Omaha hockey heads back on the road for its second series of the season, this time at Lindenwood.
No. 15 Augustana swept the Mavericks in a home-and-home to open the 2026-27 campaign, and Omaha will now aim for its first win in the St. Louis suburbs. This will be the second all-time series between the Mavericks and Lions, who are in their fifth season at the Division I level.
Here’s what you need to know before the puck drops.
Omaha (0-2-0, 0-0-0) at Lindenwood (3-3-0, 0-0-0)
Game 1: Friday, Oct. 23, 7 p.m. CDT
Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 24, 7 p.m. CDT
*Both games played at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo.
Omaha
Conference: NCHC
Head Coach: Mike Gabinet (10th season, 147-157-19)
Leading Scorer: Marc Lajoie, D, Jr. (0-2-2)
Between The Pipes: Will Lacelle, Fr. (0-2-0, .936 save percentage, 2.43 GAA)
Lindenwood
Conference: Independent
Head Coach: Keith Fisher (2nd season, 18-18-0)
Leading Scorer: Adam Raesler, F, Jr. (4-2-6)
Between The Pipes: Liam Beerman, So. (1-2-0, .867 save percentage, 4.35 GAA)
All-time series: 1-1-0
Last matchup: Dec. 14, 2024 — Omaha 2-1 win at Baxter Arena.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks fell in Sioux Falls on Thursday, 2-1, and dropped their home opener on Saturday, 3-2 in overtime.
Omaha scored first in both games and held a 2-0 lead midway through the second period Saturday night, yet the Vikings scored three unanswered. Augustana’s Leonid Bulgakov tied it with 2:48 left in regulation and Maxwell Chakrabarti scored 3:57 into overtime.
Freshman Will Lacelle got the start both nights and made 73 of 78 possible saves, and three Mavericks — Maël Lavigne, Vincent Desjardins and Parker Berge — netted their first NCAA goals in the series.
Despite the results, the Mavericks will try to learn from their mistakes and continue building at Lindenwood.
“You’ve got to show the positives,” Gabinet said Tuesday afternoon. “I didn’t like our start on Saturday. I thought we watched too much for the first 8-10 minutes, and then I liked the rest of our game. So you’ve got to show the positives and the areas of growth, and (Augustana) is a team that just beat and tied (No. 5) Minnesota Duluth, who’s probably a national contender this year with the roster they have.
“So you’re not far off, but you have to learn how to win those games and not beat yourselves, and I think those are the toughest losses as a coaching staff. So, you’ve got to talk about it, you’ve to work on it, you’ve got to practice it, you’ve got to put them in the same situations they’re going to face in the games, and then continue to grow.”
Scouting The Lions
Lindenwood split its series at Air Force last weekend and the Lions have already played six games.
They opened the season with a split against Arizona State, including a 9-6 win in the finale, and earned a split at Lake Superior State. Lindenwood dropped the opener at Air Force, 5-2, but responded with a 7-4 win on Saturday.
Adam Raesler has lit the lamp four times and three different Lions have three goals apiece. Senior defenseman Michael Bevilacqua leads the club with eight points (1-7-8) and both Liam Beerman and Klayton Knapp have split time in the crease. Knapp began his career at Minnesota Duluth and suffered a 4-1 loss in Omaha on Feb. 7, 2025.
The Lions are averaging 4.7 goals through their first six games, and they’ve played four of those six on home ice. Lindenwood went 15-15-0 last season, including a 9-9-0 home record.
“They’re a high-scoring team,” Gabinet said. “They’re kind of a two-way team that thrives off of transition and likes to attack the net and shoot a lot of pucks on net, so we’ve got to be prepared for that.”
This is Lindenwood’s fifth season at the Division I level and the Lions are 39-80-7 all-time. This will be the second meeting between the Mavericks and Lions. The first came in Omaha Dec. 13-14, 2024.
“I know they’re a pretty good team. They battle, and they’re an offensive team,” said assistant captain Maxime Pellerin. “We watch college hockey and we’re aware of what’s happening. They’ve beat good teams this year, so obviously we’re coming prepared.”
Maverick To Watch: Maël Lavigne, F, Fr.
Omaha forward Maël Lavigne races for a puck against Augustana on Oct. 17, 2026 at Baxter Arena. Photo by Eli Larson.
Lavigne scored Omaha’s first goal of the season and played a key part in its second, setting a screen in front of the Augustana net. The 6-foot-4, 196-pound forward spent the first two games between Cameron Briere and Joel Plante. Lavigne is coming off a 22-goal, 48-point season in the QMJHL.
“You can see his net presence,” Gabinet said. “Obviously, the goal Thursday and then just excellent net presence on Berge’s goal on Saturday, and he’s doing some great things around the net. I think he was one of the highest-rated net-front players out of the QMJHL and we wanted a little bit more size up front, and he’s done just that. He continues to develop away from the puck as well and defensively, too.”
“I think he’s super smart,” added Pellerin, who spent parts of two seasons (2022-23, 2023-24) playing with Lavigne for the QMJHL’s Victoriaville Tigres. “Always in the right spot and also likes to play a physical game and get under opponent’s skin, so it’s always nice when you’ve got that type of guy on your team.”
Opponent To Watch: Chase LaPinta, F, Jr.
LaPinta played 22 games for the Mavericks over the past two seasons and had five points (3-2-5) before transferring to Lindenwood. So far, he’s found a good home with the Lions. The right-shot forward has three goals through his first six games, which is tied for second on Lindenwood’s roster.
Number To Know: 4.7
Lindenwood enters the series averaging 4.7 goals per game, which ranks fifth in the country. Fourteen different Lions have scored this season and the Lions have scored seven or more goals in three of their first six games.
How To Follow
Mike Vaillancourt and Terry Leahy will have the call for both games on The Varsity Network. Both games will be available on FloHockey.
Stay tuned to Hurrdat Sports all season as Avarie Howard and Jordan McAlpine provide Omaha hockey coverage.
