Colorado College lost Friday night’s game at Omaha, but the Tigers showcased a relentlessness in the third period they can build on. 

Down a pair of goals midway through the period, CC shut down host Omaha with several consecutive offensive-zone possessions en route to the Tigers’ first score of the evening. Despite the effort, the Tigers were unable to complete the comeback and Omaha took the opening night of the weekend series 3-1.

CC defenseman Phillippe Blais-Savoie scored his third goal in four games at the 15:28 mark of the third period on an offensive-zone faceoff. The Tigers’ pressure in the period forced the hosts into back-to-back icing calls and the sophomore from San Jose, Calif., capitalized with a shot from the left point. Freshman left wing Wilson Bjorck and junior center Klavs Veinbergs earned assists. Veinbergs’ helper came from a faceoff win, ending a seven-game points drought for the Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick. 

Blais-Savoie’s goal made it 2-1 Omaha late in the third period. The Tigers (9-11-3, 3-7-3) tried to earn an equalizer by pulling senior goaltender Kaidan Mbereko for an extra attacker, but Mavericks forward Trevor Wong scored an empty-netter to put the game away with less than a minute remaining. 

The goal was Wong’s second of the game and period as the sophomore scored at 4:46 to give Omaha a 2-0 lead. 

After both teams had a goal waved off in a scoreless opening period, special teams were the difference maker for Omaha in the second. 

Mavericks defenseman Aiden de La Gorgendiere scored the game’s first goal on his team’s first power play of the evening at the 12:16 mark of the middle frame. 

The Tigers, meanwhile, struggled on the man advantage, going 0-3 Friday.

The performance continues a trend for CC as the team has yet to score a power-play goal through five games played in 2026. 

Mbereko made 20 saves for CC in the loss, and the Tigers outshot the Mavericks 27 to 23.

CC, which sits in last place in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, will look to earn some much-needed points on Saturday when the series concludes at 6:07 p.m.