Photo Courtesy of Omaha Athletics
By Myah French
OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha Mavericks rebounded from a tough opening-night loss to secure a thrilling 4-2 victory over No. 12 Arizona State on Senior Night, splitting the weekend series at Baxter Arena.
Game 1 Recap: Omaha Falls Short in 4-1 Loss
Friday night saw Omaha’s seven-game home winning streak snapped as Arizona State capitalized on key scoring chances to claim a 4-1 win. Despite a strong stretch in the second period, Omaha struggled with consistency, noted by head coach Mike Gabinet.
“Too bad we couldn’t get something going in the second period when we had all the momentum,” Gabinet said. “Didn’t like our first 10 minutes, didn’t like our third period. Against talented teams like this, you have to find ways to play consistently for a full 60 minutes.”
Arizona State jumped ahead early with a power-play goal by Cullen Potter at 5:46 in the first period, but Omaha answered with a power-play goal of their own as Brock Bremer cleaned up a rebound off a shot from Griffin Ludtke. However, that was the only offense the Mavericks could muster, as ASU pulled away with a pair of second-period goals from Ryan Kirwan and Artem Shlaine, before Potter added his second of the night early in the third.
Gabinet defended his unsuccessful goaltender interference challenge in the third period, saying, “I think he hits Simon’s pad and then gets the rebound in there, so obviously they got more camera angles than I do. We don’t see those angles until after the game, so I thought it was worth a challenge to protect our goalie a little bit and take that goal off the board.”
Omaha goaltender Simon Latkoczy was busy in net, stopping 35 of 39 shots, but the Mavericks were unable to capitalize on multiple Grade-A scoring chances, finishing the night 1-for-4 on the power play. “I thought we had a ton of great A chances,” Gabinet added. “You have to find a way to capitalize. Their star player goes and buries two goals, and that makes a difference.”
Game 2 Recap: Mavericks Rally for 4-2 Win on Senior Night
Omaha flipped the script on Saturday, using a dominant third period to erase a one-goal deficit and send the seniors off with a victory in their regular-season home finale.
Freshman goaltender Kevin Reidler was stellar between the pipes, making 40 saves on 42 shots to earn his fourth collegiate win. “I think he’s earned it,” Gabinet said. “All season long, he’s been taking little steps in the right direction, improving his play. He has an unbelievable attitude, tremendous work ethic, and tonight he made some key saves at big moments.”
Omaha took a 1-0 lead just 59 seconds into the game when Sam Stange buried a setup from Cam Mitchell and Jacob Guevin. However, Arizona State responded with two power-play goals from Kirwan to take a 2-1 lead into the third period.
However, the Mavericks found a spark. Freshman defenseman Marcus Broberg won a puck battle and fed senior Zach Urdahl, whose shot deflected to graduate forward Jimmy Glynn, who buried the tying goal at 7:10. “That’s a huge one for us, especially being down 2-1 going into the third,” Urdahl said. Less than a minute later, captain Nolan Krenzen led a rush and created a rebound opportunity that Griffin Ludtke cashed in for the eventual game-winner.
Arizona State thought they had tied the game in the final minutes, but Omaha successfully challenged for a high stick, keeping their lead intact. “When it got overturned, it was a big sigh of relief because we obviously still had the lead.” Urdahl noted.
Brady Risk sealed the win with an empty-net goal in the final seconds.
Gabinet emphasized the importance of the win for his senior class. “It’s a special group,” he said. “Jimmy, Krenzen, Bremer—they’ve been here for five years, which is pretty special. Then you add Zach Urdahl, our lone senior who’s been here two years. We recruited him hard, and he’s been a tremendous kid to coach. Just high-character guys across the board.”
Omaha now turns its attention to the final weekend of the regular season, heading to Grand Forks for a pivotal series against No. 18 North Dakota. “We know the importance of it, and it’s against North Dakota in their rink, so I expect everyone to bring everything they’ve got for that series.” Urdahl said.
Up Next: Omaha will take on North Dakota in a two-game road series to close the regular season. Puck drop is set for 7:07 p.m. CT on Friday, March 7, and 6:07 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 8.
