College Hockey Update:  After two full periods of total toe-to-toe scoreless, stalemated dogfight play, Nebraska-Omaha freshman forward Jake Randolph found the net with a long slap shot from the point just a minute into the third period.  After that the heat was on RIT, and they played furiously (they outshot UNO eighteen to nine in the third period), but also were forced to play in an open style they didn’t seem to be able to support as well defensively — in fact you could say the wheels came flying off late in the third period, after an extended effort to tie the game up.

With only six minutes remaining, and an RIT player skating off the ice when he shouldn’t have been, UNO managed to get a pass down ice and create a three-on-one that led to sophomore forward Austin Ortega scoring to make it 2-0.

About three minutes later, a bit of disorganized play by RIT gave UNO yet another opportunity no a breakaway, and sophomore forward Justin Parizek made it 3-0, UNO, with about three minutes to play.

RIT quickly pulled their goalie but could not capitalize on the extra attacker, but UNO’s freshman forward David Pope found the empty net only a minute later to make it 4-0 with about two minutes left, which is how it ended.

Nebraska-Omaha has won just its second NCAA tournament game ever, and finds itself advancing to the Frozen Four in Boston on April 9, where it will face Providence College.

Now, I don’t know exactly how to phrase this.  I guess in some strange way this was not an upset, because absolutely no one picked RIT to make it to the Frozen Four, but there was one entry out of forty-four that picked UNO to win this game.  On the other hand, one out of forty-four just might be viewed as an upset . . . .

That’s all for now.  Stay tuned, and go Terriers!

— Tom