OMAHA, Neb. – Kirk Thompson earned his first career shutout to backstop the No. 12/13 Omaha hockey team to a 1-0 win over No. 10 Denver on Saturday to complete the series sweep.

Thompson, who was pulled in Friday's 5-4 come-from-behind win over the Pioneers, made a career-best 39 saves including 30 during the often frantic final two periods.  He made a point-blank stop on Daniel Doremus with 12 seconds to go in the third and then kept the puck out during a wild net-mouth scramble in the closing seconds.

Thompson improved to 4-2-0 this season with the win.

Omaha moved into first place in the NCHC by virtue of the win and a loss by Minnesota Duluth at North Dakota.  The Mavericks are now 14-5-3 overall and 8-3-1-1 in the NCHC, putting them two clear of UMD.  Denver dipped to 11-7-1 overall and 4-5-0-0 in conference play, putting it in sixth place.  The Pioneers have three games in hand on the top four teams in the standings.

The Mavericks got the only goal they would need early in the first period.  Jake Guentzel passed to Dominic Zombo at center ice.  He threaded the puck between two defenders to Austin Ortega who cut in and threw a backhander between the pads of goaltender Tanner Jaillet at 3:29.  

It was UNO's first first-period goal since Dec. 20 and the first time they had scored first in a game in the same interval.

The Mavericks make their first road trip since early December when they visit Colorado College on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 16-17.

Notes:
The goal moved Ortega into first in NCHC scoring with 24 points.  It also was his NCAA-leading eighth game-winning goal of the season.

Omaha held Denver's NCHC leading power play without a goal in three chances in the game and 0-for-5 for the weekend.

It was the second shutout of the season for Omaha, it's first since a 3-0 win at Western Michigan on Oct. 18.  

The Mavericks are now 7-2-0 in one-goal games this season.