OMAHA, Neb. – Omaha Hockey (9-10-0, 5-4-0 NCHC) beat No. 13 Colorado College (9-10-0, 5-4-0 NCHC) 5-2 on Friday in the first game of 2025 on the Kemp Ice at Baxter Arena.
"Great team effort from our guys tonight," head coach
Mike Gabinet said. "We had a nice response anytime they had momentum, and it was a great win for the group."
Graduate forward
Brady Risk recorded his second career hat trick and eighth in Baxter Arena history (sixth by a Maverick). Risk and his former team were at the last hat trick on Omaha's home ice when
Jack Randl potted three goals in a 3-2 overtime win over Alaska on Oct. 23, 2022.
The opening period was slow and saw nearly no action until the Mavericks earned the game's first power play 18:45 into the first. Omaha was well into the final minute of play when junior defenseman
Dylan Gratton led a final push with the man advantage and led the charge down the ice from behind Omaha's cage.
Gratton then slid it to graduate forward
Jimmy Glynn, who flipped it to graduate forward
Sam Stange right before entering the Tigers' zone. Stange then skated around the corner and drove right to the left toward the net until he found Risk and centered a beautiful pass.
The Medicine Hat, Alberta native caught the pass and slung it behind Kaidan Mbereko for the 1-0 Omaha lead with 7.6 seconds remaining in the opening frame.
Stange and senior forward
Zach Urdahl played a game of tic tac toe 2:03 seconds into the period. The Eau Claire, Wis., natives got it going because Stange tipped a takeaway to Urdahl, leading the charge and then finishing it with Urdahl on Stange's right, passing it back and forth four times before Omaha's leading goal scorer netted his ninth of 2024-25.
Risk found a groove 15:28 into the middle frame when he and former Alaska teammate
Harrison Israels set up freshman forward
Myles Hilman for a great look. Hilman, unable to finish, had a hard rip on the shot that bounced left to right, falling onto Risk's stick for an easy rebound and ending up behind Mbereko's glove side.
During the Mavericks scoring run, the Tigers quietly came back and scored two goals to make it 3-2 in favor of the home team.
Shortly after Risk's goal made it 3-1, Zaccharya Wisdom made it 3-2, and Colorado College added one more to tie the game 3-3. However, Gabinet challenged the play for offsides.
The Mavericks were victorious in the challenge and took back the lead to gain momentum and make it 3-2. Additionally, this gave Risk the game-winning goal on his second of the game.
Risk now has two game-winners on the season and eight in his career of 115 collegiate games.
Then came junior forward
Cam Mitchell. The play seemed all but over, and Mitchell skated casually behind Mbereko, who was sitting on the puck and pushed it into the net to make it 4-2. Mitchell was assisted by junior forward
Tyler Rollwagen. Mitchell (2G-1A) and Rollwagen (4A) are on three-game points streaks.
Finally, Risk understood that people wanted to take their hats off to let their hair down in the 2025's inaugural game at Baxter Arena.
Hilman stole a puck at center ice and pushed it into the Tigers' zone. Israels then skated behind Colorado College's cage and found Risk on the visiting side faceoff circle for a perfect one-timer to a near-empty net.
Risk capped off the scoring to secure Omaha's first hat trick of 2024-25.
Junior goaltender
Simon Latkoczy appeared in his 70th career game with the Mavericks (69th start) and did not disappoint. Latkoczy made 42 saves on 44 shots faced to give him his fourth game of the season with 40 or more saves.
The Mavericks look for their second sweep of the season on Kemp Ice at Baxter Arena when they play in the series finale against No. 13 Colorado College on Saturday night at 7:07 p.m.
