#18 Omaha Mavericks (14-8-4, 7-6-1) NCHC Standing: 4th
@ #3 Denver Pioneers (16-6-4, 8-3-3) NCHC Standing: 2nd
Friday January 27th 8:35pm (CST) @Magness Arena- Denver, CO
Saturday January 28th 8:05pm (CST) @Magness Arena- Denver, CO
Every team understands there is no such thing as an easy weekend in the NCHC. Even the lower half of the league will still pack a punch each night and there is no telling what might shake out. For the 18th ranked Omaha Mavericks, the fate of the season will be decided with a brutal remaining schedule and it all starts this weekend in Denver. UNO currently finds itself in 4th place in the NCHC, 3 points better than North Dakota. The top four teams will host the first round of the NCHC playoffs. Holding that position will prove to be very challenging with games against the league's best. Omaha has two series against #3 Denver but will also face #2 Minnesota-Duluth and #12 North Dakota on the road, with a home series against #10 Western Michigan. Looks rough, right? Well the Mavericks faced a similar road last season when they dropped eight in a row and ultimately failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament. Several players in the locker room remember the end of the 2015-16 season and are determined not to suffer a similar fate.
Omaha took positive steps in the right direction last weekend grabbing 4 of 6 points against Miami-Ohio including a shutout victory on Saturday. UNO has also been very confident on the road, posting a 9-1-2 mark but Magness Arena has not been kind to the Mavericks. Out of sixteen games, Omaha has only experienced victory twice. It will be interesting if the hard-feelings of losing the final four games of the season last year in that very building will keep Omaha's confidence a bit more tempered. Dean Blais emphasizes taking each series one game at a time. That will be key during this demanding stretch.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Omaha was able to get good production over the weekend from younger players. Sophomore Steven Spinner lit the lamp twice over the series and freshman Teemu Pulkkinen played strong. The Mavericks leading scorer, Austin Ortega was a marked man and had difficulties finding much space against the Redhawks. This is something you can expect from other teams going forward, but it was the contributions of others that could take some pressure off Ortega and Tyler Vesel. Mavericks will look to capitalize on the power play once again. Omaha ranks 3rd in the NCAA on the power play with a success rate of 25.8 percent.
The 3rd ranked Pioneers have won with fantastic goaltending, solid defense, and timely offense. The scoring trio of Henrik Borgstrom, Dylan Gambrell, and Troy Terry have combined for 30 goals and 68 points. Denver features one of the top defenceman in the country in Will Butcher. The senior captain has 21 points and 54 blocks on the year and has led the country's 6th best defense.
BETWEEN THE PIPES: Denver's success hinges on the outstanding play in goal from Tanner Jaillet. The junior leads the conference with 14 wins and has a solid GAA of 1.91 and save percentage of .931. As Jaillet goes, so do the Pioneers.
Dean Blais leaned on Evan Wenninger both nights against Miami-Ohio and the sophomore responded well. Wenninger turned away 62 shots in the series and recorded his second shutout of the season in Saturday's 2-0 victory. Omaha would like to use one goalie going forward and Wenninger looked like he was up to the task.
THE SERIES: Denver leads Omaha in the all-time series with an impressive record of 21-9-2 and 12-2-2 at home.
