OMAHA, Neb. – A pair of Mavericks netted their first career goals Friday night and the Mavs won their first home game in the process, skating to a 3-0 win over Miami.
The win was Omaha’s second in NCHC play and snapped a four-game skid at Baxter Arena, moving the Mavs to 4-7-0 on the season.
“Excited for the guys. They’ve been putting in a lot of work and nice to see a few guys get rewarded tonight with their first (goals),” head coach Mike Gabinet said after the game. “Obviously a big team win.”
It was no secret goals would come at a premium between the offensively-starved Mavericks and RedHawks. Omaha entered Friday’s game averaging 1.8 goals per game while Miami averaged 2.14 through its first 14 contests of the year, and the RedHawks averaged just 24.3 shots on goal per game.
The Mavs are quite familiar with low-scoring contests at this point too, as seven of Omaha’s first 10 games had been decided by one goal.
Although Friday’s final reads 3-0, the Mavs found themselves in yet another one-goal game at the midway point and certainly faced some tense moments, especially early in the second. Yet Omaha scored twice over the final 23 minutes and pulled away with a victory.
Omaha Maverick forward Myles Hilman (18) scored his first career goal and the eventual game-winner Friday night in a 3-0 win over Miami. Photo by Jaelle Johnson.
“I think it really shows the growth we’re having as a group,” said Myles Hilman, who scored Omaha’s first of the three goals. “We’ve been having some really good practices these last couple weeks and taking some big steps forward, and I think it’s starting to show a little bit more on the ice now. We’re putting our best foot forward in those one-goal games instead of letting them slip away.”
Hilman’s goal came 3:50 into the contest and brought the home faithful to its feet, as the freshman fired a wrister home from the top of the far circle. It was both the first career goal and point for the Alberta native.
Hilman was elevated to Omaha’s top line as a result of Omaha’s recent slew of injuries and generated a number of chances throughout Friday’s win.
“Great to see Myles get on the board,” Gabinet said. “When you’ve got some top players out due to injury you get an opportunity for other guys to step up, and I really like his compete. He’s a north-south, hard player. He can skate, he’s coachable and does a lot of good things. He’s getting an opportunity on that top line and doing really well with it.”
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Speaking of those injuries, the Mavericks were without Zach Urdahl for a second consecutive game, as the senior forward is one of several players on the shelf.
Urdahl and Tanner Ludtke were Omaha’s top two returning goal scorers from last season but both are currently sidelined with upper-body injuries. Ludtke likely out for the season.
However, the Mavs received contributions from a few new faces – as they did last Friday in Tempe – and entered the win column on home ice.
“That’s massive and the fans deserve it,” Hilman said. “We’ve been trying for it all year and to finally get that one is a big relief.”
Cameron Mitchell stretched the lead to 2-0 late in the second period with a short-handed goal, which was Omaha’s third SHG of the season – along with the fourth SHG Miami has allowed.
Sam Stange won a race to a loose puck down the near side and slipped a spinning pass to Mitchell in the slot, who fired a shot at Ethan Dahlmeir and swatted home his own rebound. It was the first goal of Mitchell’s career and sent Omaha into the intermission with a 2-0 lead.
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Chase LaPinta stretched the lead to 3-0 as the freshman led a 2-on-1 up ice with Mitchell and banked a shot from the goal line off of Dahlmeir. The goal was LaPinta’s second of the season and came with 13:13 left.
Omaha limited Miami to eight third-period shots and the RedHawks had just two shots through the first 11 minutes of the final frame. Omaha out-shot Miami 32-24 overall.
“It’s always nice to be ahead on the shot clock and control,” Gabinet said. “I thought we possessed the puck a little bit more tonight than normal, which was great.”
Gabinet praised his team’s third-period effort and said the Mavs put together a full 60-minute effort, along with adding that several players were “coaching on the bench” throughout the night.
Hilman nearly netted his second of the night with 8:26 left as he got in alone behind the Miami defense but was denied via a spectacular glove save by Dahlmeir.
Simon Latkoczy earned his first shutout of the season on Friday with 24 saves. “I thought he was really solid,” Gabinet said. “I thought he was really composed in the net and made a couple saves look easy that weren’t.” Photo by Kyle Byers.
The Mavs had multiple chances at the goalmouth down the stretch too, many of which were met with skirmishes after the whistle – which was a theme throughout the night. Friday’s game featured 12 combined penalties and the teams were a combined 0-for-9 on the power play.
Miami initially looked to have scored shortly thereafter too, as Colby Ambrosio back-handed a shot at Simon Latkoczy and Matt Choupani swatted the puck out of the air and in with 8:13 left. However, the refs immediately signaled no goal, as the puck was played with a high stick.
Although it wasn’t exactly his toughest task of the season, Latkoczy was a perfect 24-for-24 between the pipes, securing his first shutout of the season and the fifth of his career.
Omaha will now go for its third conference win and a sweep on Saturday. Miami has dropped seven straight.
“I don’t think we need to change up too much,” Hilman said. “Honestly just come out with the same energy we had in the first period and try to put together another 60. I think now we’re finally starting to find our stride with those full 60-minute games and I think if we put another 60 together we’ll be just fine.”
Game 2 between Omaha (4-7-0, 2-3-0) and Miami (3-10-2, 0-5-0) is set for another 7:07 p.m. faceoff at Baxter Arena.
Final line
Omaha 1-1-1 – 3
Miami 0-0-0 – 0
First Period
Myles Hilman (Jacob Guevin, Dylan Gratton), 3:10, EV
Second Period
Cameron Mitchell (Sam Stange, Jacob Guevin), 17:22, SHG
Third Period
Chase LaPinta (Sam Stange, Aiden Gallacher), 6:47, EV
SOG
Omaha 13-12-7 – 32
Miami 6-10-8 – 24
Power Play
Omaha – 0/6
Miami – 0/3
Saves
Simon Latkoczy, Omaha: 6-10-8 – 24
Ethan Dahlmeir, Miami: 12-11-6 – 29
Attendance
6,225
