For two periods Friday night, the MSU hockey team was in a dead heat with Nebraska-Omaha.
But for the second straight Friday, the Spartans used a three-goal third period to pull out a 5-2 victory.
Sophomore forward Brock Radunske, sophomore left wing Kevin Estrada and sophomore right wing Mike Lalonde all tallied for MSU within 1:37 of each other early in the final frame, much to the delight of 6, 556 fans at Munn Ice Arena.
MSU (12-9-1 overall, 8-6-0 CCHA) will seek its second straight sweep and fifth consecutive win at 7:05 p.m. Saturday in the series finale with Omaha (8-12-3, 6-10-1).
Friday's first period was one of the wildest frames of the year for the Spartans. Both teams scored a pair of goals, Maverick goaltender Dan Ellis made a spectacular glove save on sophomore forward Ash Goldie, and three Spartans were injured within a 73-second span.
The injuries were to freshman left wing David Booth - the team's leading goal-scorer - senior defenseman John-Michael Liles and freshman defenseman Corey Potter.
Booth was hurt first, going to the locker room with a leg injury with 2:40 left in the first.
Liles was next, coming up lame on a play in which he was whistled for a high-sticking penalty with 2:03 to play. He went to the locker room instead of serving his penalty, but returned to the ice as the period ended.
Potter crumpled to the ice with 1:27 on the clock when a Maverick slap shot hit his leg. He went to the locker room for treatment and then limped back to the bench for the final seconds of the first.
All three players were back in action at the start of the second.
But the injuries weren't MSU's only scare of the opening period. The Spartans' first fright came when Omaha jumped to a 2-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game.
Right wing Micah Sanford scored first, as he danced around MSU senior defenseman Steve Clark and easily beat sophomore goaltender Matt Migliaccio with a backhand at 1:42.
Omaha left wing Aaron Smith added a highlight-reel goal six minutes later. He beat MSU junior defenseman Joe Markusen to the outside, and as he was being dragged to the ice, he somehow jammed the puck through a sprawling Migliaccio.
Up two goals, the Mavericks had all the momentum until back-to-back penalties resulted in a pair of Spartan markers.
Senior left wing Brian Maloney netted his third goal of the year by one-timing Radunske's cross-crease pass past Ellis on a power play at 13:29.
MSU got the equalizer two minutes later when senior defenseman Brad Fast beat Ellis between the legs with a snap shot from the point on the Spartans' second power play.
The game stayed 2-2 through the second period, but not for a lack of hustle. The middle stanza was a hard-hitting affair both ways, as the teams punished one another almost every time someone touched the puck.
Ellis snuffed the best scoring chance of the second when he gloved Lalonde's point-blank backhand on an MSU power play with just more than five minutes left.
The Spartans took their first lead 3:03 into the third when Maloney returned the favor Radunske gave him on the first goal, feeding his linemate in front of the net for an easy tap-in. The goal was Radunske's fifth of the year - three of which have been game-winners.
Estrada doubled the lead to 4-2 by beating Ellis high, short-side with a wrister from the right circle at 4:29. Just 11 seconds later, Lalonde completed the scoring with a slap shot that eluded Ellis' glove from the same face-off circle.
MSU's third-period explosion was enough to compensate for Migliaccio, who had an shaky night. Migliaccio made 27 saves, but often seemed to be handcuffed by routine shots, especially early on.
Ellis, was sturdy in the first two periods but porous in the third. He made 25 saves.
The Spartans went 2-for-5 on the power play Friday. Omaha was 0-for-7.
Personnel: For the third straight game, senior right wing Kris Koski, sophomore right wing Steve Swistak and freshman right wing Chad Hontvet were MSU's three healthy scratches.
