Omaha is riding a season-best six-game win streak and has surged to second in the NCHC standings, as the Mavs have swept three consecutive conference series.
Omaha swept St. Cloud State this past weekend and improved to 10-4-0 in NCHC play, yet one of their toughest tests awaits them at No. 5 Denver.
Here’s what you need to know before the puck drops.
Omaha (14-10-0, 10-4-0) at Denver (18-6-0, 7-5-0)
Game 1: Friday, Jan. 31, 8 p.m. CDT
Game 2: Saturday, Feb. 1, 7 p.m. CDT
*Both games played at Magness Arena*
Omaha
Conference: NCHC
Head coach: Mike Gabinet (8th season, 131-124-18)
Leading scorer: Sam Stange, Gr., F (10-10-20)
Between the pipes: Simon Latkoczy, Jr. (11-9-0, .935 save percentage, 2.22 GAA)
Power Play: 14/84 (16.7%)
Penalty Kill: 51/62 (82.3%)
Denver
Conference: NCHC
Head coach: David Carle (7th season, 166-68-16)
Leading scorer: Jack Devine, Sr., F (5-28-33)
Between the pipes: Matt Davis, Sr. (17-5-0, .926 save percentage, 1.91 GAA)
Power Play: 27/85 (31.8%)
Penalty Kill: 57/67 (85.1%)
All-time series: Denver leads, 41-14-5
Last matchup: March 23, 2024 – Denver 4-1 win in St. Paul, Minn *NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship
Last Time Out
Simon Latkoczy made 69 saves against SCSU and was named the NCHC Goalie of the Week for the third time this season. He’s made 169 saves over his five-game win streak and allowed just one goal in three of those games. Latkoczy is 9-3-0 in NCHC play and with a .944 save percentage and 2.01 GAA. Photo by Collin Stilen. Photo by Collin Stilen.
Mike Gabinet’s club put together another impressive weekend, extending its win streak to six and sweeping another ranked opponent in No. 17 SCSU – who dropped out of this week’s USCHO poll.
Omaha scored four third-period goals on Friday and received 31 saves from Simon Latkoczy in a 6-3 win and completed the sweep with a 3-1 win on Saturday. Sam Stange, Cam Mitchell and Harrison Israels all had big weekends while Zach Urdahl scored another pair of goals.
Now the Mavs will try to keep their momentum rolling in the Mile High City.
“It’s been really great,” captain Nolan Krenzen said of Omaha’s recent win streak. “Obviously a lot of adversity in the first half and it’s been kinda similar to what we had last year as well, but we’ve made a choice on what our hard is gonna be. Winning’s hard, losing’s hard, but the group has made that hard choice to show up and keep battling, and I think it’s showing.”
Omaha will once again be without freshman forward Myles Hilman this weekend, who missed the SCSU series with an injury. Hilman has seven points (4-3-7) through 15 games this winter.
Opponent Watch
Denver got off to a 12-0-0 start and was the country’s unanimous No. 1 team in mid-November, yet the two months since haven’t been as kind.
DU earned a pair of wins at North Dakota to open NCHC play but the Pioneers were swept by Arizona State the following weekend and split back-to-back series against Western Michigan and Colorado College.
DU is 6-8-0 over its past 14 games and enters this series tied for fourth in the NCHC standings with 20 points. There was also an exhibition tie coming out of the holiday break – which DU lost in a shootout – against an ACHA club team in UNLV.
However, they’re the defending national champs, ranked fifth in the country and David Carle’s lineup is loaded with talent and 13 NHL draft picks. It’s also an opponent that’s typically been a thorn in Omaha’s side and the Pioneers have won 29 of the 43 matchups as NCHC foes.
“We know they’re a good team, we know they’ve got a lot of firepower with their roster, and we know we’ve got to be ready to go,” Gabinet said.

Denver split its series at Minnesota Duluth last weekend, suffering a 4-3 loss in Game 1 and responding with a 2-1 win. Jack Devine and Sam Harris both had two-point weekends (1-1-2) while Aidan Thompson and Eric Pohlkamp each had three assists.
Devine leads DU with 33 points and Thompson is right behind with 30 – which ranks sixth and ninth nationally. Harris leads the way with 14 goals. Denver’s 3.8 goals per game rank second in the country and its 31.8% power play (27/85) is the nation’s best. DU is also allowing just 2.0 goals per game, which ranks sixth nationally.
One Game At A Time
Omaha currently sits nine points ahead of Denver and North Dakota, who are tied for fourth in the NCHC standings. The top four teams earn home ice for the playoffs.
As exciting as Omaha’s six-game win streak and 9-1-0 NCHC stretch have been, the Mavs have done it against the NCHC’s current bottom three teams. Miami has just one point and a 16-game skid, CC has struggled to score and in the midst of a 4-11-1 stretch, and SCSU has lost six straight. Yet give the Mavs credit, as they’ve won the games they’ve needed to.
However, the final five series are a gauntlet: at Denver, UMD, at Western Michigan, Arizona State and at North Dakota. WMU and ASU are first and third in the conference, UMD has won four of its past six and as mentioned above, DU and UND are tied for fourth.
Although Omaha is second in the NCHC, captain Nolan Krenzen said the Mavs don’t focus too much on the standings. “It’s a day-to-day process and it might be in the back of your mind, but it’s not the main focus,” Krenzen said. “It’s good to have goals as a team, but this late in the season I think it’s about us and the way we want to play and show up.” Photo by Collin Stilen.
If the Mavs want home ice they’ll certainly have to earn it, but they’re not looking too far ahead.
“I think you have to take it a day at a time,” Krenzen said. “It’s easy looking at where we’re at and maybe what could happen in the future and what has happened in the past. But ultimately every day you’ve got to show up and you can worry about games when they come.”
“I’m not oblivious to the schedule and the standings, but I kinda just push it aside and really take it weekend by weekend, opponent by opponent, and I’m really doing that,” Gabinet added. “The work that needs to be done in order to be successful is such a high level of volume and if you spend any time thinking about scenarios or worrying about things, I think it just slows down that productive behavior. We’re just focused on preparing for Denver.”
Final Verdict
Number to know: 2.2 – Omaha is allowing just 2.2 goals per game this season, which ranks eighth in the country. The Mavs have allowed just nine goals during their current six-game win streak and Omaha goaltenders have made 196 of a possible 205 saves. Omaha’s .934 team save percentage is also tied for third nationally.
Player to Watch: Harrison Israels, Gr., F – Israels had three points (1-2-3) against SCSU and Gabinet said he’s playing ‘unbelievable hockey.’ Israels has seven points (3-4-7) over his past six games and has also won 62 of his 100 faceoffs in the stretch. He had a two-goal game against Denver last season with the Nanooks too.
Series prediction: Split