This Week
      The No. 11 Omaha Mavericks make their return to the NCAA Tournament this week when they take on the No. 7 Minnesota Gophers at the Sioux Falls Regional, Thursday March 28 at 7:30 p.m.

The Teams
      The 23-12-4 Mavericks are coming off an NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship appearance. Omaha defeated North Dakota for the fourth time this season, 6-3 to advance to the title game. Despite battling the Denver Pioneers hard in the final, Omaha fell to their NCHC rival 4-1. Before advancing to the Frozen Faceoff, the Mavericks endured a three-game battle with the Colorado College Tigers. Omaha fell 4-3 in OT after leading 3-0 earlier in the contest. The Mavericks rattled off two straight wins to advance to their first ever NCHC Frozen Faceoff and secure their spot in this season's NCAA Tournament.
      The Gophers finished third in the BIG 10 regular season standings. Going 22-10-5 on the campaign so far, Minnesota swept Penn State in the opening round of their conference tournament. Meeting Michigan in semifinals, the Gophers fell 1-2 on home ice. Their last game action came on March 16.

Last Time Out
      This Thursday's contest will be a rematch of the 2021 Loveland Regional. The Gophers knocked off the Mavericks 7-2 in the regional semifinal. Before their 2021 matchup, the last time the two squads met was a 2012 road series in Minneapolis.

All-Time vs. Minnesota
      The Mavericks and Gophers are set for their ninth meeting of all-time between the two teams on Thursday night. The all-time series is currently 5-3 in favor of Minnesota.

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 watch all games this weekend on ESPNU.

Up Next
      The Mavericks look to advance to the NCAA Sioux Falls Regional Final on Saturday March 30.

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 13 of the 22 games he's played in. He's scored eight goals, added nine assists and is a +11 in those 22 games. Randl had a five-game point streak snapped in Game 2 against CC. The Mavericks are 2-0-0 when scoring a shorthanded goal this season. Both shorthanded tallies have come off the stick of Randl. The Graduate forward has recorded four multi-point games on the campaign. That is tied for second among all Mavericks for the season. Randl's four game winning goals paces all Mavericks for the campaign.
 
Close Calls
      When the game comes down to it, the Mavericks have prevailed almost all season long. Omaha is 16-2-0 in one goal games this season. They dropped their second one-goal game of the season in game one of the NCHC Playoffs.

Finishing Strong
      The Mavericks are unbeaten in 10 of their last 12 contests and in 14 of their last 17. Over those 17 games, Omaha is 12-3-2. In their last 17 contests, they have outscored their opponents 53-40 and are averaging 3.12 goals per game while their opponents are averaging 2.35 gpg.

Lighting the Lamp First
      The Mavericks have had a favorable outcome this season when scoring the first goal. The Mavericks are 17-9 on the campaign when they strike first and 6-3-4 when allowing the first goal.

SOS
      Last season, the Mavericks had the 16th hardest strength of schedule in college hockey among 64 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 9th hardest schedule in college hockey. Omaha has played 27 games this season against ranked opponents. The Mavericks have wins over the No. 2, 3, 4 (twice), 10 (twice), 11 and 14th (twice) ranked teams this season.

Leading Ludtke's
      The Ludtke brothers of Tanner and Griffin are first and second in Omaha scoring through 39 games. The brotherly duo has combined for 55 points on the campaign (15 goals and 40 assists). Both brothers have netted game winning goals for the Mavericks and both have come in overtime. In Tanner's last 22 games, he has points in 16 of them. Eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points.
 
Pucks on Net
After 39 games, The Mavericks are 12-1-3 when they outshoot their opponents and are 11-10-1 when being outshot on the campaign.

Brock-star
      The senior Maverick has really turned up the heat this postseason. With points in five of his last six games, Brock Bremer has scored four goals (2 GWG) and added three assists. He is currently riding a four-game goal streak making him the 22nd player in program history to score in four straight contests.

Facing Off
      Through 39 games, Omaha is the ninth ranked squad in the NCAA in faceoffs with a win percentage of 53.5.
      Nolan Sullivan finished NCHC play 3rd in faceoff winning percentage at 59.9 while Ty Mueller sits 10th with a 55.0 percentage. Sullivan's 434 faceoff wins after 39 games was the most in the NCHC this season.

Seeing Multiples
      The Mavericks have had 17 players register a multi-point game this season. Michael Abgrall (1), Brock Bremer (4), Ray Fust (2), Jimmy Glynn (2), Jacob Guevin (1), Jesse Lansdell (1), Jo Lemay (2) Griffin Ludtke (3), Tanner Ludtke (6), Victor Mancini (1), Matt Miller (2), Ty Mueller (4), Kirby Proctor (2), Jack Randl (4), Tyler Rollwagen (1), Nolan Sullivan (1) and Zach Urdahl (4) have all registered multi-point games.

The Cat's Meow
      Sophomore netminder Simon Latkoczy continues to climb the Omaha record books. His 19 campaign wins is tied for fourth most a single season. He sits sixth in all-time wins with 30 and T-5 for his four career shutouts. The Trencin, Slovakia native is ninth all-time in minutes played and 10^th in saves with 1407. At 19-11-3, Latkoczy is tied for the fourth most single season victories in program history while his 917 saves on the campaign is seventh most.

Unreal Urdahl
      The junior transfer has been a key addition to the Mavericks this season. In 33games, he's scored 13 goals and added 12 assists. Three of his goals have been game winners. All marks are career highs for the junior forward. Last Friday he scored the second ever hat trick in frozen faceoff history. His four-point night was the first for Omaha since Nov. 17, 2021 vs. Alaska Fairbanks when Chayse Primeau buried two goals and added a pair of helpers.
 
The Opponent
      The No. 7 Minnesota Gophers and defending national runner-up enter the NCAA Tournament with a record of 22-10-5. The two seeded Gophers are the 37th ranked faceoff team in the country with a win percentage of 49.9. Minnesota is averaging 3.49 goals per game this season. That ranks 10th in all of college hockey. On the opposite, they are allowing 2.49 gpg to opponents. Their 1.00 winning margin also ranks 11th in the nation. Minnesota has notable wins over North Dakota, Michigan State, Michigan and Wisconsin this season. All four of those teams are in the NCAA Tournament.

Special Teams
      Operating at 23.4 percent, the Gophers have the 14th ranked power play in the country. Killing penalties at an 80.0 percent rate ranks their PK unit 32nd in college hockey.

Players To Watch
      Junior forward Rhett Pitlick leads the Gophers in points with 35. Pitlick was tabbed All-B1G Second Team for his 2023-24 campaign. He held the NCAA's longest goal streak this season scoring in seven straight contests from Nov. 17 to Dec. 8. Pitlick logged 11 multi-point performances which paced all Gophers this season.
      Sophomore forward Jimmy Snuggerud is second on the team in points with 34. Scoring 21 goals on the season, six came on the power play and six of them were game winners. Both marks lead Minnesota. He was named to the All-B1G First Team this year. Snuggerud had five-multi point games this season including a career-best four-point game against Colorado College where he netted a hat trick and added an assist.
      Graduate goalie Justen Close has appeared in 34 games this season for Minnesota. Close is 21-8-5 on the campaign. A Mike Richter Award semifinalist, Close had the fourth most shutouts in college hockey this year with four. His .923 save percentage ranks seventh in the NCAA and led all NCAA netminders in assists with four.