KALAMAZOO, Mich. - No. 20 Omaha (16-11-1, 12-5-1 NCHC), who sits in second place in the NCHC, hits the road once again and heads to first-place NCHC foe No. 3 Western Michigan (20-5-1, 13-2-1 NCHC) for two games at Lawson Arena. The first game is set for Friday, Feb. 14, at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT, and Saturday, Feb. 15's game begins at 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT. Both contests will stream on NCHC.tv. The audio will be available on the Varsity app or 1290 KOIL AM, with Mike Vaillancourt conducting play-by-play duties and Terry Leahy as the analyst.

The Mavericks enter the series after a dominant weekend. They outscored Minnesota Duluth 9-3, earned their third straight sweep on home ice, and accumulated seven straight wins on Kemp Ice at Baxter Arena.

Junior goaltender Simon Latkoczy enters the weekend with 43 career victories and currently sits at fourth all-time among Omaha goaltenders in wins. On Thursday, it was announced that the Trencin, Slovakia native, was one of 10 semifinalists for the 2025 Mike Richter Award, given to the top goaltender in collegiate hockey each season.

The 5-foot-11, 177-pound junior has had successful numbers in his collegiate career against Western Michigan. Among active Division I goaltenders (min. 2 GP) against the Broncos, Latkoczy's .932 save percentage ranks first, his 2.41 goals against average are second-lowest, his 289 saves are the second-most, and his four wins are tied for the most.

Latkoczy is also one of only three active netminders with a shutout against Western Michigan.

The Mavericks have been successful with the man advantage lately. Since Jan. 15, Omaha has netted 11 power play goals, tied for the most in the NCHC and the second most in the nation.

The Mavericks' power play has been operating at 47.2 percent since Jan. 15, which is the best in the nation.

Omaha has also successfully scored 18 power play goals against NCHC opponents, tied for the lead and fourth in Division I among teams in conference matchups. Its 30.5 percent success rate on the power play against conference opponents ranks second in the NCHC and is tied for fourth nationally.

Graduate forward Sam Stange has played in all 18 NCHC games this season. The Eau Claire, Wis., native has tallied 21 points (6G-15A), tied for the third-most conference during NCHC matchups. Stange is also plus-12 in NCHC play, tied for the third-highest plus/minus in the league.

Graduate forward Brady Risk tallied his 100th collegiate point last Saturday night, becoming only the 17th active player to reach the milestone. The 5-foot-9, 170-pound forward has skated in 18 games against NCHC opponents this season and has totaled 18 points (9G-9A).

The Medicine Hat, Alberta native's nine goals are tied for the third-most in the NCHC against conference opponents.

Risk's six power play goals in 2024-25 are tied for the second-most in the NCHC.

Following this weekend's series, the Mavericks will be off next weekend. Omaha returns to action when it hosts No. 10 Arizona State for the regular season home finale in a two-game series on Kemp Ice at Baxter Arena on Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, March 1. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m. CT.

Season and single-game for Omaha hockey home games at Baxter Arena are on sale now at OMavs.com/Tix.

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