Fortunately for DU’s hockey team, freshmen don’t have a curfew.

Colin Staub poked home a rebound 8:54 into the second overtime to lift the Pioneers into the NCHC Frozen Faceoff next weekend in Minneapolis with a 4-3 victory over a gutty Nebraska-Omaha team that was playing for its postseason lives. With the victory, DU sweeps the best-of-3 NCHC quarterfinal series and will face St. Cloud State on Friday (time TBD).

The goal, Staub’s second in two games, came on DU’s 47th shot in a game that featured 101 shots on goal, and it lifted the Pioneers to their 11th consecutive victory. DU (23-8-5) is 17-1-3 since the calendar flipped to 2016.

Tanner Jaillet made 51 saves – including a game-saving one on a rebound in the first overtime – and improved to 15-3-5.

“He was exceptional,” Montgomery said. “That rebound save … we looked at each other on the bench and thought the game was over.”

UNO likely finishes its season 18-17-1 after dropping its eighth in a row and 12th in its past 16 games.

“I’ve got to give a lot of respect to UNO, who played so hard,” Montgomery said. “My hat goes off to Dean Blais. His teams play the right way. That’s why these are such good games.”

Montgomery continued rolling his four lines and three D pairs in the overtimes, while Blais shortened his bench. The wear began to show on UNO as the game crept closer to Sunday.

Still, the Mavericks didn’t go down without a fight. Austin Ortega tied the score a second time with a strike from the lower left circle 3:57 into the third.

Danton Heinen had restored a lead for the Pioneers, at 3-2, just 1:31 into the period when he beat Evan Weninger (46 saves) with a wrist shot on a breakaway after taking a beautiful stretch pass from Evan Janssen.

Nolan Zajac set up both of DU’s first-period goals with seeing-eye passes. His first found Quentin Shore on the right doorstep 5:29 in. Zajac then found Troy Terry through traffic, and the freshman made it 2-0 with 2:46 to play in the period. Terry also scored in Friday’s 5-2 victory.

“Nolan Zajac was phenomenal,” Montgomery said. “His head was up. His feet were moving. He was dancing.”

The Mavericks battled back in the second behind their top line. Co-captain Jake Guentzel scored on a 5-on-3 power play off a feed from Ortega with 8:43 to go in the period. Zajac joined DU captain Grant Arnold in the penalty box while Arnold was serving a five-minute major for kneeing.

“My biggest disappointment was our lack of discipline,” Montgomery said. “We’ve got to be smarter about controlling our emotions.”

Ortega then struck shorthanded after taking the puck away in the neutral zone.

The victory sends DU to the NCHC semifinals for the third time in the three years of the conference’s existence. The Pioneers won the tournament in 2014, but were knocked out in the semifinals by Miami last year.

Now they advance to a weekend that will feature the nation’s first-, third-, sixth- and 12th-ranked teams.

“It legitimately could be the most talented final four (including the Frozen Four),” DU’s coach said.