The MSU hockey team had fewer than 30 seconds left to play before escaping Saturday with a tie.
But Nebraska-Omaha forward Scott Parse picked up the puck on a turnover behind the MSU net and fed it up to forward Bill Thomas, who beat MSU freshman goaltender Jeff Lerg on the bottom corner with 27.2 seconds left in overtime.
With the 3-2 win, the Mavericks completed a weekend sweep over the No. 6 Spartans.
The Mavericks won Friday, 7-4, to pick up their first conference victory and after the weekend, improved their record to 4-4-0 overall and 2-4-0 in the CCHA. MSU fell to 5-3-2, 2-2-2. MSU head coach Rick Comley said his team still looked sluggish with turnovers and from fatigue. After starting the season hot, the Spartans are now winless in their past three games .
"You know, it's funny," Comley said. "Sometimes you play well and are confident and sometimes you don't. It's been a good stretch for us and we have these two games and you go the other way.
"I haven't seen them this tired, that's for sure - it's a legitimate tired. I mean, they want to go and do some things but their legs aren't getting them there."
MSU winds down a tough stretch of six games in 12 days as it is scheduled to leave at noon today for Columbus, Ohio, for a game Tuesday against Ohio State.
In Saturday's contest, sophomore forward Chris Mueller got the Spartans up quick on a shorthanded goal about three minutes into the game. But two goals by Mavericks forward Dan Charleston, one shorthanded and one on the power play, gave the Mavericks a 2-1 lead just six minutes into the second.
MSU sophomore forward Jim McKenzie got the equalizer with 16 seconds left in the second period.
On Friday, the high-powered Mavericks' offense scored three unanswered goals in the first after senior forward Colton Fretter put MSU up, 1-0. The Spartans got as close as 3-2 on McKenzie's goal, but Nebraska-Omaha got four more goals — including three straight — in the third.
"It's definitely a couple steps backward," Mueller said of the weekend. "We were on a high, we were where we wanted to be at the start going into the season.
"Obviously, it's not good that we got swept in our own barn, but it's a wake up call."
Opening weekend, for some
Three players were in the lineup after recovering from various injuries - Mueller, freshman forward Nick Sucharski and freshman defenseman Brandon Gentile. Mueller played four games before going down with a shoulder injury. Sucharski and Gentile both suited up in their first regular-season games as Spartans on Friday.
Neither of the rookies had a point, but Mueller tallied two over the weekend.
"You can tell Sucharski has good hands, a good head. Gentile played pretty regular so for the opening week, I think they were OK," Comley said. "Mueller played well after missing the time - had a really nice goal and almost another right at the very end."
Comley said senior forward David Booth is scheduled to see a specialist today for a second opinion on his shoulder and rib injuries, which have sidelined him since the start of the season. Comley said he "did not know" if Booth had gone to the Mayo Clinic but that he has "a doctor's appointment somewhere but I don't know where." The Spartans can seek a medical redshirt on Booth if he does not see action by early December.
Snapped streak
Junior forward Tyler Howells was held scoreless in the series, which snapped his eight-game point streak. Howells entered the weekend tied for the team lead in points with sophomore forward Bryan Lerg. Lerg extended his points streak to six games with three assists and now leads the Spartans with 15 points.
Looks familiar
Forward Nenad Gajic returned to Munn Ice Arena for the first time since the 2003-04 season, when he left MSU after a handful of games. He sat out last season with the Mavericks because of transfer rules. He was held scoreless against the Spartans. Through six games, Gajic has no points and is a minus-4.
