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When top-ranked Minnesota-Duluth came to Omaha and earned a split with the University of Nebraska at Omaha after putting 84 shots on goal in two games, you chalk that up as something that can happen when playing the best team in the country.

But when the Mavericks went on the road and had last-place Minnesota State-Mankato put another 83 shots on goal in another split ... that meant it was time for UNO to go back to work.

The Mavs have been off since their Jan. 21 overtime loss to Minnesota State. And one of their top priorities has been tightening up their defensive zone.

Progress might be measured this weekend, in a series with Bemidji State. Games at the CenturyLink Center are 7:37 p.m. Friday and 7:07 p.m. Saturday.

"We can't allow 40 shots against per game," UNO coach Dean Blais said. "Even if our goaltender is at 90 percent (save percentage), that means we're giving up three or four goals."

UNO had allowed more than 32 shots on goal only once before the past four games, in which the Mavs have seen 40, 44, 41 and 42. Despite the deluge, UNO is still fourth in the 12-team WCHA in allowing 27.7 shots on goal per game.

The Mavs frequently outshoot opponents and are still third in the league in shot margin at 7.4 while getting 35.1 shots on goal per game.

There's plenty of blame to be spread around for the recent trend, UNO coaches and players said.

"It's something we have to look at," said captain Terry Broadhurst, one of the Mavs' top-line forwards. "The good thing is that it can be fixed. The coaches have identified the problem, and now it's up to us to listen to what they are teaching. All the responsibility can't just go on the defensemen — it's a total team effort. We forwards have to do a better job of getting back and helping out."

Blais, whose position-group focus is the forwards, said that the forwards in particular need to step it up.

"There's not a lot of support coming back into our (defensive) zone," he said. "Our back pressure has to be better, and our position in the offensive zone has to be more disciplined. That's what our focus will be, giving our goaltender and our defensemen more help in that defensive zone.

"Because 40 shots isn't acceptable. That means guys aren't blocking shots enough. It means we're not staying down in the offensive zone long enough. And it means a half (effort) forecheck."

Minnesota State is a quick-trigger team that, despite ranking 10th in the league with 2.7 goals per game, is fourth in shots at 32.1. MSU also skates at home on an Olympic-size ice sheet, which may have played a factor in the series with UNO.

"I still don't know if they really had that many shots — but they did have quite a few," said Bryce Aneloski, part of UNO's top defensive pairing. "I think maybe because of the big (ice) sheet, maybe our gaps weren't exactly the best. But they were definitely looking to shoot the puck when they entered the zone, and that's not necessarily what every team does.

"They weren't really looking to make that extra pass — they were looking to get pucks on the net and get guys going to the net that way."

Bemidji State, as UNO has learned all too well during the past two seasons, is the shooting antithesis of MSU. The Beavers are the ultimate counter-punchers, waiting to cash in on mistakes while averaging a league-low 24.2 shots on goal.

Bemidji State was outshot by an average of 38-25 yet went 5-0-1 against the Mavs in 2010-11, then still managed a tie in the two-game set in Bemidji, Minn., earlier this season despite being outshot by an average of 42-23.

The Beavers are 10th in the WCHA in shot margin, getting 5.7 fewer shots per game than their opponents.

"Our next four games (a series at Michigan Tech is next) are against teams that don't give you a whole lot," Blais said. "They're a little conservative at times, and that's when we have to be more patient, and better, defensively."

Contact the writer:

402-444-1027, rob.white@owh.com

twitter.com/RWhiteOWH

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