This Week
The No. 19 Omaha Mavericks look to keep things rolling when they meet the No. 14 Western Michigan Broncos on the road this weekend for their final two contests against each other in the regular season.
The Teams
The 14-9-3 Mavericks are coming off a big six-point home weekend against Minnesota Duluth. Omaha opened the weekend by opening the floodgates against the Bulldogs taking care of business 5-1. In a tighter matchup the next night, the Mavericks edged the Bulldogs 4-3 to secure a weekend sweep.
The No. 14 Broncos played to a weekend split on the road last weekend against the Denver Pioneers. Western dropped a close battle in the series opener 3-2. They answered back the following night by downing the Pioneers 7-2. WMU currently sits four points ahead of Omaha for fifth place in the NCHC.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks and Broncos battled to a weekend split the first time they saw each other back in November. Omaha and Western opened NCHC play against each other this season. The Broncos triumphed in the opening game 5-2. The series finale was a back-and-forth battle that saw the Mavericks ultimately claim a 3-2 victory over WMU with Victor Mancini's overtime game winning goal.
All-Time vs. Western Michigan
The Mavericks and Broncos are set for their 68th and 69th meetings all-time between the two teams this weekend. The all-time series is currently 35-26-6 in favor of Omaha. The Broncos hold a slight lead over the Mavericks when the game is played in Kalamazoo. The Broncos are 17-14-4 all-time when the game is played on their ice.
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 will break for the bye week before welcoming the Colorado College Tigers to town on Feb. 23-24
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 six of the nine games he's played in. He's scored five goals, added four assists and is a +8 in those nine games.
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 26 games, Mueller leads the Mavericks in points with 22 (8-14=22) assists (14), power play goals (3) and shots on goal (67).
The Cat's Meow
Sophomore netminder Simon Latkoczy continues to climb the Omaha record books. In Friday's 5-1 victory over UMD, Latkoczy recorded his 1000th career save. That puts him 10th all-time in program history. He's currently tied for 9th all-time with Isaiah Saville in wins with 22.
Close Calls
When the game comes down to it, the Mavericks have prevailed almost all season long. Omaha is 11-1-0 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 last weekend. Over his eight-game point streak, Ludtke logged five goals and six assists. Mueller tallied two goals and seven assists over his streak and has found the scoresheet in eight of the 10 second half games.
Lighting the Lamp First
The Mavericks have had a favorable outcome this season when scoring the first goal. The Mavericks are 11-7 on the campaign when they strike first and 2-3-3 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 17th hardest schedule in college hockey.
Leading Ludtke's
The Ludtke brothers of Griffin and Tanner are second and fourth in Omaha scoring through 26 games. The brotherly duo has combined for 34 points on the campaign (11 goals and 23 assists). Both brothers have netted game winning goals for the Mavericks and both have come in overtime.
Pucks on Net
After 26 games, The Mavericks are 10-1-2 when they outshoot their opponents and are 4-7-1 when being outshot on the campaign. Through 15 home games, Omaha is outshooting their opponents 473-430. In 11 road games, Omaha has been outshot 247-319.
Closing out the Weekend
The Mavericks have lost five Friday night games this year. Their response has been a 3-1-1 record so far after falling in the opening game of the weekend.
In game 2 of regular season series, Omaha is 7-4-2 in closing out the weekend.
Facing Off
After 26 games, Omaha is tied with Colorado College as the top faceoff team in the NCHC and is tied for second best in the NCAA with a win percentage of 55.2.
Nolan Sullivan currently ranks 2nd in the NCHC in faceoff winning percentage at 60.7 while Ty Mueller sits 10th with a 55.3 percentage. Sullivan has won 289 draws on the campaign, which is the second highest mark in the conference.
Seeing Multiples
The Mavericks have had 16 players register a multi-point game this season. Michael Abgrall (1), Brock Bremer (1), 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.
That's a Plus!
Last series against UMD, junior blueliner Victor Mancini recorded a +6 weekend while his defensive partner Kirby Proctor was a +5 to combine for a +11 weekend patrolling the blueline against the Bulldogs. Mancini leads all Mavericks with a +9 rating while his blueline buddy is second on the team with a +8 rating.
The Opponent
The No.14 Western Michigan Broncos are currently sitting in 5th place in the NCHC with 25 points and an overall record of 16-9-1. WMU is averaging 3.81 goals per game which is the 8th highest scoring offense in the NCAA. Their scoring margin of 1.50 is 6th best in college hockey. WMU is also a top-10 faceoff team in the country checking in at 8th.
Special Teams
The Broncos have the 4th ranked power play in the NCHC operating at 24.7 percent. That's good for 13th in the NCAA. Their 23 power play goals is good for 11th in the NCAA. On the opposite, WMU has the 2nd best penalty kill in the conference killing 83.7 percent of power plays.
Players To Watch
Junior forward Dylan Wendt is tied for the national lead in goals with 21. He's added 13 helpers on the season for 34 points which is second best on the Broncos. Eight of Wendt's goals have come on the power play.
Senior forward Luke Grainger leads the Broncos in points with 37. He's found the back of the net nine times and added an NCHC second best 28 assists.
Senior netminder Cameron Rowe has played every single minute for the Broncos this season. Playing in all 26 games, Rowe holds a 2.31 goals against average, a .912 save percentage while helping capture all 16 of WMU's wins.
