning an at-large invitation to the NCAA tournament.

Daniels agreed with Blais that the Mavs controlled play for the bulk of the game. But much like Friday’s series opener, UNO couldn’t do enough to solve standout goalie Pat Nagle.

“This means an awful, awful lot to us,” Daniels said. “And I think that was a problem for us. UNO really carried the play for a lot of the game, especially in the third period. I felt as though they were out there to win and we were out there not to lose. That’s what we talked about (during the break before OT), that we had to find a way to win it.

“I didn’t think it was going to happen that quick, because UNO really played a great game. I know that’s the type of loss that really rips your heart out, so I feel for everybody over there.”

The defeat marks the end of the careers of the Mavs’ seven seniors — Del Grosso, Jeremie Dupont, Jeric Agosta, JJ Koehler, Nick Fanto, Mark Bernier and Dan Swanson.

It also spoiled a fantastic showing by UNO’s line of Swanson, Brent Gwidt and Jordan Willert.

After Ferris jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a goal by Riley just 3:21 into the game, defenseman Nick Von Bokern scored his first of the season on a wrister from the point at 13:15 of the opening period. That tying goal came off assists from Willert and Swanson.

Just 16 seconds later, the Gwidt-Willert-Swanson combination worked out a 2-on-1 rush, which ended with Swanson burying the rebound after Nagle stopped Willert’s shot.

The Mavs held a 2-1 lead until the 13:35 mark of the second period, when Aaron Lewicki scored the only power-play goal of the game. Faulkner, who finished with 28 saves, made a handful of impressive stops in the third period, and so did Nagle.

Then, just like that, Ferris was celebrating and UNO’s season was over.

“We were feeling good about the way we were playing. Then one quick play, one quick shot — that’s it,” Swanson said. “We left everything out there on the ice, but it just wasn’t enough tonight. This hurts really bad for all of us.”

UNO (20-16-6).............................2 0 0 0—2
At Ferris State (21-11-6)....................1 1 0 1—3
First period: 1, FSU, Riley 18 (Chupp, Haines), 3:21. 2, UNO, Von Bokern 1 (Willert, Swanson), 13:15. 3, UNO, Swanson 7 (Willert, Gwidt), 13:31.
Second period: 4, FSU, Lewicki 12 (Menke, Riley), 13:35 (pp).
Third period: None.
Overtime: 5, FSU, Haines 11 (RIley, Chupp), 0:23.
Shots on goal:
UNO............13 10 12 0—35
At FSU ...........6 13 11 1—31
Power plays: UNO 0 for 2; FSU 1 for 3.
Penalties-minutes: UNO 3-6; FSU 2-4.
Goalies: UNO, Faulkner (31 shots, 28 saves, 60:23). FSU, Nagle (35 shots, 33 saves, 60:23).
Three stars: 1, Haines. 2, Lewicki. 3, Swanson.
Attendance: 1,147.

Contact the writer:
444-1207, chad.purcell@owh.com

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