BIG RAPIDS, Mich. — During the past two months, UNO had started playing like a hockey team that had no plans of hanging up its skates anytime soon.

Suddenly the Mavs have to find a way to win Saturday night to avoid a head start on the spring.

No. 13 Ferris State used two goals from Mike Embach and a fantastic performance from goalie Pat Nagle to open the second round of the CCHA playoffs Friday with a 3-1 win over 18th-ranked UNO.

In taking game one of the best-of-three series, the Bulldogs managed to cool off a University of Nebraska at Omaha squad that was 10-3-1 in its last 14 games. The teams play again at 6:05 Saturday night, when the Bulldogs will try to end UNO's season and lock up their first trip to “The Joe” in Detroit since 2003.

“I don't know — I thought tonight's game basically was a dead heat,” said Ferris State coach Bob Daniels, whose team improved to 11-0 all-time at home in the CCHA playoffs. “We just capitalized on a couple of chances.”

Ferris took control of the series by finishing 2 for 5 on the man advantage. UNO, meanwhile, went 0 for 4. That power-play discrepancy, Mavs coach Dean Blais said, was the story of the game.

“They score two power play goals, we score none,” said Blais, whose team has now been outscored 8-2 in its three losses this season against Ferris. “They're a good team, and if you have an opportunity, you've got to put the puck away. We just didn't.”

For sure, Nagle — the game's No. 1 star — had a lot to do with the Mavs' frustrations. During an up-and-down game in which the Bulldogs outshot UNO 36-34, Nagle made 33 saves. He blanked the Mavs for more than 58 minutes, and his shutout bid didn't end until John Kemp scored with just 83 seconds left in the contest.

Blais was critical of his defensemen for allowing Ferris so many shots on net, and he was upset that his forwards didn't finish while working numerous odd-man rushes. He said the Mavs also didn't fight hard enough down low in Ferris' zone to create scoring chances.

“Any time you get an outnumbered situation, you've got to execute,” Blais said. “Plus, this was one of our worst games our defensive corps has played top to bottom. Our strength is our forecheck, and we didn't generate a whole lot off of that. For whatever reason, we looked a step slow.”

The Mavs have now made it to the second round of the CCHA playoffs for five straight years. If they don't win tonight, however, it will mark the fifth consecutive season they've been swept during the second weekend of the league's postseason.

“This is definitely frustrating, because we had been playing well,” said UNO defenseman Mark Bernier, a senior captain. “We came in here on a roll, and this isn't what we wanted to happen. I wouldn't say we played bad, but it wasn't our best game. But we're a team that never quits, and we're going to come back and work hard tomorrow night.”

After a back-and-forth first period in which neither team scored, Ferris struck first at 7:16 of the second.

On the play, Kemp turned over the puck just inside the Bulldogs' blueline. Right as Ferris' Brett Wysopal took possession, Mavs defenseman Kyle Ensign lost his footing and fell to the ice. Wysopal fed the puck to a racing Embach, who skated in alone on UNO goalie Jeremie Dupont and blasted in a high wrister that Dupont couldn't glove.

Then at 14:42 of the second, the Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead just three seconds into their second power play. Justin Menke won a faceoff back to Aaron Lewicki, who took advantage of a screen in front of Dupont to score his 11th of the season.

Embach rang a shot off the post later in the second that could've given Ferris a three-goal lead. With less than a minute to go before the second intermission, UNO barely missed its first goal when Nagle denied Bernier — who charged in from the point, took a pass from Jordan Willert and couldn't put away two lightning-fast close-ranked shots.

“That was a heck of a save,” Daniels said. “If you want to talk about a game-saving save, Pat Nagle made a leg save — then followed it up with a glove save. That was a huge moment in this game.”

Embach's second goal at 8:31 of the third period came on an unfortunate bounce for UNO. During a Ferris power play, the Mavs blocked a shot by Wysopal. But the puck bounced right to Menke, who quickly fed the puck to a wide-open Embach in front of a wide-open net.

Kemp finally beat Nagle with a high backhander during a rush, but it came far too late for UNO to mount a serious comeback attempt. Blais pulled Dupont for the final 1:03, but the Mavs couldn't get anything else to go in. Dupont was solid in his 33-save effort, allowing only one even-strength goal on Embach's breakaway.

If the Mavs win Saturday night, game three of the series would be at 6:05 p.m. Sunday.

“I thought they really capitalized on the few mistakes that we made, and their goalie made some really big saves, too,” Kemp said. “We can't let this bother us now. We have to come back tomorrow, and hopefully things will start going our way again like they have during the second half.”

UNO (20-15-6)........................0 0 1—1

At Ferris State (20-11-6)........................0 2 1—3

Second period: 1, FSU, Embach 7 (Wysopal, Lewicki), 7:16. 2, FSU, Lewicki 11 (Menke), 14:42 (pp).

Third period: 3, FSU, Embach 8 (Menke, Wysopal), 8:31 (pp). 4, UNO, Kemp 8 (Olimb, Ensign), 18:37.

Shots on goal:

UNO...................9 13 12—34

At FSU...................12 13 11—36

Power plays: UNO 0 for 4; FSU 2 for 5.

Penalties-minutes: UNO 6-12; FSU 5-10.

Goalies: UNO, Dupont (36 shots, 33 saves, 1:03). FSU, Nagle (34 shots, 33 saves, 60:00).

Three stars: 1, Nagle. 2, Embach. 3, Lewicki.

Attendance: 862.

Contact the writer:

444-1207, chad.purcell@owh.com

« Sports - Mavs Today

Share