COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Omaha center Jake Guentzel has been named the NCHC's Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season.

Guentzel led the Mavericks in scoring at North Dakota with a goal and four assists for five points as the Mavericks earned a split against the then-No. 1/2 Fighting Hawks.  

Guentzel figured into the scoring of all five goals scored by the Mavericks in the series.  On Friday, Guentzel had Omaha's first goal to tie the game at one and then had the primary assists on the next two goals as the Mavericks twice took one-goal leads.  He then added an assist on Austin Ortega's overtime game-winner.  He was +3 in the game and had two shot blocks.

On Saturday, Guentzel had the primary assist on Tyler Vesel's powerplay goal that began the scoring.  He was -1 in the game and had another blocked shot.

As a result of his five-point weekend, Guentzel took over the NCHC scoring lead for all games played with 32 points (11-21-32).  He is second in the conference in assists and sixth in goals.

Guentzel is currently tied for seventh in the NCAA in scoring.  He has scored points in seven of his last eight games (5-10-15).  Guentzel is just three goals from equaling his season career best for goals and is just seven points from equaling his season career best for points.

Mavericks Up in Polls
The Omaha hockey team moved up to No. 7 in both college hockey polls this week.

The Mavericks moved up two spots in both the USCHO.com top-20 poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll following a split at North Dakota last weekend.  

North Dakota dropped to No. 2 in the USCHO.com poll while staying put at second in the USA Today poll.  There are five NCHC teams ranked in the USCHO.com poll.  St. Cloud State is in fifth while Denver is 15th and Minnesota Duluth comes in 19th.  St. Cloud State is fourth in the USA Today poll while Denver is also 15th.

The Mavericks have been ranked in the top 10 of both polls since the season began.

This week, Omaha is home to host Miami on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 22-23.  Friday's game begins one-half hour later than usual at 7:37 p.m. to accommodate TV coverage on CBS Sports Network.  Saturday's game starts at 7:07 p.m. and can be seen statewide on NET1 and regionally on Fox College Sports.