By Cooper Schroeder · UNO came to play in St. Louis, winning two of three pool play games. Sent home early, but not without showing they belonged in the tournament. Game 1…
UNO came to play in St. Louis, winning two of three pool play games. Sent home early, but not without showing they belonged in the tournament.
Game 1: vs Dordt University
Mavs fans were validated as UNO got one back on Dordt as they defeated their conference rival 6-4 on Wednesday afternoon. The Mavericks opened the scoring just under three minutes in as freshman Zach Farnsworth dangled past multiple defenders and fired a laser top shelf. About ten minutes later, Dordt’s Isaac Baart equalized, but it didn’t last long as Austin Tessier regained the one-goal lead for UNO at 14:41. Baart then scored his second of the game late in the first to knot it up at 2.
The Mavs exploded for three goals in the second, from Charles Lowndes, James Shea, and Chase Mann. The latter stole the puck from a Defender’s pass and made it 5-3. Zach Espenson scored one in the middle frame for Dordt. Karson Fitch scored on the power play to make it 6-3 just under a minute into the third. Mason Spejcher added one of his own for DU. UNO went 1 for 2 on the PP and a perfect 3 for 3 on the penalty kill. Senior Nahuel Veyan made 34 saves in the victory.
Game 2: vs Calvin University
UNO faced off against the #1-ranked team in the nation in their second matchup. The Calvin Knights started the scoring as Myles Radersma cashed in on the power play at 13:44 of the opening frame. Mann scored his second of the tournament off a nice pass from Wyatt Wagner. The second period was a stalemate up until the final minute and a half as the Knights scored two quick ones from Owen Duiker and Josiah Lambers.
CU kept their momentum and added two more goals in the third for a 5-1 lead. Goals coming from Oleg Grishatov and Nathan Sova. With just about three minutes left in the game, Charlie Shea pulled one back for the Mavs. It would be too little too late, however. Calvin shut down the UNO power play four times, and Ryan Worosz made 27 saves to secure the win over the Mavericks. Veyan with 29 saves.
Game 3: vs Purdue University
Omaha made a nice dent in the tournament as they beat the Boilermakers handily by a score of 7-2. Purdue scored the first two goals early on as Jacob Pickett and Drew Laware each recorded their first respective tallies in St. Louis. It was all Mavs from there! Mann scored his third of the tourney, followed by goals from Brayden Krauth and Lowndes, on the power play, to round out the first period. Tyler Schirmer scored the only goal of the second period for UNO.
Lowndes scored his second of the night and third of the week, also on the PP, at 9:01. Around 90 seconds later, Schirmer scored his second, as the Mavericks earned their 3rd PP goal of the day. Sophomore Barrett Bradley scored the final goal of the Mavs’ Nationals run. UNO’s win over Purdue included 3 for 5 PP and a 2 for 2 penalty kill. Sophomore Cam Moore made an impressive 43 of 45 saves for the win.
Due to Calvin’s perfect 3-0 record in pool play, the Mavs were unfortunately knocked out of the tournament before the final four. While the final result wasn’t what the Mavericks were looking for, their 2-1 showing against ranked opponents at Nationals, the first-ever appearance for the program, was an overall success. This is something that Coach Nick Harrahill, his staff, and the players will be looking to build on moving forward. This is a young group, and they can only get better. Any supporters of this team, as well as the team itself, should be extremely proud of what they have accomplished in the 2025-26 season.
Go Mavs!!!