Feb. 14, 2003
OMAHA, Neb. - [box score] The Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks celebrated Valentine’s Day by playing in their road reds, and treated the holiday crowd to a 5-2 non-conference win over Bemidji State tonight at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.

The Mavericks struck in the game’s opening minute, as sophomore wing Anthony Adams took pass at red line from David Brisson, then skated through no less than three BSU defenders for one-on-one opportunity against BSU goaltender Grady Hunt. Adams pushed puck between Hunt’s legs to give Mavericks an early 1-0 lead just 54 seconds into the contest. Adams’ lamp-lighter is the fastest goal allowed by BSU this season and fastest since Air Force’s Derek Olson scored just 37 seconds into a 2-2 draw on Feb. 9, 2002.

Nebraska-Omaha then grabbed a 2-0 lead at the 8:16 mark of the first, scoring short-handed during a tripping penalty on Cody Blanshan. The Mavericks had two previous short-handed scoring opportunities during the penalty and were turned away, but Brisson was able to capitalize on the third. He took a pass at center ice from Scotty Turner after a BSU turnover at the blue-line, then broke away down the right side for a one-on-one chance against Hunt.

Andrew Murray drew the Beavers within a goal at 14:00 of the first with a beautiful one-on-one short-handed effort in the offensive zone. He and Brendan Cook broke away for a two-on-two opportunity, and Murray wound up with the puck at the left edge of the net. He was pinned on the edge by the goaltender and a Maverick defender, but managed a spin-move away from the net and managed to deliver the puck past UNO goalie Dan Ellis to pull the Beavers within a goal.

But the Mavericks came out stong in the second period, scoring twice in the first 1:16 of the period on their first two shots of the frame. Andrew Wong picked up his fifth goal of the season just 42 seconds into the period to put the Mavericks ahead 3-1, then Dan Hacker lit the lamp for the ninth time this season just 34 seconds later to give Omaha a 4-1 lead. Hacker’s tally sent Hunt to the bench; he was replaced by Dannie Morgan. Hunt saved just six of 13 shots faced before getting the hook. He took the loss in goal for BSU and saw his season record even at 8-8-4.

"It’s tough when you’re down early," BSU head coach Tom Serratore said. "You take away the first five minutes of the first period and the first five minutes of the second and we played a good game. You can’t shoot yourself in the foot like that and try to get back into the game.

"I felt bad for Grady," Serratore said. "There wasn’t anything he could do about those goals."

Bemidji State pulled back within two goals at 15:08 of the second on the third goal of the year by Travis Barnes. He was assisted by Bill Methven and Jared Hanowski; it was Hanowski’s 30th career assist and 40th career point. Barnes’ lamp-lighter pulled BSU to within 4-2.

The score remained at 4-2 until the 17:09 mark of the third, when the Mavericks put the final nail in the BSU coffin on Joe Pereira’s sixth goal of the season for the game’s final 5-2 margin.

Bemidji State has now lost on Valentine’s Day in each of the last two seasons; the Beavers dropped a 4-3 decision at Niagara on the year’s most-romantic day a year ago. The Beavers are now 11-4-0 all-time on Valentine’s Day.

Scotty Turner had three assists and David Brisson had a goal and two assists for the victors, leading a group of four Mavericks with two or more points. Dan Ellis went the distance in goal, saving 29 shots to earn his 11th win of the season.

Nebraska-Omaha improved to 3-0-0 all-time against Bemidji State with the win, while the Beavers fall to 1-6-1 against the Central Collegiate Hockey Association since moving up to Division I.

Bemidji State falls to 8-11-7 overall on the season and remain 6-5-3 in College Hockey America play. Nebraska-Omaha improves its season mark to 12-15-4. The two teams wrap up their two-game series tomorrow night, with opening face-off scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Central time from the Omaha Civic Auditorium.

SCORING SUMMARY
1/ 0:54/ N - Anthony Adams (5) (Andrew Wong/18, David Brisson/13) / 0-1
1/ 8:16/ N - David Brisson (14, SH) (Scotty Turner/14) / 0-2
1/14:00/ B - Andrew Murray (6, SH) (Brendan Cook/3) / 1-2
2/ 0:42/ N - Andrew Wong (5) (David Brisson/14) / 1-3
2/ 1:16/ N - Dan Hacker (9) (Scotty Turner/15, Cody Blanshan/4) / 1-4
2/15:08/ B - Travis Barnes (3) (Bill Methven/6, Jared Hanowski/4) / 2-4
3/17:09/ N - Joe Pereira (6) (Scotty Turner/16, Dan Hacker/11) / 2-5

BSU: Grady Hunt (21:16 / 6-1-x-x=7 saves / 4 GA / L, 8-8-4);
Dannie Morgan (38:44 / x-6-4=10 saves / 1 GA / ND)
UNO: Dan Ellis (60:00 / 11-11- / 2 GA / W, 11-14-4)
Penalties/Power Plays: BSU: 7-14/0-5; UNO: 7-14/0-5
three stars: 1/David Brisson, UNO; 2/Andrew Wong, UNO; 3/Dan Hacker, UNO

POST GAME NOTES
TEAM NOTES
• Bemidji State has now allowed a short-handed goal in three consecutive games.

• Andrew Murray’s short-handed tally in the first period marked the second time this season both BSU and its opponent scored short-handed in the same period. The Beavers and the Clarkson Golden Knights each scored short-handed in the third period of their Nov. 23, 2002 tilt in Potsdam, with Clarkson taking the 5-4 win.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
• The first-period goal by Nebraska-Omaha’s David Brisson was the 62nd of his career, tying the UNO school record (Jeff Hoggan, 1998-2002).

• Andrew Murray scored his first career short-handed goal.

• BSU starting goaltender Grady Hunt lasted just 21:16 before being pulled after allowing his fourth goal of the game. It is Hunt’s shortest outing in a start this season and shortest since surviving just 20:00 at Wayne State on Feb. 23, 2002. It is the third-fastest hook of Hunt’s career, behind only the Wayne State game in 2002 and a start at Findlay on Nov. 17, 2000 in which Hunt lasted just 5:41.

• Hunt was also replaced early in BSU’s last start, Feb. 8, 2003 at Wayne State. It marks the first time in Hunt’s career he’s been replaced in back-to-back starts.

• Dannie Morgan played 38:44 in relief, the second-longest relief effort of his career. Morgan played 40:00 in relief of Grady Hunt at Wayne State on Feb. 23, 2002.

• Jared Hanowski’s assist on Travis Barnes’ second-period goal was the 30th of his career. It was also his 40th career point.