This Week
The No. 19 Omaha Mavericks make their long-awaited return to Baxter Arena this weekend when they welcome the No. 5 Denver Pioneers for a pair of NCHC contests.
The Teams
The Mavericks are coming off a weekend split with NCHC rival, North Dakota. The Mavericks erased three separate deficits in Friday's battle to knock off the then No. 4 squad in the NCAA, 5-4 in overtime. The following night, UND took a 1-0 lead into the third period. Omaha would go on to tie things at 1-1 early in the 3rd period but were ultimately edged 3-1 in the series finale.
No. 5 Denver sits third in the NCHC at 15-5-2 and is coming off a four-point home weekend against St. Cloud State. DU handed the Huskies a 5-1 loss in the series opener and then skated to a 4-4 tie the next night where SCSU went on to claim the extra NCHC point in a shootout.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks and Pioneers met earlier this season in November in an interesting road series. After Omaha fell in the series opener, the weekend finale had to be played over two days as Saturday's game was suspended after the 1st period due to ice conditions. Tied at 0-0, the game resumed the next day at the beginning of the 2nd period. Omaha erupted for four second period goals and downed Denver 4-3.
All-Time vs. Denver
The Mavericks and Pioneers are set for their 58th and 59th meetings all-time between the two teams this weekend. The all-time series is currently 38-14-5 in favor of Denver. The Pioneers are 14-9-3 all-time against the Mavericks when the game is played in Omaha.
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 hop right back on the road and return to the North when they play their final two regular season games against the Huskies of St. Cloud State in St. Cloud Minnesota.
What's on Tap at Bax
The Hat Trick Giveaway is this Saturday night! Arrive early and you could get an ice scraper, a koozie or one of 500 Omaha Beanies. Saturday night is also $2 beverage night! (a limited selection of beverages will be available for 1 HOUR leading up to puck drop at 7:07 p.m. at the Blue Line Club by section 110)
Jack Attack
Jack Randl recorded goals in four straight games from Nov. 25 - Dec. 8. It's the second time he's done that in a Maverick sweater and the 29th time in program history. Since the second half started back up at the Desert Hockey Classic, Randl has found the scoresheet in three of the four games in 2024. He's scored one goal, added three assists and is a +5 in those four games with his lamp lighter being the OT game winning goal against North Dakota Last Friday night.
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 20 games, Mueller leads the Mavericks in points with 17 (7-10=17) and goals (7), assists (10), shots on goal (59) and multi-point games (4). His four-point weekend against UND earned him NCHC Forward of the Week honors for the first time in his career.
Close Calls
When the game comes down to it, the Mavericks have prevailed almost all season long. Omaha is 9-1-0 in one goal games this season. They dropped their first one-goal game in the Desert Hockey Classic final to ASU. The loss also marked the program's first OT loss of the year.
Going to the Polls
The Mavericks re-entered both national polls this weekend coming in at No. 19 in the USCHO.com and USA Hockey lists. This is the third time Omaha has been ranked in the USCHO poll and the first time in the USA Hockey poll.
Lighting the Lamp First
The Mavericks have had a favorable outcome this season when scoring the first goal. The Mavericks are 9-5 on the campaign when they strike first and 2-2-2 when allowing the first goal.
SOS
Last season, the Mavericks had the 16th hardest strength of schedule in college hockey among 61 teams as determined by the KRACH ratings.
During the regular season, Omaha will play four teams that made it to the NCAA Tournament last year in Denver, St. Cloud State, Western Michigan and Ohio State. They currently have the 18th hardest schedule in college hockey.
Leading Ludtke's
The Ludtke brothers of Griffin and Tanner are third and fourth in Omaha scoring through 20 games. Both brothers played a role in filling up the scoresheet last weekend. Griffin recorded an assist on Matt Miller's power play goal Friday night and Tanner had the primary on it. Tanner also had a helper on the game tying goal that aided in Omaha forcing OT. Tanner scored the Mavericks lone goal on Saturday night capitalizing on a 2-on-1 rush to tie the game early in the third period.
Pucks on Net
After 20 games, The Mavericks are 9-1-2 when they outshoot their opponents and are 2-5-0 when being outshot on the campaign. Through 11 home games, Omaha is outshooting their opponents 369-291. In nine road games, Omaha has been outshot 248-194.
Closing out the Weekend
The Mavericks have lost four Friday night games this year. Their response has been a 3-0-1 record so far after falling in the opening game of the weekend.
In game 2 of regular season series, Omaha is 6-3-1 in closing out the weekend.
Facing Off
After 20 games, Omaha is the second ranked faceoff team in the NCHC and the eighth ranked team in the country with a win percentage of 54.2.
Nolan Sullivan currently ranks 2nd in the NCHC in faceoff winning percentage at 60.3 while Ty Mueller sits 9th with a 53.6 percentage. Sullivan has won 226 draws on the campaign, which is the highest mark in the conference.
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 (2), Jacob Guevin (1), Jesse Lansdell (1), Jo Lemay (2) Griffin Ludtke (1), Tanner Ludtke (4), Victor Mancini (1), Ty Mueller (4), Kirby Proctor (1), Jack Randl (2), Tyler Rollwagen (1) and Zach Urdahl (1) have all registered multi-point games.
Simon Says
The Slovakian netminder has backstopped the Mavericks to eight of their 10 wins this season. The sophomore goaltender made a season-high 35 saves in last Friday's overtime victory against North Dakota. His 2.51 GAA and .910 save percentage ranks 4th and 3rd in the NCHC respectfully. Latkoczy's 25.69 saves per game is good for 5th in the conference.
The Opponent
No. 5 Denver is currently 15-5-2 on the season with a 6-3-1 NCHC record. DU is coming off a four-point weekend against SCSU at home. Denver is 6-3-0 on the road this year and is unbeaten in five of their last six contests heading into the weekend. The Pioneers have the highest scoring offense in the NCAA averaging 5.18 goals per game and second highest scoring margin of 2.18. Denver sits third in the NCHC with 17 points.
Special Teams
The Pioneers have the third best power play in the conference operating at 26.5 percent. That's good for eighth in college hockey. On the opposite, Denver is seventh in penalty kill in the NCHC at 80.0 percent. They've killed 64 of 80 attempts.
Players To Watch
Junior forward Jack Devine leads the NCAA in goals with 22. His 33 points is good for second in the NCAA. Devine is currently averaging 1.50 points per game which is the third best mark in the NCHC and seventh best in college hockey. Devine's .82 goals per game ranks second in the NCHC.
Junior forward Massimo Rizzo is the NCAA leader in points with 34. Rizzo is averaging 1.55 points per game which ranks fifth in the NCAA. In 22 games, he's tallied nine goals and 25 assists.
Miko Matikka has won NCHC Rookie of the Week four times this season. Through 21 games, he's scored 14 goals and six assists.
