This Week
      The No. 18 Omaha Mavericks are set to embark on their final road trip of the regular season this weekend traveling to Oxford, Ohio to play the Miami RedHawks.

The Teams
      The 16-10-4 Mavericks are coming off a five-point weekend against the then No. 10 Colorado College Tigers. The Mavericks blanked the Tigers 3-0 for the second shutout of the season in Friday's contest and then battled to a 1-1 tie in the series finale. Omaha grabbed the extra NCHC point in the shootout, winning 1-0.
      The RedHawks are coming off a road tie and a loss to the Denver Pioneers last weekend. trailing 3-1 on Friday night, Miami scored a pair of third period goals including one with 2:57 left in regulation to pull even with Denver. The Pioneers grabbed the extra NCHC point in the shootout. Miami fell 8-1 in the series finale the following night.

Last Time Out
      The Mavericks and RedHawks have yet to meet this season. Their last meeting was in the second to last road weekend of the 2022-23 season in Oxford, Ohio. Omaha took the Friday night tilt 3-1 and then erased a two-goal deficit the next night to force OT and capture the victory.

All-Time vs. Miami
      The Mavericks and RedHawks are set for their 60th and 61st meetings all-time between the two teams this weekend. The all-time series is currently 29-23-7 in favor of Miami. The RedHawks are 12-11-3 all-time against the Mavericks when the game is played in Omaha. When the game is played in Oxford, Miami also holds the all-time series lead at 16-10-4.

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 stream both games on NCHC.tv.

Up Next
      The Mavericks wrap up the regular season at home next weekend against their travel partner, North Dakota. The Mavericks are 1-1 against the Fighting Hawks this season after a series split in Grand Forks in January.

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 eight of the 13 games he's played in. He's scored six goals, added six assists and is a +7 in those 13 games. The Mavericks are 2-0-0 when scoring a shorthanded goal this season. Both shorthanded tallies have come off the stick of Randl.

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 30 games, Mueller leads the Mavericks in points with 24 (9-15=24) assists (15), power play goals (3) and shots on goal (82).

Close Calls
      When the game comes down to it, the Mavericks have prevailed almost all season long. Omaha is 12-1-0 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 and only OT loss of the year.

Going Streaking
      Tanner Ludtke and Ty Mueller had eight and seven game point streaks ended against UMD. Ludtke has recorded a point in 11 of his last 13 contests and had a three-game point streak snapped in last week's series finale against CC. Despite it not counting for a real point, Ludtke buried the shootout winner on Saturday. Mueller has racked up at least one point in 10 of his last 13 games.

Lighting the Lamp First
      The Mavericks have had a favorable outcome this season when scoring the first goal. The Mavericks are 12-7 on the campaign when they strike first and 3-4-4 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 15th hardest schedule in college hockey. Omaha has played 17 games this season against ranked opponents and this weekend will make it 18-19. The Mavericks have wins over the No. 2, 4, 10, 11 and 14th (twice) ranked teams this season.

Leading Ludtke's
      The Ludtke brothers of Griffin and Tanner are second and fourth in Omaha scoring through 30 games. The brotherly duo has combined for 39 points on the campaign (12 goals and 27 assists). Both brothers have netted game winning goals for the Mavericks and both have come in overtime.
 
Pucks on Net
After 30 games, The Mavericks are 10-1-3 when they outshoot their opponents and are 6-8-2 when being outshot on the campaign. Through 17 home games, Omaha is outshooting their opponents 535-473. In 11 road games, Omaha has been outshot 296-391.

Closing out the Weekend
      The Mavericks have lost five Friday night games this year. Their response has been a 4-1-1 record so far after falling in the opening game of the weekend.
      In game 2 of regular season series, Omaha is 8-4-3 in closing out the weekend.

Facing Off
      After 30 games, Omaha is the top ranked faceoff team in the NCHC and the fifth best squad in the NCAA with a win percentage of 54.7.
      Nolan Sullivan currently ranks 3rd in the NCHC in faceoff winning percentage at 60.2 while Ty Mueller sits 10th with a 55.3 percentage. Sullivan and Mueller are second and third in the NCHC respectively in draws won with 328 and 323.

Seeing Multiples
      The Mavericks have had 16 players register a multi-point game this season. Michael Abgrall (1), Brock Bremer (2), Ray Fust (2), Jimmy Glynn (2), Jacob Guevin (1), Jesse Lansdell (1), Jo Lemay (2) Griffin Ludtke (2), Tanner Ludtke (6), Victor Mancini (1), Ty Mueller (4), Kirby Proctor (2), Jack Randl (4), Tyler Rollwagen (1), Nolan Sullivan (1) and Zach Urdahl (2) have all registered multi-point games.

Cardiac Kids
      The Maverick are an impressive 7-1-4 in overtime games this season. Their seven OT goals leads all NCAA programs. In their seven extra period victories, the game winning goals have come from six different Mavericks. Jack Randl leads the team with two.
 
Special Teams
      The Mavericks PK sits at 79.6% on the season. In 30 games played, the Mavericks are 78/98 on the kill. They have allowed just one power goal in their last seven games (15/16) and have killed their last 10 man-advantages including all 3:20 of 5-on-3 hockey in Wester Michigan.

The Opponent
      The 7-20-3 Miami RedHawks have lost their last four games at Goggic Ice Arena. Miami is 1-17-2 in NCHC play this season. On the faceoff dot, they are the 56th ranked team in college hockey.

Special Teams
      Miami has the seventh ranked power play in the NCHC at 14.4 percent, scoring a conference worst 15 power play goals. They have the seventh ranked penalty kill, killing 81 of 103 (78.6) attempts this season. They have allowed a power play goal in 10 of their last 12 games.

Players To Watch
      Senior forward Matthew Barbolini leads all RedHawks this season in points with 24. He's tied for the team lead in goals with 11 and assists with 13. His four power play goals also paces all Miami players.
      Senior forward PJ Fletcher is second on the team in points with 23. He is tied for the team lead in goals with Barbolini with 11.
      Sophomore John Waldron is third on the RedHawks in points with 21. Appearing in all 30 games this season, he's scored eight goals and added 13 assists.