Redhawks capitalize on Maverick mistakes, sweep early-season series

The good news for UNO hockey head coach Mike Kemp after this weekend is that things probably can't get any worse.With Kemp wondering what kind of team he had heading into this weekend, one of inexperience was the resounding answer after its first road series of the season against the Redhawks of Miami, Ohio.

Coming into the weekend the Mavericks were 1-0-0, winning their first official game of the season against Alabama-Huntsville in the championship of the Mutual of Omaha Stampede. Comparatively, Miami was 4-0-0, having swept Vermont and conference rivals Ohio State in the previous two weekends.

The same Maverick team that gelled so well in their dominating win over Alabama-Huntsville was given a taste of their own medicine on Friday.

A tight first period where Miami dominated the time of possession would put the Mavs down 1-0 after Justin Mercier scored short-handed on a Maverick defensive breakdown.

Unfortunately for the Mavs, defensive breakdowns resulting in goals would be a common theme for the night.

UNO applied more pressure in the second period, out-shooting the Redhawks 18-8, but were outscored in the period three goals to two. The Mavs faced a two-goal deficit going into the third.

A shot from senior Brandon Scero halfway through the third that would've cut the Miami lead to one sailed just wide. The missed opportunity came back to bite the Mavs five, seven and eight minutes later when goals from Carter Camper, Charley Fetzer and Brian Kaufman put the game away in a 7-2 final.

The Mavs didn't have much time to lick their wounds before Saturday's game got away from them as well.

UNO Sophomore Dan Swanson opened the scoring about five minutes into the game, but the team was soon put back on its heels. Brandon Scero was called for holding at 6:56, and less than a minute later freshman Nick Von Bokern was called for a five minute hitting from behind penalty before having a 10-minute game misconduct tacked on by referee Brian Aaron. Aaron then ejected Von Bokern from the game.

Short-handed, the Mavs managed to prevent any major damage from being done despite sophomore Jeric Agosta being tossed from the game at 15:36 for the same double-whammy that sealed Von Bokern's fate. Scero and Miami's Alexandre Lacombe served coinciding 10-minute misconduct penalties in the opening frame as well.

Junior Dan Charleston was pulled off the ice for two minutes at 16:14 for unsportsmanlike conduct, giving Miami a 4-on-4 which they capitalized on at the 17:02 mark to make the game 1-1.

Down two players already, the Mavs may not have been given more penalties than their counterparts, but they certainly were more affected by it.

After Dan Charleston rectified his period-ending penalty by scoring at the 5:40 mark of the second period, Miami scored two goals two minutes later within 35 seconds of each other to take a 3-2 lead.

Even though UNO had quite a few power play opportunities through the midway point of the third, they never got into a rhythm. They then secured five two-minute penalties themselves before Miami's Carter Camper opened the lead to 4-2 with a minute left to go in the period.

UNO's goaltender Jerad Kaufmann was pulled late and Miami's Gary Steffes put away the game with an empty-net goal, securing a 5-2 victory for the Redhawks. Miami improved to 6-0-0 on the year and 4-0-0 in the conference.

While neither game was as lopsided as the scores would indicate, mental mistakes like turning the puck over in their own zone and debilitating penalties show how young and inexperienced these Mavericks are.

With junior Adam Bartholomay leaving the team earlier this week, junior Juha Uotila's academic eligibility still up in the air and Von Bokern and Agosta penalized for the first game against another top-tier team in the Michigan Wolverines, UNO doesn't have the luxury of working out the kinks.

One heart-breaking series against what is now the No. 1 team in the country does not doom the Mavericks to a lost season this early in the year, but the team is approaching must-win situations in their upcoming games against Michigan and Ohio State. Losses against these teams put UNO at risk of falling into an early-season hole that may be impossible to recover from.

UNO plays the University of Michigan at the Qwest Center this Friday and Saturday. The puck drops at 7:05 CST both nights with free tickets available to UNO students. Designated as a "red out" by the Student Blue Line Club, students going to the game are encouraged to show their support by wearing red.