This Week
    The Omaha Mavericks are set to wrap up their eight-game home stand this weekend when they welcome the Long Island Sharks to Baxter Arena.

The Teams
    The Mavericks earned a hard-fought series split last weekend with the then No. 11 Western Michigan Broncos. The Broncos got the best of the Mavericks in Friday's series opener with a 5-2 victory. The Mavericks responded resiliently with a 3-2 overtime victory over WMU the following night.
     Long Island enters the weekend 4-5-0. The Sharks are currently riding a three-game winning streak. Over that streak, they have defeated Saint Anselm, Stonehill and Sacred Heart. Brett Riley's Sharks first win of the season also came against Stonehill back on October 14.

Last Time Out
    The Mavericks and Sharks met last season out in Long Island. Omaha edged the Sharks in the series opener with a 2-1 victory and then opener the floodgates the following night, defeating LIU 7-1.

All-Time vs. Long Island
    The Mavericks and Sharks are set for just their 5th and 6th meetings all-time between the two teams this weekend. The all-time series is currently 4-0 in favor of Omaha and the Mavericks are 2-0 when the game is played in Omaha. 

The Moose is Loose
    Last Saturday night with 40 seconds remaining in overtime against No. 11 Western Michigan, Junior blueliner Victor "Moose" Mancini netted the OT game winning goal for his first career goal.

Going to the Polls
    The Mavericks are currently the first team out of the USCHO.com poll. They entered the top 20 after their idle week but fell out after a loss and a tie to Ohio State the following weekend. Omaha is receiving votes in both national polls.

Leading Ludtke's
    The Ludtke brothers of Griffin and Tanner are leading the Mavericks in scoring through six games. The sophomore blueliner's six points leads all Mavericks. He's tallied two goals and four assists on the campaign. The only game Griffin hasn't registered a point in was the series finale against Ohio State.
    Tanner Ludtke's first career goal was the very first goal of the 2023-24 campaign. He's added three more assists to bring his season total to four points.

Facing Off
    Nolan Sullivan finished second in the NCHC for faceoff win percentage.Sullivan went 322-235 in the circle for a .578 win percentage. Omaha was the second ranked team in the NCHC in faceoff winning percentage at .530 percent.After six games, Omaha leads the NCHC in faceoff win percentage at .567 percent.
    Sullivan went 21-21 in the circle last weekend helping the Mavericks go 70-65 on the dot against WMU.

Seeing Multiples
    The Mavericks have had eight players register a multi-point game this season. Jo Lemay, Ray Fust, Jacob Guevin, Griffin Ludtke, Tanner Ludtke, Michael Abgrall, Victor Mancini and Ty Mueller all registered multi-point games.

Media
    Both games can be heard live on AM 1290.  Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show. Mike Vaillancourt has the Play-by-Play duties while Terry Leahy returns for his 27th season to provide color analysis. You can also stream both games on NCHC.tv.

On Their Best Behavior 
    Through six games, Omaha has taken the least amount of penalties in the NCHC with 29. The Mavericks 4.83 penalties per game ranks 5th in the NCHC.

Special Teams
    The Mavericks allowed their first power play goal of the season in last Friday's series opener against Western Michigan. Omaha is 19-20 on the PK through six games. Their .950 PK percentage is currently the 5th best in the NCAA.

Weekly Awards
    Jo Lemay secured the Mavericks first weekly award of the 2023-24 season after his two goal, one assist weekend against Niagara. Lemay picked up Week 2 NCHC Defenseman of the Week honors. Griffin Ludtke earned the second Weekly award of the season for the Mavericks after a one goal, two assist +3 weekend in week 5 against WMU. Like Lemay, Ludtke was also named NCHC Defenseman of the Week.

The Opponent
    The Long Island Sharks enter Baxter Arena at 4-5-0 this season. The Sharks are currently riding a three-game winning streak. Over that streak, they have defeated Saint Anselm, Stonehill and Sacred Heart. Brett Riley's Sharks first win of the season also came against Stonehill back on October 14.

Special Teams
    Long Island is 8-35 (22.9%) on the power play this season. That percentage ranks 16th in the NCAA. The Sharks are 23-29 on the PK through nine games. Their 79.3 PK percentage ranks 38th in the NCAA. Long Island has also given up three shorthanded goals. That's tied for the second most allowed in the NCAA.

The Sin Bin
    Through 9 games, the Sharks have been guilty of 35 penalties for an average of 10.89 minutes per game. 

Players To Watch
    Graduate forward Parker Remy leads Long Island this season with 9 points in nine games played. Remy has posted goals in five of nine games this season. He's netted two power play goals and one game winning goal. His seven lamp lighters leads all Shark skaters.
    Josh Zary is also tied for the team lead in points with 9. Zary has played in all nine games so far this season and has tallied four goals and five assists. Like Remy, Zary has a pair of power play goals and one game winning tally.
    In five games played, Graduate goaltender Brandon Perrone is 2-3-0 with one shutout. He holds a goals against average of 2.22 and a .925 save percentage.

Media
    Both games can be heard live on AM 1290.  Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show. Mike Vaillancourt has the Play-by-Play duties while Terry Leahy returns for his 27th season to provide color analysis. You can also stream both games on NCHC.tv.

Up Next
    The Mavericks will hit the road for the first time in the regular season next weekend when they visit the Mile High City to take on NCHC rival, the Denver Pioneers.