This Week
      The Omaha Mavericks are set to make their 2024 debut at the Arizona State hosted Desert Hockey Classic this weekend. They battle the UMass Lowell River Hawks in the opening game on Friday night while the other team in the tournament is the Harvard Crimson.
 
The Teams
      The Mavericks closed out the first half of the season 9-5-2 with two of their victories coming against Western Michigan and Denver who were ranked 11th and 2nd in the country at the time of competition. Their final series of 2023 came against St. Cloud State at home where they lost the opening game of the weekend and took the extra NCHC point in Saturday's shootout victory. Omaha's Friday opponent, UMass Lowell is 6-11-2 on the season and is winless in four of their last five contests. Host team Arizona State has pieced together a solid season so far with a 14-3-5 record sitting at No. 12 in the country. Harvard enters the tournament 1-7-3.
 
Last Time Out
       The Mavericks haven't met the River Hawks since 2017 when they faced them in a road series where they split the weekend. The last meeting between Omaha and ASU came in December of 2019. That series also ended in a split in Omaha. If Omaha faces Harvard, it will be just the third meeting all time. Their last contest was in 2015.

All-Time vs. UMass Lowell, Arizona State & Harvard
      The Mavericks and River Hawks are primed for just their 7th meeting all time. The all-time series record is 4-2 in favor of Omaha. The Mavericks are 6-3-1 all-time against ASU and 1-2 against Harvard with two of the three meetings taking place in 1998.
 
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 16 games, Mueller leads the Mavericks in points with 12 (6-6=12) and goals with six.
 
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.
 
Lighting the Lamp First
      The Mavericks have had a favorable outcome this season when scoring the first goal. The Mavericks are 9-4 on the campaign when they strike first and 0-1-2 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. They currently have the 21st hardest schedule in college hockey.
 
Pucks on Net
After 16 games, The Mavericks are 8-1-2 when they outshoot their opponents and are 1-3-0 when being outshot on the campaign. Through 11 home games, Omaha is outshooting their opponents 369-291. In five road games, Omaha has been outshot 144-120.
 
Facing Off
      After 16 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 55.7.
      Nolan Sullivan currently ranks 2nd in the NCHC in faceoff winning percentage at 60.8 while Ty Mueller sits 7th with a 54.8 percentage. Nolan Sullivan finished second in the NCHC for faceoff win percentage last season.
 
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 and .910 save percentage ranks 4th in the NCHC. Latkoczy's 24.50 saves per game is good for 7th in the conference.
 
The Opponents
      UMass Lowell has played one game since December 9. They fell 4-3 to American International last Saturday night at home. UML is 1-3-1 in their last five contests. ASU is 14-3-5 on the season and are 10-2-2 at Mullet Arena. Harvard is 1-7-3 this season with their one win coming on the road against No. 7 Cornell. They have dropped six consecutive games.
 
Special Teams
      The River Hawks have the 45th ranked PK in the country killing 48 of 62 (77.4%) opponent opportunities. On the opposite, Lowell's power play is operating at 11.1 percent. They are 7-63 with the man advantage this season. ASU currently boasts the 5th ranked PP in the country converting at 29 percent while their PK unit ranks 27th in the country at 81.7 percent. Harvard owns the 40th ranked PK in the country operating at 79.4 percent while their power play sits top 20 at number 19.
 
Players To Watch
      Lowell sophomore forward Scout Truman leads the team in points with 14. He's lit the lamp four times (1 GWG) on the season and added another 10 helpers. He recorded back-to-back three-assist games this season against Colgate.
      Senior forward Lukas Sillinger has 27 points in 22 games played this year for ASU. He's tallied six goals and 21 assists on the campaign. His 27 points is third most in the NCAA. He recorded a five-point (1g, 4a) night against Robert Morris on December 17.
      Harvard's leading scorer is Ryan Healey who has scored two goals and six assists in 11 games played this year.

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 for free on PAC-12.com/live
 
Up Next
      The Mavericks will remain on the road and head to North Dakota to take on NCHC rival, the North Dakota Fighting Hawks.