OMAHA, Neb. - #4 seeded Omaha Hockey (18-15-1, 14-9-1 NCHC) hosts #5 North Dakota (19-14-2, 14-9-1 NCHC) as the pair of teams go head-to-head for the second straight week in a best-of-three series reflecting 2024's Frozen Faceoff Semifinal game in the Quarterfinal Round of the NCHC Tournament on Kemp Ice at Baxter Arena.
Game one will occur on Friday, March 14, and game two on Saturday, March 15. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m. CT. If necessary, game three will occur on Sunday, March 16, at 6:07 p.m. CT. Alex Heinert and Jim Scanlan will have the call, with Taylor Budge reporting rinkside on NCHC.tv. Listen to the series on the Varsity app or 1290 KOIL AM. Mike Vaillancourt will handle play-by-play, and Terry Leahy will analyze.
The Mavericks face the Fighting Hawks less than a week after scoring seven goals against this week's visitors. Omaha's seven goals are the most North Dakota has given up to any opponent in a single game this season.
Omaha enters the series 6-4-0 in its last 10 games against the Fighting Hawks.
Graduate forward Sam Stange led Omaha in the home-clinching effort. He became the only player to tally four points this season for the Mavericks and also the sole player to do so against North Dakota in 2024-25.
Senior forward Zach Urdahl has 10 points (5G-5A) in seven games against the Fighting Hawks, the third-most among active skaters. Graduate forward Brock Bremer is tied for the fifth-most points against North Dakota.
Last March, the 6-foot-1, 193-pound forward recorded the second hat trick in Frozen Faceoff history in the semifinal matchup against the Fighting Hawks. Urdahl has lit the lamp 35 times over his four collegiate seasons. 14.29 percent of those goals have come against North Dakota.
Junior goaltender Simon Latkoczy earned his 44th collegiate victory in an Omaha uniform when it beat then-No. 18 North Dakota 7-3 last Saturday night at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The Trencin, Slovakia, is one of four netminders to earn 40 or more career victories as a Maverick. Additionally, the 2025 Mike Richter Award semifinalist needs one win to tie Jerad Kaufmann's (2005-09) 45 wins and tie for the third-most in program history.
The 5-foot-11, 177-pound goaltender made 183 saves in five games during last year's conference tournament, a record for the most in a single NCHC Tournament.
In NCHC Tournament history, Latkoczy ranks third in saves (273).
Junior defenseman Griffin Ludtke has had success in the NCHC Tournament. Through five games, the Elko, Minn., native has six points (6A) and leads all active NCHC defensemen in points in the conference's postseason tournament.
The Mavericks enter the postseason on Kemp Ice at Baxter Arena following a successful regular season on home ice, where they went 10-6-0. Omaha went 9-3-0 at home against NCHC opponents. Its nine wins at home against conference opponents were tied for the most in the NCHC and fourth in the nation.
If Omaha can win, it will make the trip to St. Paul, Minn., where it will play in the NCHC's Frozen Faceoff Semifinal Game on Friday, March 21, at the Xcel Energy Center. If they can manage to win that game, the Mavericks will move on to the Frozen Faceoff Championship.
To answer ticketing questions, please contact the Baxter Arena Box Office at (402) 554- 628, unotickets@omavs.com or visit omavs.com/NCHCFirstRound25.
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