Vesey would get another chance 3:09 into the third. After corralling a rebound off an Alex Kerfoot shot, Bergin moved from the goal line to the outside of the right faceoff circle, where he threw a difficult-angle shot on target. Massa made the stop, but the puck kicked out to Vesey on the opposite side of the crease, and the junior got the netminder to bite. As Massa began his dive, Vesey lifted a shot through the senior’s arms to give the Crimson life.

“If there is one guy that I don’t want that puck to land on his stick, it’s [Vesey],” Massa said. “That kid is quite a player. I don’t think we’ve played a guy yet this year that can control the game like he did.”

ZOMBO RETURNS

The goal was the 32nd of the season for the Nashville Predators prospect, who nearly produced an equalizer from Massa’s left post in the final stages of the contest. Enabling Vesey to get the opportunity was Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91, who elected to give his top line extra shifts on the ice throughout the third as the Crimson pressed for a second goal.

While both fourth lines saw their minutes decrease as a result, Omaha’s fourth trio of forwards, led by co-captain Dominic Zombo, continued to provide a boost for the Mavericks’ squad.

After battling through an injury for much of the season, Zombo decided he had had enough back in January, leaving the ice during a battle with then-No. 1/1 North Dakota. The senior missed the next 10 games, a stretch in which Omaha won just two games in regulation. But Zombo made his return on Saturday, igniting the Mavericks’ squad alongside alternate captain James Polk on the fourth line.

“It really killed [Zombo] having to sit and watch practice and those games and that stretch where we kind of struggled on the tail end of the regular season,” Massa said. “He may not have been on our starting line, but he did his job, and led the team, and kept the youth focused and dialed in for the full game.”

While the senior provided the spark for Omaha, the youth earned the results. Eight different players recorded points for the Mavericks, all of which were either freshmen or sophomores. Rookie top-liner Jake Randolph picked up two assists, one on Peterson’s game-winner and another on freshman Tyler Vesel’s empty-netter at 19:24 in the third. The Mavericks’ top point-getter, sophomore Jake Guentzel, got in on the action as well, capping the scoring on his team's 4-1 win with a second empty-netter at 19:56.

—Staff writer Jake Meagher can be reached at jake.meagher@thecrimson.com.