The calendar has flipped to October and the college hockey season is here.
Mike Gabinet enters his 10th season behind the Omaha hockey bench and the Mavericks are hoping to rebound from an up-and-down 2025-26 campaign. Omaha finished last year eighth in the NCHC at 12-24-0, including an 8-16-0 showing in conference play.
While outside expectations are low entering this season — Omaha was tabbed last in the NCHC Preseason Poll — Gabinet hopes to see his returners take a step and likes the way his group has come together so far. Omaha opened its exhibition slate with a 4-1 win at Air Force.
Time will tell what the 2026-27 season holds, but here are some of the top storylines, dates to know and players to watch as another year of Maverick hockey begins.
Familiar Faces
The Mavericks welcome 11 newcomers this season as roster turnover has become the norm in college athletics. However, there’s a different feel in Omaha’s locker room, especially compared to this time last fall.
Omaha entered last season with 15 newcomers, 14 of which came from the CHL or Canadian USports. Ryan McCleary also joined the program in January. With a year of NCAA hockey now under their belt, the hope is those players will take a step in year two.
Marcus Nguyen chases after the puck against UMass. Nguyen led Omaha with 11 goals last season and is one of 15 returning players. Photo by Collin Stilen.
“I think a lot of those guys were experiencing college hockey for the first time last year,” Gabinet said during NCHC Media Day. “It’s an adjustment, just getting used to the new environment and the pace of play, the number of games being less, et cetera. So it’s really exciting. You can just see those guys in practice putting the work in and how they’ve improved throughout the offseason and into the start of this season.
“I know the work we’re doing, I know how we approach every single day, I know what we’re committed to doing and the standard and expectations we have for ourselves, and that’s what you’ve got to focus on.”
Omaha’s 15 returners are tied for the fourth-most in the NCHC. Colorado College leads the way with 20 returners, followed by Minnesota Duluth (19) and Denver (17). Miami, Omaha and Western Michigan all return 15.
Promise Between The Pipes
Simon Latkoczy leaves big shoes to fill in the crease. However, the Mavericks like their options. Dawson Cowan returns for his sophomore season, freshman William Lacelle joins the program and Will Craig rounds out the group.
Cowan earned a trio of starts last fall and was thrust into action last December following a lower-body injury to Latkoczy. Cowan went 4-8-0 overall with a .901 save percentage and 3.21 GAA.
Lacelle posted a 27-15-2 record last season in the QMJHL — including seven shutouts — with a .917 save percentage and 2.49 GAA. He was traded in January and helped Blainville-Boisbriand Armada make a deep playoff run, too.
The Quebec native has been one of Canada’s top major junior goaltenders the past two years and could earn a spot on Canada’s World Junior roster. He’s viewed among the nation’s top incoming freshman goaltenders.
“Simon missed 12 games last year due to injury, so Dawson got a really good sample size of college hockey and some really valuable experience,” Gabinet said. “We probably didn’t want to play him that much and in that many games in a row, but I think (the experience) is really going to serve him well going into this year. Obviously adding Will Lacelle, who we think is a really good, young goalie too, we’re going to have some really good options in the net this season.”
Players To Watch
Vincent Desjardins, Fr., F
Desjardins comes to Omaha after a standout QMJHL career. The right-shot center put up 213 points (65-148-213) over 210 games with Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. He’s a playmaker, and he’s also been a reliable two-way forward in the process.
Desjardins stands at 5-foot-11 and 172 pounds. He’s one of nine freshmen on Omaha’s roster, and three of them — Desjardins, Lacelle and Maël Lavigne — were teammates last season. Desjardins finished last season with 78 points (28-50-78) over 64 games and was a plus-41. The Quebec native has been an Omaha commit since March of 2025.
Jayden Jubenvill, Jr., D
Jubenvill played 37 games for North Dakota in 2024-25 and another 15 last season before entering the transfer portal. The left-shot defenseman now brings that experience to Omaha. Especially with Griffin Ludtke, Aidan De La Gorgendiere and Jacob Guevin gone, there’s an opportunity for Jubenvill to earn significant minutes.
Jubenvill led UND defensemen with a plus-8 rating and added 43 blocked shots as a freshman. He had eight points over 52 games in Grand Forks. He previously spent two seasons in Dubuque and was among the Fighting Saints’ top defensemen. The Manitoba native put up 42 points (13-29-42) over 115 regular-season USHL games and was a plus-23. He helped Dubuque reach the 2024 Clark Cup Finals and skated in 16 playoff games over his two seasons.
Maxime Pellerin, So., F
Pellerin led Omaha with 23 points last season and finished strong, earning seven points (2-5-7) over his final five games. He had eight points (5-3-8) over his first six games, too.
The Quebec native racked up 266 career points (127-139-266) over 320 QMJHL games, and 25 points in 26 games during his lone season at McGill University prior to Omaha. Now with a year of NCAA hockey under his belt, Pellerin will look to take another step and find more consistency.
The Road Ahead
Omaha’s regular-season slate includes 34 games. The Mavericks will play 24 NCHC contests and 17 of their 34 games will be played at Baxter Arena, including eight home games in January. The full 2026-27 schedule can be found here.
Omaha’s roster features just two American players this season: Cameron Briere (pictured, Stillwater, Minn.) and Omaha native Lincoln Hjelm. Photo by Collin Stilen.
Here are some of the key dates for Maverick fans to know this winter.
- Oct. 7, 2026 — Omaha hosts Manitoba for an exhibition game at Baxter Arena.
- Oct. 15, 2026 — Omaha opens the season at Augustana in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Mavericks split a series at Midco Arena last December.
- Oct. 17, 2026 — Omaha opens its home slate against Augustana. Omaha is 5-5-1 all-time in home openers at Baxter Arena. The Mavericks defeated Minnesota State in last year’s home opener, 6-2.
- Oct. 30-31, 2026 — Omaha opens NCHC play against the defending national champions at Denver.
- Nov. 6-7, 2026 — Omaha hosts St. Cloud State for its first home NCHC series. Omaha Athletics will recognize its 2026 Hall of Fame Class during the Friday game. The class includes Jake Guentzel and Mike Kemp.
- Nov. 27-28, 2026 — Omaha hosts Yale. The Bulldogs last visited Omaha on Dec. 28, 2007. The Mavericks are 4-2-1 all-time against the Bulldogs and split a road series last season.
- Dec. 4-5, 2026 — Omaha visits St. Thomas. It’ll be the first matchup between the Mavericks and Tommies. St. Thomas is entering its sixth Division I season, its first NCHC season and opened Lee & Penny Anderson Arena last season.
- Dec. 10-11, 2026 — Omaha visits Wisconsin. The schools have played 15 times during the regular season and Wisconsin leads the all-time series, 9-5-1. It’s Omaha’s first trip to Madison since Dec. 2-3, 2016.
- Jan. 22-23, 2027 — Omaha hosts rival North Dakota. The Mavericks will try to snap an eight-game skid against UND.
- Feb. 19-20, 2027 — Omaha costs Colorado College for its final regular-season home series.
- Feb. 26-27, 2027 — Omaha closes out the regular season at Arizona State. The Mavericks split their past two series in Tempe.
- March 5-7, 2027 — The NCHC Playoffs begin. All 10 NCHC teams will qualify for the playoffs and the top five seeds will host the bottom five for best-of-three series. The full playoff format and schedule can be found here.
Stay tuned to Hurrdat Sports all season as Jordan McAlpine and Avarie Howard provide Omaha Hockey coverage.
