After defeating the No. 4 North Dakota Fighting Hawks for the fourth time this season, The No. 11 Omaha Mavericks advanced to tomorrow night's NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship.

Behind Zach Urdahl's first career hat trick and one assist performance, the Mavericks handed the Fighting Hawks their 11^th loss of the season by a score of 6-3.

Despite UND scoring just 1:18 into the night, Omaha never wavered. Urdahl evened the contest with 90 seconds remaining in the first period with a power play goal.

At 6:17 of the second period, the Mavericks grabbed their first lead of the contest and wouldn't give it back for the remainder of the contest. Matt Miller put home a loose puck out front for his seventh lamp lighter of the season. With 2:54 left in the middle frame, Jimmy Glynn extended the Mavericks lead to 3-1 with a snipe from just inside the blueline. The NCHC rivals would go into the final 20 minutes of regulation with Omaha leading 3-2 after UND scored with 24 seconds left in the period.

With the third period underway, it didn't take the Mavericks long to find the back of the net as Brock Bremer buried a backhand beauty just 1:18 into the period. A power play goal at 9:50 of the third would once again pull UND within one of Omaha. 58 seconds later Urdahl responded with his second strike of the night tipping home a Griffin Ludtke pass from the point, just to the right side of the UND cage. Urdahl put the game away with 4:44 left in the game when he fired a shot from the defensive side of the neutral zone to complete the hat trick.

The Mavericks are set to play the winner of Denver vs. St. Cloud State tomorrow night in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff title game. Puck drop set for 7:37 p.m.
 
NOTES
Zach Urdahl registered Omaha's first four-point performance since Chayse Primeau's four-point night against Alaska Fairbanks on November 17, 2021.
Stopping 36 of the 39 shots he faced tonight, sophomore netminder Simon Latkoczy has now recorded five consecutive 30+ performances.
Griffin Ludtke and Jesse Lansdell each tallied three assist night's this evening. It's the first of Ludtke's career and second of Lansdell's.
Jimmy Glynn and Brock Bremer each extended their goal streaks to three games tonight. For the second game in a row, Bremer netted the game winner. It's the first three-game goal streak of each senior's career.