"That's what's great about college hockey," Niagara head coach Blaise McDonald said. "There's so much excitement and enthusiasm."

With time running out, the Purple Eagles (27-7-4, 15-0-2 CHA) pulled netminder Greg Gardner in favor of the sixth attacker and swarmed the Maverick zone trying to get the tying goal past UNO goaltender Kendall Sidoruk.

"I was just going to the net and I usually try to go to the back door," Sivonen said, "The shot (from Timo Makela) hit the crossbar and then me in the chest."

After it hit Sivonen in the chest, he stuffed it home to forge the tie. Maverick head coach Mike Kemp had his own take on Sivonen's 21st of the season.

"If it had only been a half-inch higher it would have floated away." Kemp said.

Sivonen accounted for the game's first two goals as well. He started the scoring with a tip-in of a Mike Isherwood shot at the 13:39 mark of the first period. It went between Sidoruk's legs and gave Niagara the period's only goal.

There could have been a second goal in the period but a call from referee Brent Rutherford took away a goal from Niagara. Sidoruk had made a save on a Kyle Martin blast and had the puck lodged in his padding. Sidoruk slid backwards into the goal and was all the way across the goal line with the puck somewhere in his equipment. McDonald said he knew it was a goal and replays confirmed it.

Kemp said he thought Rutherford made the right call and Sidoruk said, "Nope. It didn't go in," with a huge smirk on his face.

In the second period, Sivonen's wrist shot from the deep slot found its way past Sidoruk's stick side at 7:44 for his second of the game, both of them coming on power plays.

UNO got its first goal of the game five minutes later as its "French Connection" worked perfectly. David Brisson (from Quebec City) threaded a needle of a pass to Dave Noel-Bernier (from Montmagny) and he tipped it past Gardner at 12:39 for his seventh of the season. The goal stopped Gardner's shutout streak against UNO at 92:39 on the weekend.

Brisson would also score a pair of goals in a two-minute span of the third to put the Mavericks ahead and set up the frenzied finish.

Brisson's goal at 9:22 came off of a goal-mouth scramble, He was jockeying for position inside and trying to find the rebound of Daniel Samuelsson's shot from the point. Brisson found it and chopped it home with a baseball-style swing for his 14th of the season.

Brisson struck again at 11:58 with a fluke goal.

"I tried to get it in deep as I was a foot from the blue line," Brisson said about his shot from the right wing boards, "the next thing I saw it was in the net and I don't think the goaltender ever saw it."

Kemp said it was a goal that "you look at and shake your head," while McDonald admitted, "The goal certainly sucked some energy out of us."

When Niagara had the energy, they outshot UNO 37-24 for the game and beat the Mavericks in power plays, going 2-for-8 while holding the Mavericks back on eight power plays of their own.

"Every time I score two goals, we never win," Brisson said.

Brisson and the Mavericks hope to get wins as they will head to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the first round of the CCHA playoffs. Niagara heads south to Huntsville, Ala. for the inaugural College Hockey America championship tournament and is on the bubble for an NCAA wild-card berth.

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