A three-goal flurry to start the second period and a dose of Danton Heinen in the third period lifted DU to a 5-2 victory over Nebraska-Omaha in Game 1 of a best-of-3 NCHC playoff series on Friday night at Magness Arena.

The Mavericks’ output marked the first time since Feb. 12 against North Dakota that DU had allowed more than one goal, a streak of seven games. It also marked the first time in three Friday games vs. UNO this season that Tanner Jaillet had allowed a goal.

It was an uneven performance for DU, which was outshot 31-20, and outplayed for long stretches by UNO.

“UNO was the better team,” DU coach Jim Montgomery said. “Our team was lethargic.”

But it was good enough to extend its win streak to 10 games and its second-half run to 15-1-3. The Mavericks are 4-13 in their past 17.

“The streak doesn’t matter anymore, it’s playoff hockey,” Montgomery said. “We weren’t great tonight but we got the victory.

The Pioneers’ second-period eruption came in the first 3:10. Trevor Moore started it with a breakaway on UNO goalie Kirk Thompson after Tariq Hammond sprung him with a nice stretch pass.

Little more than 2 minutes later DU went up 2-0 when freshman Troy Terry scored on a rebound of a point blast by defenseman Blake Hillman. Just 28 seconds later, freshman Colin Staub cleaned up a loose rebound to the right of Thompson after Emil Romig‘s initial shot handcuffed Thompson.

Thompson, who was superlative in a 2-1 loss to DU last Saturday, stopping 44 shots, struggled Friday, making just 15 saves.

However, the Mavericks would not go away. Co-captain Jake Guentzel, stationed in the left circle,  scored UNO’s first Friday goal vs. DU this season, one-timing a pass from Luc Snuggerud past Jaillet. Four and a half minutes later, co-captain Brian Cooper lifted a backhander over Jaillet to cut the gap to 3-2.

Heinen scored his 16th and 17th goals in the third period, going upstairs on Thompson on a shorthanded breakaway midway through the period, then icing the game with an empty-netter with 57 seconds to go.

“That was a goal-scorer’s goal,” Montgomery said of the shorty.

The Mavericks left little room for the Pioneers to operate in the first period, particularly the Pacific Rim Line, which saw a steady does of UNO’s top D pair of Cooper and Jalen Schulz. UNO held a 9-3 shot edge after one.

Gambrell injured? DU has enjoyed incredible health this season, but that fortune might have changed Friday when freshman Dylan Gambrell, the Pioneers’ leading scorer, left the game early in the third period after taking a shot in his upper body. He did not return, and the Pioneers cycled centers Quentin Shore, Gabe Levin and Matt Marcinew through the four lines.

Scoring streaks: Gambrell was held off the scoresheet for the first time in 14 games. He had 23 points in his previous 13 games. Heinen extended his points streak to 13 games with his goals. He has 25 points during that stretch. Moore has points in 10 of 11 games (19 points).

Blue line scoring: Four of the Pioneers’ six defensemen had assists Friday, with Hammond picking up two. Will Butcher, Blake Hillman and Matt VanVoorhis added one apiece.

Changes: While DU kept its lineup the same as it has for the past several games, there were a few tweaks to the D pairs. Butcher was paired more often with Hammond, while senior Nolan Zajac and sophomore Adam Plant skated together. The third pair of Hillman and VanVoorhis stayed the same. … UNO, meanwhile, reinserted four players into their lineup Friday who had not played in the teams’ previous meeting and made changes to the composition of all four lines and two of the three defense pairs. The moves supplied more energy if not goals.