Omaha hockey will try to earn six key points and climb the NCHC standings this week as the Mavericks head back on the road to Miami (Ohio). Omaha returned to NCHC play last weekend and split its series against St. Cloud State.
Omaha and Colorado College are currently tied for seventh in the nine-team conference with 12 points, while Miami sits right behind at 10. The top eight teams make the NCHC Tournament, and all nine NCHC teams have 12 conference games left.
Here’s what you need to know before the puck drops in Oxford, Ohio.
Omaha (8-14-0, 4-8-0) at RV Miami (12-8-2, 3-7-2)
Game 1: Friday, 6 p.m. CDT
Game 2: Saturday, 5 p.m. CDT
*Both games played at Goggin Ice Center
Omaha
Conference: NCHC
Head Coach: Mike Gabinet (9th season, 143-145-19)
Top Scorer: Maxime Pellerin, So., F (7-8-15)
Between The Pipes: Dawson Cowan, Fr. (4-7-0, .907 save percentage, 2.95 GAA)
Miami
Conference: NCHC
Head Coach: Anthony Noreen (2nd season, 15-36-5)
Top Scorer: Matteo Giampa, Jr., F (9-10-19)
Between The Pipes: Matteo Drobac, So. (11-8-2, .905 save percentage, 2.93 GAA)
All-time series: Omaha leads, 31-29-7
Last matchup: Jan. 18, 2025 — Omaha 3-1 win in Oxford, Ohio
Last Time Out
Omaha returned home last Friday and earned a 6-2 win over St. Cloud State. The Mavericks trailed 2-0 just 10:55 into the contest but scored six unanswered goals en route to the win.
Maxime Pellerin and Spencer Sova scored in the first, Trevor Wong and Marcus Nguyen in the second, and Samuel Huo and Sean Tschigerl (ENG) in the third. Pellerin (1-2-3), Huo (1-1-2) and Tyler Rollwagen (0-2-2) each had mutli-point efforts and Dawson Cowan made 28 saves in front of 6,391 fans. It was Omaha’s first game at Baxter Arena in 48 days (Nov. 22, 2025).
Omaha looked to carry the momentum into Saturday and earn its second sweep of the season, and the Mavs certainly had their chances — including six power plays and a near-goal midway through the third period. However, Omaha dropped the finale, 2-1.
“I actually thought we were a little bit better at times on Saturday with a lot of chances and just couldn’t capitalize,” Mike Gabinet said Tuesday afternoon. “There’s some really good things that we’re doing and now you’re seeing the growth in the players, and there’s some things that we’ve just got to clean up and keep improving on.”
Opponent Watch
It’s been quite the year-two improvement for Anthony Noreen’s club. Miami won just three games last season and finished winless in NCHC play, and the RedHawks were outscored 143-63 over their 34 games.
However, just seven members of last year’s club remain and Miami got off to a 7-1-0 start this fall. The RedHawks won the Friendship Four in Belfast in late November and they’ve picked up five points over their past four NCHC games — including a 2-1 win at Arizona State last Friday.
Simon Latkoczy’s status remains unknown for this weekend, although he has been skating. The senior last played on Dec. 12 and has been sidelined by a lower-body injury. Gabinet said Latkoczy has been increasing his workload and Omaha’s staff is “hoping to get him back in the near future.” Photo by Dawson Anderson.
Miami is 4-2-2 on home ice this season.
“They’re a good team and they’ve won some big games this season,” Gabinet said. “I think their forward group is really impressive to watch and you can tell they can put the puck in the net. A couple of their lines are very big — very physical team and they like to get to the net hard. So again, they’re gonna be another strong opponent. The good news is we’re pretty seasoned at playing good competition, so we’ll be prepared for that.”
Ilia Morozov is one of the nation’s most-talented freshmen and a likely 2026 first-round pick, and Morozov is one of six RedHawks with seven or more goals. His 14 points are also tied for fourth on the roster. Canisius transfer Matteo Giampa has been a bright spot as well and owns a team-leading 19 points and nine goals, although Giampa missed both games last weekend.
Freshman forward Kocha Delic is second on the club with 18 points (7-11-18) and sophomore defenseman Vladislav Lukashevich has 17 (2-15-17). Lukashevich is a Michigan State transfer. Sophomore Matteo Drobac has been in net for 21 of Miami’s 22 games and stopped 590 of the 652 shots fired his way this season.
Final Verdict
Number to know: 10 — Omaha has won 10 straight against Miami, including a season sweep last winter. Omaha won the four games in 2024-25 by a combined 18-3. The Mavericks have also won six straight in Oxford after getting swept in back-to-back trips (Feb. 11-12, 2022 and Feb. 28-29, 2020).
Player to Watch: Samuel Huo, Sr., F — Huo scored in both games last weekend and added an assist in Friday’s win. The right-shot forward owns a four-game point streak and has six points (4-2-6) over his past six.
Series prediction: Split.
