MANKATO, Minn. - Minnesota State concludes its six-game non-conference homestand this week against No. 16 Omaha at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center. Game times are 7:07 p.m. CT Friday and 6:07 p.m. CT Saturday. MSU will celebrate its 11 senior players prior to the game Saturday. The Purple and Gold have three series splits so far in the regular season, including wins over No. 7 Michigan and No. 5 North Dakota.

• Teams compete for the "Spirit of the Mavericks" trophy, which is awarded to the series winner at the conclusion of Saturday night's contest. Omaha currently has possession.
• Omaha took a 1-0 exhibition victory in the only meeting last season in Mankato.
• UNO and MSU play a regular season series for the first time in nearly ten years.
• UNO won 3-2 on Oct. 9, 2015 and 2-0 on Oct. 10, 2015 at the Mayo Clinic HSEC.

ALL-TIME SERIES

• Both teams made the jump to Division I men's hockey in the same season and have competed against one another since 1998.
• Minnesota State leads the all-time series 18-16-5.
• MSU is 10-8-2 at home and the schools are 5-5 over their last 10 meetings.
• Omaha has won the last two regular season matchups (2015-16) in Mankato.

SCOUTING NEBRASKA OMAHA

• Omaha fell 4-0 to Augustana Saturday, despite a 33-21 shot advantage at home. Augustana scored in the first period of a penalty shot and held on.
• UNO lost its home opener 2-1 Friday to the Vikings. Omaha opened the season at the Ice Breaker Tournament, where they defeated No. 14 UMass 3-2 in overtime, then fell to No. 5 Minnesota 2-1 in overtime.
• UNO found playoff success last season. The Mavericks downed No. 10 Colorado College in three games, then upset No. 4 North Dakota at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff before falling to No. 3 Denver in the Championship in St. Paul. The season ended at the NCAA Regional Tournament to No. 7 Minnesota in the opening round.
• Head coach Mike Gabinet signed a contract extension in October, keeping him at the helm until at least 2027-28. Gabinet graduated from UNO in 2004 and returned as the associate head coach before being promoted to the top job in 2017-18.
• UNO has made the NCAA Tournament two of the last four years and advanced the the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship for the first time in program history in 2023-24. The team's 23 wins last season were the second-most in school history.
• Omaha returned its top two points scorers, the Ludtke brothers. Sophomore forward Tanner Ludtke led UNO with 28 points (11-17--28). Senior forward Zach Urdahl also returned after tying for the team lead in goals (13) in 2023-24. Urdahl has three goals in four games this season.
• Junior Jacob Guevin leads UNO defenseman with one goal and two assists.
• The squad features 16 Americans, nine Canadians and three Europeans. Like Minnesota State, Omaha is heavy on upperclassmen, with seven graduate students, one senior, nine juniors, three sophomores and eight freshmen.
• UNO welcomed 14 newcomers after losing 12 players this off-season.
• Graduate defenseman Nolan Krenzen is team captain. The Twig, Minnesota native is in his fifth season.
• Junior goaltender Simon Latkoczy (Trencin, Slovakia) holds a .934 save percentage and 2.23 goals against average in four starts. Latkoczy made 16 saves in last year's 1-0 exhibition win over Minnesota State on October 7, 2023.
• Former Minnesota State head coach Troy Jutting (2000-12) served as UNO assistant coach from 2012-16.

LAST WEEKEND

• Minnesota State fell 3-2 Friday, then won 3-0 Saturday at home against then-No. 5 North Dakota. 
• Friday, Josh Groll marked his first two goals of the year and his top line teammates Adam Eisele and Rhett Pitlick assisted both markers. After a disallowed goal in the second period, the Fighting Hawks scored three unanswered in the third.
• The Mavericks got redemption Saturday as they blocked 34 shots for the upset. Eisele scored the opening goal and added an assist while goaltender Alex Tracy recorded 27 saves for his fourth career shutout (first of the season).
• Defenseman Mason Wheeler blocked 13 shots over the two-game span.
• Groll earned CCHA Forward of the Week for the second time in his career. For the week, he was a +4 with six shots on goal and one block at the defensive end of the ice.
• Scoring twice on Friday in a 3-2 defeat, he added his third tally on Saturday night in a 3-0 shutout win for the Mavericks.

SPIRIT OF THE MAVERICK TROPHY

• The trophy will be awarded to the series winner at the conclusion of the game on Saturday night.  Unlike in the past couple of years when we have only played one game, this year it is a two-game series.  
• The winner will be decided by one team winning both games; or one team winning one game with the other ending in a tie; or in the case of a series split, the winner will be determined by the total goals differential.  
• Should the series end in a split, with both teams having the same number of goals, the trophy stays with the team that previously held the trophy.
• Former presidents of the MSU and UNO Blue Line Clubs Brad Reeves and Jim Semerad came up with the idea to award a trophy to make the rivalry feel more special.

SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT

• The Mavericks are 1-15 on the power play this season (.067). Rhett Pitlick posted MSU's first power play goal of the season in the first period against Merrimack College, assisted by Josh Groll and Evan Murr.
• The Mavericks have killed 11-14 penalties so far. 
• MSU was the 30th best team in Division I (fourth in CCHA) last year on the power play (.200) and the 21st best team on the penalty kill (.817), second in the CCHA.
• The Mavericks ranked second in the CCHA for fewest penalties per game (3.59).
• MSU scored three short-handed goals on the year.

MIDCO SPORTS PLUS

• Fans can stream all CCHA games live and on-demand, on their home televisions, computers, tablets, and mobile devices via Midco Sports Plus.
• To view the CCHA and Maverick Hockey, you'l need to subscribe to the Midco Sports Plus 2 package. 
• The app is available on mobile/tablet apps (iOS and Android), connected TV device apps (AppleTV, FireTV and Roku) and a web-based browser interface.
• If you have additional questions or want to see more information about coverage or subscriptions, go to MidcoSportsPlus.com.

HOME ICE ADVANCE

• With 17 home games in 2023-24, the Mavericks averaged 4,439 fans for a total of 75,478 through the turnstiles at the Mayo Clinic HSEC, which has served as the home arena for MSU men's hockey since 1994-95.
• MSU went 20-1-0 in home games in 2021-22 and in 31 seasons in downtown Mankato, the team has enjoyed 25 winning years.
• The top attended game at Mayo Clinic HSEC was on Feb. 28, 2015 (5,446).

TRACY BACK IN THE CAGE AS A JUNIOR

• Entering his third year, Tracy ranked seventh in career goals-against average among returning Division I goalies (2.43).
• 2023-24 AHCA Krampade All-American Scholar.
• CCHA Goaltender of the Week (Mar. 11, Oct. 16)
• Played in 30 games, started 28 as a sophomore.
• Held 13-10-4 record with a 2.50 goals against and .910 save percentage last year with two shutouts.
• Totaled 12 games as a freshman, splitting with Keenan Rancier. Held 2.24 goals against and .879 save percentage with one shutout. 
• With starts in all six games so far, Tracy holds a 1.52 goals against average and .935 save percentage in 2024-25.

OTHER TEAM NOTABLES

• MSU is the seventh oldest team in Division I at an average age of 22.7 years.
• The Mavericks have the second largest senior class in Division I (nine players).
• MSU also has the second fewest freshmen (four). 

MAVERICK HOCKEY HISTORY

• Now in its 56th year of existence, Minnesota State owns an all-time record of 1052-697-163 (.602).
• The Mavericks are in their 29th year as members of NCAA Division I and their fourth season as members of the CCHA.