For the third straight weekend, Nebraska men’s hockey kept piling up results on the road – this time, spoiling the season debut for Augustana in Sioux Falls. After splitting a pair with Iowa to begin the year and sweeping Milwaukee last weekend, the Huskers rolled through the Vikings to collect consecutive weekend sweeps.
Friday
Nebraska wasted no time setting the tone to begin the weekend, finding the net four times in the opening 20 minutes to grab a 4-1 lead. Fueled by four different goal scorers, the Huskers never looked back, thanks to forcing several defensive–zone turnovers and commanding puck possession numbers.
The second period brought more of the same. Sophomore Hunter Brickle netted his second goal of the night while sophomores Joey Lucius and Jackson Beach added on to the avalanche of goals, putting Nebraska up 7-2 after 40 minutes of play.
By the final buzzer, Nebraska skated away with a 9-4 victory as scoring spread across every forward line. Brickle’s five-point night led the way, backstopped by a 37-save performance from sophomore netminder Jacob Morgan.
Saturday
Saturday featured a much tighter affair throughout the opening 40 minutes. The Vikings would carry the edge in shots, but all chances would be turned aside by the goaltenders at both ends. While Augustana would have extensive puck possession time in the first period, Nebraska’s defense was buoyed by sophomore netminder Jaden Salado with his stellar poise and positioning.
The back-end of the third period opened the floodgates for Nebraska with sophomore forward Jackson Beach finding graduate captain Nate Weber, where they connected on a two-on-one rush. Weber hammered a one-timer past the blocker of Vikings senior netminder Walker Radcliffe to give the Huskers a 1-0 lead with just under 13 minutes to play.
Nebraska freshman forward Braeden McCracken doubled the lead with just under five minutes to play, followed by two empty net goals from the Huskers. In the final seconds of the contest, Salado would lose the shutout after a rebound squeaked past his right pad, but still capped off the night with 44 saves, backstopping the Huskers to a 4-1 win.
Following the sweep, Nebraska improved to 4-1-0 on the season, now riding a four-game win streak. After three weekends away from home, the Huskers will have an extra week to recharge before hitting the road again for another pair of games in Arkansas starting on Oct. 10.