Did Austin Ortega Give UND Some Bulletin Board Material?

Reading Matthew Semisch's Column this week, it would appear that Austin Ortega offered UND Some bulletin board material. Just for the record, UND went 2-2-0 against the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks and has a 5-3-0 record over the last eight games against the Mavericks.

Ortega, Mavericks send a message to North Dakota

Speaking of UNO, it appears the Mavericks were trying to make a statement on Saturday during their 4-1 win over Minnesota-Duluth.

They had a point to prove to themselves, too, though. On Friday, UNO found itself up 2-0 in the second period of the Mavericks’ first home game in a month and a half, but the Bulldogs rattled off three unanswered tallies in the third period to nab a 3-2 win.

UMD gained the upper hand early in the rematch when a shot from Kyle Osterberg found the back of the net 4:40 into the game. After that, however, UNO took over and even picked up its game-winning goal through Austin Ortega – his first of two tallies on Saturday – before the opening frame was over.

The Mavericks (7-2-1, 3-1-0) are heading up I-29 later this week to meet up with second-ranked North Dakota. The two-game set in Grand Forks could end up being a defensive struggle between the top and third-best defenses in the NCHC.

Speaking after Saturday’s win over Duluth, though, Ortega took what he felt was an opportunity to send a shot across the bow.

“Tonight we were able to get up on the board; we really showed we’re a scoring team,” Ortega said. “Kind of sending a message to North Dakota that we can score on any goalie out there.”