At Baxter Arena in Omaha, Nebraska Tyler Ward scored a game winning goal in the third period, lifting the #17 Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks to a 4-1 win over the Maine Black Bears in men’s college hockey non-conference action. It was the season opener for Maine and the coaching debut of new head coach Ben Barr.
After a scoreless first period where a goal with 1:08 to go by Nebraska-Omaha was disallowed, the Mavericks finally broke the stalemate when Cameron Berg scored 3:06 into the second. Maine had the answer though as Ben Poisson scored the only Black Bears goal of the night and first of the 2021-22 season on assists from Adam Dawe and Jakub Sirota at the 12:31 mark of the middle period to even it 1-1. Ward got the winner on the powerplay at 8:58 of the third. Nebraska-Omaha (2-1) added a marker by Jack Randl at 13:48, and an empty netter late by Randl as well to put away visiting Maine.
Victor Ostman made 24 saves in net in the loss for Maine, while Isaiah Saville made 22 in the win. Kirby Proctor had two assists, while Chayse Primeau, Brannon McManus, and Davis Pennington had one helper each for Nebraska-Omaha. The Bears were 0-4 on the powerplay, while the Mavericks went 1-7. The two teams finish off the two game series on Saturday night at 8 p.m.
