OMAHA, Neb. – Omaha Hockey (9-17-0, 5-11-0 NCHC) makes its way to the defending national champions, No. 3 Western Michigan (18-6-0, 10-4-0, NCHC), playing at Lawson Arena from Jan. 30-31. Fans can listen live on 1290 KOIL or the Varsity Network, with both games streaming on NCHC.tv.
The Mavericks head to Kalamazoo coming off a series split against (RV) Colorado College. Omaha defeated the Tigers 3-1 on Friday to open the series, falling to (RV) Colorado College 3-1 on Saturday night.
Over the weekend, junior defenseman Ryan McCleary (Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada), who joined the program on Jan. 20, made his Omaha debut against (RV) Colorado College at Baxter Arena on Kemp Ice on Jan. 23.
McCleary comes to Omaha after spending three seasons with the Portland Winterhawks (2020–23) and one season with the Swift Current Broncos (2023–24) in the Western Hockey League, along with two seasons in the ECHL with the Cincinnati Cyclones (2024–26) and one season with the Toronto Marlies (2025–26) of the American Hockey League.
He was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the seventh round (194th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft.
Simon Latkoczy (Trencin, Slovakia), Omaha's nominee for the 2026 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, made his 100th career appearance as a Maverick Saturday, recording 32 saves.
Latkoczy is the fifth active DI goaltender to reach the milestone, fourth active to do so at one school, 23rd since 2020 and 12th since 2020 to reach 100 games played at one institution. Latkoczy became just the third active NCHC goaltender with at least 100 games played.
One game away from his 50th victory, on Jan. 27, Latkoczy was named KJ Branding NCHC Goaltender of the week for the second time during the 2025-26 season.
Heading into Friday night, sophomore forward Maxime Pellerin (Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada) continues to pace the Omaha offensively, after opening the scoring Friday night against (RV) St. Cloud State on Jan. 10 while adding two assists. Pellerin leads the Mavericks with seven goals and 15 points.
Following behind Pellerin with 14 points is sophomore forward Trevor Wong (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), who had a standout night Friday, leading Omaha to a 3-1 victory over (RV) Colorado College. Wong extended the Mavericks lead to 2-0 early in the second, before scoring an empty netter with 40 seconds left in the third.
For the Broncos, Grant Slukynsky is atop the leaderboard in points and assists with 27 points and 21 assists, while William Whitelaw takes the lead in goals with 15.
The Mavericks set their sights on Friday night for the series opener against defending national champions, No. 3 Western Michigan. The Mavericks and then-No. 8 Broncos last faced off at Baxter Arena on Kemp Ice on Nov. 21 and 22. Omaha fell 7-2 on opening night and 4-2 on Saturday.
Omaha has a bye week, before hosting Denver for Stripe the Arena on Feb. 13, followed by Senior Night on Feb. 14 at Baxter Arena. Both games will stream on NCHC.tv, with radio coverage on 1290 KOIL and the Varsity Network.
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