Omaha hockey will put a bow on the regular season and try to earn one of the NCHC’s final playoff spots this weekend as the Mavericks host Miami (OH).
The Mavericks and RedHawks have met 69 times over the past 26 years, including last month in Oxford, Ohio. Omaha and Miami are two of the four teams fighting for the NCHC’s final three playoff spots.
Here’s what you need to know before the puck drops at Baxter Arena.
Omaha (11-21-0, 7-15-0) vs. Miami (17-13-2, 8-12-2)
Game 1: Friday, 7 p.m. CDT
Game 2: Saturday, 7 p.m. CDT
*Both games played at Baxter Arena
Omaha
Conference: NCHC
Head Coach: Mike Gabinet (9th season, 146-152-19)
Top Scorer: Trevor Wong, So., F (5-14-19)
Between The Pipes: Simon Latkoczy, Sr. (7-13-0, .902 save percentage, 3.22 GAA)
Miami
Conference: NCHC
Head Coach: Anthony Noreen (2nd season, 20-41-5)
Top Scorer: Kocha Delic, Fr., F (11-12-23)
Between The Pipes: Matteo Drobac, So. (16-13-2, .913 save percentage, 2.64 GAA)
All-time series: Tied, 31-31-7
Last matchup: Jan. 17, 2026 — Miami 4-2 win in Oxford, Ohio.
Last Time Out
Omaha split its series in Tempe last weekend, keeping the Mavs at the bottom of the NCHC standings.
Omaha opened the series with a 4-2 win but fell 6-3 in the finale. ASU’s Cruz Lucius scored 4:24 into Friday’s contest, but the Mavs scored four of the game’s final five goals. Marcus Nguyen scored twice, while Brett Hyland and Jeremy Loranger each netted power-play tallies. Simon Latkoczy made 31 saves at the other end and earned his 51st career win.
Loranger added three points (1-2-3) in Saturday’s loss, and Tyler Rollwagen lit the lamp twice, both on the power play. Loranger’s goal tied the game with 14:07 left in regulation, yet the Sun Devils countered with three goals over the final 13 minutes.
Now the Mavs will continue fighting for their playoff lives in their final home series.
“We needed two points at ASU, we got three,” Mike Gabinet said Wednesday afternoon. “Obviously we wanted six, but we’ve been doing the things we need to do to keep ourselves in the mix here and now two obviously super critical games here coming down the stretch.”
Omaha enters this weekend with 21 points — one behind Arizona State and four behind both Colorado College and Miami. The Sun Devils head to Denver, while Colorado College travels to Minnesota Duluth.
The Mavs currently sit ninth in the conference but can still finish as high as sixth. The top eight teams qualify for the NCHC playoffs and the top four seeds will host best-of-three series next weekend.
“What an opportunity for us,” Gabinet said of this weekend. “It’s in our hands to do that. It’s an opportunity to work on some of the things we’ve talked about working on all season.”
Opponent Watch
Miami swept Omaha last month in Oxford. The RedHawks took Game 1, 3-0, and completed the sweep with a 6-2 win. It was Miami’s first conference sweep since Feb. 11-12, 2022.
However, the RedHawks added another the following weekend, earning a pair of wins at St. Cloud State. They ran their win streak to five with an overtime win over No. 4 Western Michigan to open February, too, and gave North Dakota all it could handle in Grand Forks, skating to 1-0 and 4-3 (OT) losses.
Minnesota Duluth swept Miami last weekend, yet there’s no denying the strides Anthony Noreen’s program has taken in year two.
“Looking back, what do we need to be better at and how do we keep improving,” Gabinet said of learning from last month’s series. “We’ll move forward and get after it.”
Kocha Delic, David Deputy and Ilia Morozov lead Miami offensively, and 10 different Redhawks have 17 or more points. Deputy had a hat trick against Omaha and leads the club with 15 goals — which ranks ninth among NCHC skaters.
Sophomore goaltender Matteo Drobac has started 31 of Miami’s 32 games and ranks fourth among NCHC goaltenders with a .913 save percentage. He also has three shutouts.
The RedHawks are 7-7 on the road this season.
Final Verdict
Number to know: 2.6 — Omaha is averaging 2.6 goals per game on home ice this season and has been out-scored 51-37 at Baxter Arena. Omaha is 4-10-0 at home but will look to finish the home slate on a high note.
Player to Watch: Jeremy Loranger, Fr., F — Loranger has goals in three straight and six points (3-3-6) over his past five games. The Columbus draft pick (2025, 7th round) has 10 of his 16 points since the calendar flipped to 2026, and his 16 points rank fourth on the roster.
Series prediction: Split.
