Series preview: Omaha returns to NCHC play against Colorado College

Omaha returns to NCHC play and Baxter Arena this weekend as the Mavs welcome No. 13 Colorado College to town for a ninth consecutive season.

The Mavs are 14-5-5 against the Tigers all-time on home ice and 10-4-4 at Baxter Arena, which also includes a pair of neutral site wins during the NCHC Pod. Omaha is 4-1-2 over the past seven games in the series overall and the two teams are currently separated by just two points in the NCHC standings.

Here’s what you need to know before the puck drops.

Omaha (8-10-0, 4-4-0) vs. Colorado College (10-7-1, 4-3-1)

Game 1: Friday, Jan. 10, 7:07 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, Jan. 11, 7:07 p.m.
*Both games played at Baxter Arena*

Omaha
Conference: NCHC
Head coach: Mike Gabinet (8th season, 125-124-18)
Leading scorer: Sam Stange, Gr., F (8-5-13)
Between the pipes: Simon Latkoczy, Jr. (6-9-0, .928 save percentage, 2.43 GAA)
Power Play: 9/66 (13.6%)
Penalty Kill: 40/50 (80%)

Colorado College
Conference: NCHC
Head coach: Kris Mayotte (4th season, 53-66-10)
Leading scorer: Noah Laba, Jr., F (2-10-12)
Between the pipes: Kaidan Mbereko, Jr. (10-6-1, .920 save percentage, 2.11 GAA)
Power Play: 9/52 (17.3%)
Penalty Kill: 51/58 (87.9%)

All-time series: Omaha, 30-15-7
Last matchup: March 17, 2024 – Omaha 2-1 win in Colorado Springs (NCHC Playoffs)

Last Time Out

The Mavs took second at the inaugural Cactus Cup as they split a pair of games in Palm Springs, Calif.

Omaha skated to a 4-3 win over Holy Cross on Friday with Cam Mitchell delivering the game-winner 1:37 into overtime. Sam Stange had a goal and an assist in the win while Harrison Israels and Tyler Rollwagen had two helpers each, and Kevin Reidler made 16 saves in his second career victory.

However, Omaha suffered a one-goal loss of its own on Saturday, falling to No. 10 UMass Lowell, 3-2.

After 40 minutes of scoreless hockey, the River Hawks scored three goals in the opening 5:12 of the third period. Griffin Ludtke and Brady Risk answered late in regulation to trim the deficit to one, but it was ultimately too little too late. Simon Latkoczy — who had been battling a minor injury coming out of the Christmas break — made 25 saves at the other end but dropped his third consecutive start.

Now Omaha will turn its attention to another tough opponent in No. 13 Colorado College.

“I think we’ve been in a lot of different situations this season, and I think you can keep reflecting back and seeing how we did a good job of facing adversity,” Gabinet said of building on last weekend. “Moving forward, I think that’s something we can draw on here in the second half.”

Opponent Watch

Colorado College has been one of the nation’s top teams and opened the season with eight straight wins. The Tigers were picked third in the NCHC Preseason Poll and had been ranked inside the Top 10 since Oct. 21 – a streak that ended this week.

However, CC is 2-7-1 over its past 10 – although eight of those games were against top-10 teams: Denver, Providence, St. Cloud State and Western Michigan. Seven of the eight were also decided by one goal or less.

CC was swept on home ice this past weekend by Augustana and has dropped three straight, but the Tigers still allow just 2.3 goals per game and have nine NHL picks on their roster.

It’s no secret the key to beating CC is solving All-American goaltender Kaidan Mbereko. But from Noah Laba to Gleb Veremyev and Klavs Veinbergs up front, to Max Burkholder on the blue line, Kris Mayotte’s club has the talent and ability to beat you in many ways.

“Obviously they’ve had a good year so far, so I expect them to be the team that we’ve seen all along,” Gabinet said. “Watching the video I thought Augustana had some opportunistic opportunities and they took advantage of them. So we know we’ll get a good team coming here this weekend.”

Special teams will once again be a key factor this weekend and both CC (17.3%) and Omaha (13.6%) have struggled on the power play.

CC and Omaha rank 43rd and 55th in the country respectively and own the NCHC’s bottom two success rates. The Mavs have converted on just one of their past 21 chances too after a 3-for-7 showing against Miami on Nov. 23. However, CC’s penalty kill (87.9%) comes in at No. 10 in the NCAA.

“They’re really good,” said junior forward Cam Mitchell, who added there’s a bit of a rivalry building between the two teams. “They got some really good players that we’ve got to be aware of. They play really hard and they’re well-coached. But I think we’ve had some success with them in the past and I think it’ll be a really fun weekend.”

Taming The Tigers

The Tigers will likely come in with a chip on their shoulders as Omaha ended CC’s season last March, on top of looking to snap their current three-game skid.

The Tigers entered that playoff series ranked 11th in the pairwise and won 20 games during the regular season, earning home ice. Yet Omaha won a pair of games to take the best-of-three series, advancing to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff for the first time in program history and NCAA Tournament.

Omaha and CC played an intense series at Baxter Arena in late February too, with Omaha earning five of a possible six points. The Mavs opened that series with a 3-0 win and skated to a 1-1 tie in the finale, grabbing the extra point in a shootout. As previously-mentioned, Omaha is 4-1-2 over the past seven matchups too.

It’s a new year and new rosters, but perhaps that previous success can provide a little extra confidence.

“We’ve had success against them and we know what works and we know what doesn’t, so I think as long as we execute our game plan and we want it more, we’ll be able to get the job done,” Mitchell said.

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Final Verdict

Number to know: .925 – Kaidan Mbereko owns a .925 career save percentage against Omaha as he’s made 248 of a possible 268 saves. Mbereko also owns a .920 save percentage this season. However, he’s allowed 17 goals over his past five games.

Player to Watch: Brock Bremer, Gr., F – Bremer has 12 points (6-6-12) over 17 career games against Colorado College, including four points (2-2-4) in the playoff series last March. Bremer is still searching for his first goal of the season and has just five assists through 18 games.

Series prediction: Split