OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha Mavericks extended their home win streak to seven Saturday night with a 5-2 victory over Minnesota Duluth.
Mike Gabinet’s club scored a pair of first-period goals, converted twice on a late major power play and received 50 saves from Simon Latkoczy, en route to their eight consecutive home conference win.
“Big win and nice to follow up a good performance last night with another one tonight,” Gabinet said after the game. “Give Duluth a lot of credit – They’re competing hard out there and playing well, so a really big three points for us tonight.”
The Mavs once again took advantage of their home confines, as Omaha is 9-1-0 over its past 10 at Baxter Arena. Omaha’s seven-game home win streak is the nation’s longest active streak and after starting the home slate 0-4-0, the Mavs have just one home loss since early November.
Omaha also continues its recent success against UMD, as the Mavs have won five straight against the Bulldogs and seven straight at Baxter Arena.
“Not the result we wanted last weekend (at Denver) but I thought the group responded really well getting a sweep here against a good team,” said Brady Risk, who scored twice and added an assist in the win.
Omaha forward Brady Risk earned his 100th career NCAA point in Saturday’s win. The graduate forward has eight goals over his past 10 games. “The game is really slowing down for him right now and he’s slinging it backdoor, he’s scoring on one-timers, making plays on entries – just all those things have been great,” Gabinet said. Photo by Logan Hock.
Omaha wasted little time opening the scoring Saturday night, as Jimmy Glynn needed just 4:42 to net his second power-play goal of the series.
UMD forward Joe Molenaar was sent to the box for a trip and the Mavs converted 48 seconds into the man advantage. Dylan Gratton found Sam Stange – who had three assists – at the top of the circle and Glynn angled home Stange’s shot for his fifth of the season.
Zam Plante tied the game 23 seconds later but Jacob Guevin answered at the 8:03 mark, stuffing home a Cam Mitchell rebound. Guevin’s goal was his fifth of the season and 47th (12-35-47) career point, which tied Gabinet for 12th all-time among Omaha defensemen.
Omaha fired just six first-period shots at UMD freshman Adam Gajan, who made his first appearance since Nov. 23. However, two of the six made their way past the Chicago Blackhawks’ second-round pick (2023) and five of their 29 shots on the night.
Risk’s first goal came 5:33 into the second period, as he buried a perfect feed from Myles Hilman at the doorstep. Harrison Israels won an offensive zone faceoff and Hilman carried the puck into the corner, setting up Risk’s 10th of the season.
Omaha recorded 19 of its shots in the middle frame and ultimately carried a 3-1 lead to the locker room, and the Mavs improved to 9-1-1 when leading after 40 minutes.
Risk and Israels teamed up for Omaha’s fourth goal of the night with 4:22 left in regulation and Risk scored again 2:01 later, blasting home a one-time feed from Gratton. Risk has a three-game goal streak and he and Israels have a combined 28 points (14-14-28) through 12 games to open the second half.
“They’ve been tremendous and they’ve been tremendous all season,” Gabinet said of the two Alaska transfers. “It’s a good reminder even as a coach that when you have players that do the right thing day in and day out, sometimes you have to be patient. They didn’t get off to the start they wanted to get off to, but they just stuck with it and they do the right things all the time.”
Both goals came on a five-minute power play, as UMD defenseman Adam Kleber was issued a boarding major for a hit on Omaha’s Joe Gramer.
Kleber’s penalty came with 6:35 left in regulation and despite Omaha having zero shots through the opening 13:53 of the third, the Mavs put the game away in the final minutes.
“When you see a guy get hit from behind like that you want to make them pay, and we only had a two-goal lead at that point, so I think just getting some insurance and we really wanted a sweep on home ice for our fans,” Risk said. “So I just think playing with that intensity and not being casual on the power play, and I thought we did a good job staying intense and getting two there.”
Simon Latkoczy improved to 11-4-1 in NCHC play Saturday night and has made 765 of a possible 821 saves overall this season. It was his fifth game with 40 or more saves. “He’s been the backbone of our team all year. He’s our best player, hands down,” Risk said. Photo by Collin Stilen.
Jayson Shaugabay scored with the UMD net empty in the final minute but it was too little too late. Simon Latkoczy earned his 13th win of the season with his second 50-save effort and the reigning NCHC Goalie of the Month made a number of timely ones throughout the night.
Omaha (16-11-1, 12-5-1) will now head to first-place Western Michigan next weekend followed by a bye. The Mavs are currently tied with Arizona State for second in the NCHC standings as both teams have 37 points. ASU defeated Denver in OT on Saturday, 6-5.
Omaha returns home for its final home series on Feb. 28 against Arizona State and has just six regular-season games left.
“We’ve got lots to keep working on and keep growing, but I’m sure proud of the group,” Gabinet said. “I think they’re just continuing to take that responsibility to find ways to improve and it’s fun to watch. It’s a fun group to work with and just impressive what the team is doing as a team and continuing to take steps in the right direction.”
Final line
Omaha 2-1-2 – 5
Minnesota Duluth 1-0-1 – 2
First Period
Jimmy Glynn (Sam Stange, Dylan Gratton), 4:42, PP
Zam Plante (Jayson Shaugabay, Max Plante), 5:05
Jacob Guevin (Cam Mitchell, Zach Urdahl), 8:03
Second Period
Brady Risk (Myles Hilman, Harrison Israels), 5:32
Third Period
Harrison Israels (Brady Risk, Sam Stange), 15:38, PP
Brady Risk (Dylan Gratton, Sam Stange), 17:39, PP
Jayson Shaugabay (Owen Gallatin, Ty Hanson), 19:38
SOG
Omaha 6-19-4 – 29
Minnesota Duluth 14-21-17 – 52
Power Play
Omaha – 3/4
Minnesota Duluth – 1/3
Saves
Simon Latkoczy, Omaha: 13-21-16 – 50
Adam Gajan, Minnesota Duluth 4-18-2 – 24
Attendance
7,019
