Omaha hockey wrapped up its exhibition slate Wednesday night with a 9-2 win over Manitoba at Baxter Arena.
Six different Mavericks netted second-period goals, and the Mavs added another trio in the third. Cameron Briere, Sean Tschigerl (SHG), Brett Hyland (SHG), Vincent Desjardins, Carter Sotheran and Marcus Nguyen were responsible for the six-spot.
Briere and Hyland each scored twice, and Briere finished the night with three points (2-1-3). Freshman goaltender Will Lacelle also stopped all six shots he saw in 29:57 of action.
Mike Gabinet’s club opens the regular season next Thursday (Oct. 15) at Augustana and will finish the series Oct. 17 at Baxter Arena.
Hurrdat’s Jordan McAlpine provides three takeaways from Wednesday’s win.
Second-Period Success
Omaha generated plenty of puck movement throughout the first period and had its share of chances. The Mavs fired 18 shots at Manitoba goaltender Matthew Kieper and had a bevy of others fired wide or into opposing shin pads.
The opportunities were there, but the Mavs were unable to finish in the opening period. However, they made up for lost time with six second-period goals.
Omaha fired another 11 shots at the Manitoba net and generated offense in a variety of ways, whether it be off a short-handed rush, shots from the point or traffic in front. Omaha out-shot Manitoba 39-18 overall.
“Proud of the group tonight and I thought we played well,” Gabinet said. “Didn’t get rewarded for the first period, but we stuck with it, played hard, checked hard and made some nice plays. Nice to see us get rewarded in the second period and we’re just working on establishing how we want to play.”
“It’s a lot of reloading and tracking back through the middle,” Briere added on what worked in the second. “I think we created a lot of turnovers off our forecheck, and they started falling from there.”
Sotheran Shows Offense, Physicality
Omaha Mavericks celebrate a goal during an exhibition against Manitoba on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Omaha, Nebraska. Photo by Brandon Tiedemann.
Carter Sotheran stands at 6-foot-4 and 198 pounds. The right-shot defenseman used that frame to his advantage and was active throughout the night, whether that be with the body or in the offensive zone.
Sotheran was rewarded with a second-period goal, too, as the Manitoba native rifled home a shot from the top of the near faceoff circle. Sotheran’s goal came 14:32 into the frame and made it 5-1.
“Big body and he usually does really good things with the puck,” Gabinet said. “As long as he keeps improving his play away from the puck and stays competitive, there’s a lot to like there.”
Sotheran split last season with WHL’s Portland Winterhawks and Edmonton Oil Kings. He racked up 72 points (19-53-72) and 77 penalty minutes over 67 games. He was taken by Philadelphia in the fifth round (135th overall) of the 2023 NHL Draft.
Lacelle Sharp In Limited Action
Manitoba’s first shot came 8:16 into the contest and much of Lacelle’s first-period action was passes to his teammates.
However, the freshman faced a brief flurry of chances late in the period, including a tough shot from Manitoba’s Dawson Pasternak off the rush with 2:33 left. Lacelle was tested again early in the second before giving way to Dawson Cowan.
Lacelle faced all six shots he saw over 29:57 of action. He made 16 saves during last Friday’s exhibition win at Air Force. That lack of work and time between chances can be difficult for a goalie, but Lacelle was sharp when called upon.
“I thought he played really well and a couple nice, poised saves early,” Gabinet said. “Nice to get both of those guys some valuable experience through two games.”
Omaha Maverick Will Lacelle (35) stands in the goal during an exhibition against Manitoba on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Omaha, Nebraska. Photo by Brandon Tiedemann.
Regular Season Up Next
Omaha officially opens the 2026-27 campaign next Thursday (Oct. 15) at Augustana. The Mavericks finished their exhibition slate with a pair of wins, 13 goals and some confidence heading into the regular season.
“It’s always nice when you get some reward for playing the right way,” Gabinet said. “We’ve been really trying hard to establish our identity for this group and nice to have back-to-back exhibition games where you get a chance to see everybody play and get some different situations to put guys in, different line combinations, etcetera. So, happy with the group, and for the majority of the game the guys played the right way.”
