This Week
    The Mavericks are primed to close out the first half of the 2023-24 campaign this weekend when they welcome to No. 15 St. Cloud State Huskies to Baxter Arena this Friday and Saturday night.

The Teams
    The 9-4-1 Mavericks return to Baxter Arena this weekend after splitting with the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs last week in Duluth, Minnesota. UMD edged the Mavericks 4-2 in Friday night's series opener. Omaha responded the following night by blanking the Bulldogs and defeating them with Jack Randl's OTGWG. At 3-3-0 in six conference games, the Mavericks sit 5th in the NCHC with seven points
    St. Cloud State is coming off a bye week. Their last action was at home against Michigan. They fell 2-0 in the series opener and then tied the Big 10 opponent 3-3, the following night after a late equalizer with nine seconds left forced OT. SCSU is currently unbeaten in NCHC play with a 6-0-0 record.

Last Time Out
    The Mavericks and Huskies met only twice last year. They battled to a split in the penultimate weekend of the 2022-23 regular season. SCSU took the opening night of the weekend 6-2. Omaha turned around the next night and captured a 6-2 win themselves in their regular season home finale.

All-Time vs. St. Cloud State
    The Mavericks and Huskies are primed for their 47th and 48th meetings all time. The all-time series record is 28-16-2 in favor of SCSU. When the game is played in Omaha, St. Cloud State holds a slight lead in the series at 10-9-1 all-time against the Mavericks.

Right in the Muellhouse
    Junior centerman Ty Mueller had a five-game goal streak from 11/4-11/19. With his 2nd period goal in the Sunday game against DU, Mueller became just the sixth player in program history to light the lamp in five consecutive games joining Jeff Hoggan (2001-02), Scott Parse (2005-06), Brandon Scero (2005-06), Ryan Walters (2012-13, twice), Josh Archibald (2013-14).
    Playing in all 14 games, Mueller leads the Mavericks in points with 11 (5-6=11) and goals with five. 

Close Calls
    When the game comes down to it, the Mavericks have prevailed all season long. Omaha is 7-0-0 in one goal games this season.

Going to the Polls
    The Mavericks re-entered the USCHO.com poll last week coming in at No. 20 for the second time this season. Omaha is the first team out in both the USCHO.com USA Hockey poll receiving 52 and 29 votes respectively.

Lighting the Lamp First
    The Mavericks have had a favorable outcome this season when scoring the first goal. The Mavericks are 9-3 on the campaign when they strike first and 0-1-1 when allowing the first goal.

Pucks on Net
After 14 games, The Mavericks are 8-1-1 when they outshoot their opponents and are 1-3-0 when being outshot on the campaign. Through nine home games, Omaha is outshooting their opponents 308-240.

Closing out the Weekend
    The Mavericks have lost three Friday night games this year. Their response has been a perfect 3-0 so far after falling in the opening game of the weekend.
    In Game 2 of regular season series, Omaha is 6-1-0 in closing out the weekend.

Facing Off
    After 14 games, Omaha is not only the top ranked faceoff team in the NCHC but the top ranked faceoff team in the country with a win percentage of .558. 
    Sullivan currently ranks fourth in the NCHC in faceoff winning percentage at 59.3 while Mueller sits 9th with a 54.2 percentage. Nolan Sullivan finished second in the NCHC for faceoff win percentage.

Seeing Multiples
    The Mavericks have had 15 players register a multi-point game this season. Michael Abgrall (1), Brock Bremer (1), Ray Fust (1), Jimmy Glynn (1), Jacob Guevin (1), Jesse Lansdell (1), Jo Lemay (2) Griffin Ludtke (1), Tanner Ludtke (3), Victor Mancini (1), Ty Mueller (3), Kirby Proctor (1), Jack Randl (1), Tyler Rollwagen (1) and Zach Urdahl (1) have all registered multi-point games.

Simon Says
    The Slovakian netminder has backstopped the Mavericks to six of their nine wins this season. His 2.45 GAA ranks 4th in the NCHC and his .912 save percentage ranks 5th in the NCHC. Latkoczy's 24.90 saves per games is good for 6th in the conference.

The Opponent
    St. Cloud State was idle last weekend and didn't see any competition. Their last action was a pair of home games against the Michigan Wolverines. SCSU had some early struggles losing to St. Thomas, Minnesota State and Alaska Fairbanks. Since losing to Fairbanks, the Huskies are unbeaten in seven of their last eight games, winning six of them.

Special Teams
    The Huskies are 43/51 (84.3%) on the PK through 14 games played. That ranks third in the NCHC and 16th in the NCAA . On the opposite, SCSU has the 5th ranked power play in the conference at 19.3 percent. That's good for 26th in the NCAA.

The Sin Bin
    SCSU is averaging 4.29 penalties per game which is the third least in the NCHC. Through 14 games, the Huskies have taken 60 penalties and are averaging 11:21 in the penalty box, which is third most in the conference.

Players To Watch
    Senior forward Veeti Miettinen leads the Huskies with 14 points in 14 games played. His 10 goals paces all Huskies with five of his goals coming on the power play. Miettinen has also deposited one shorthanded goal and two game winners so far this season.            
    Graduate blueliner Dylan Anhorn is tied for second on the team with 12 points. He's lit the lamp one time with the rest of his points coming in the form of helpers. Anhorn has taken the most penalties on the Huskies and his 20 minutes in the penalty box ranks second on the team.
    Senior goaltender Dominic Basse has started all 14 games for St. Cloud State. Basse owns the 3rd ranked GAA (2.31) and 5th best save percentage (.908) in the NCHC. Basse's three shutouts leads the NCAA.

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.

What's on Tap at Baxter?
    Saturday night is Toys for Tots and Ugly Sweater night at Baxter Arena.

Up Next
    The Mavericks break for the holiday. They won't return to the ice until January 5 when they take on the UMass Lowell River Hawks in the opening game of the Desert Hockey Classic in Tempe, Arizona.