The 2024–25 Omaha Mavericks men's ice hockey season was the 28th season of play for the program and 12th in the NCHC. The Mavericks represented the University of Nebraska Omaha in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, played their home games at Baxter Arena and were coached by Mike Gabinet in his 8th season.

Season Coming into the year, Omaha was projected to be a bubble team for the NCAA tournament, as born out by their #15 ranking in the preseason poll. The team began the year with a mild surprise by winning the Ice Breaker Tournament thanks to stellar goaltending from Šimon Latkoczy, who stopped 77 shots in two overtime games. Unfortunately, over the next month the Mavericks' offense went silent. Omaha scored just 7 goals in their next 6 games, losing every match as well as their place in the rankings. Despite losing Tanner Ludtke to a long-term injury on October 25th, the team was able to recover by mid-November and end its losing streak but they found themselves in an uphill battle. To make matters worse, Latkoczy went through a rough patch in December that saw the Mavs lose to Lindenwood that dropped their PairWise ranking down into the high 40s, making it incredible difficult for the team to earn an at-large bid.

The team kicked off the second hall of its season with a solid runner-up performance in the Coachella Valley Cactus Cup and then surged up the standings over the next three weeks. January saw the Mavericks finally play like a tournament contender with the club winning 6 consecutive to finally get their record back above .500. Four of their victories came against ranked teams thanks to a seemingly revitalized Latkoczy as well as the offense getting consistent contributions from someone other than Sam Stange. The team hit a small bump at the end of the month but had themselves in a solid position heading into the final weeks of the season. With their final six game all coming against ranked opponents, the Mavericks had a tremendous opportunity to pull themselves back into the postseason race. However, the Mavericks could not keep their recent string of strong play going. After a close loss to Western Michigan, the offense vanished for several games and by the time they were able to regain their scoring stride, Omaha was well out of the running.

Their solid showing in the second half lifted the Mavs up to 4th in the standings but still left them far below the cutoff line for the tournament. With a conference title as their only path forward, the team was at least able to begin their postseason push at home against North Dakota. They opened the scoring in the first game and had a 2–1 lead at the end of the first period. UND scored twice in quick succession early in the second to turn the tables, forcing the Mavericks into desperate fight over the final 20 minutes. Despite outshooting the Hawks 17–0 in the third, Omaha was unable to find the back of the net and fell behind in the series. The rematch saw the two teams play fairly even through the first 40 minutes but Omaha was able to score twice and carry a 2–0 lead into the third. Despite playing conservatively, the Mavs surrendered three goals in the final frame, losing a second 2–3 decision to see their season come to a close.

Departures Michael Abgrall Forward Transferred to Holy Cross Seth Eisele Goaltender Graduation (signed with South Carolina Stingrays) Ray Fust Forward Transferred to Clarkson Jesse Lansdell Forward Graduation (signed with Florida Everblades) Joaquim Lemay Defenseman Transferred to Northeastern Victor Mancini Defenseman Signed professional contract (New York Rangers) Matt Miller Forward Graduation (signed with Lehigh Valley Phantoms) Ty Mueller Forward Signed professional contract (Vancouver Canucks) Kirby Proctor Defenseman Graduation (signed with Trois-Rivières Lions) Jack Randl Forward Graduation (signed with Bridgeport Islanders) Nolan Sullivan Forward Graduation (signed with Kansas City Mavericks) Dominic Vidoli Defenseman Graduation (signed with Ferencvárosi TC)

Recruiting Marcus Broberg Defenseman 20 Örebro, SWE Aiden Gallacher Defenseman 24 Rochester Hills, MI; graduate transfer from Northern Michigan Joe Gramer Defenseman 19 Moorhead, MN Dylan Gratton Defenseman 21 Pottstown, PA; transfer from Penn State Myles Hilman Forward 20 Blackfalds, AB Harrison Israels Forward 25 Mississauga, ON; graduate transfer from Alaska Chase LaPinta Forward 20 Frisco, TX Isaiah Norlin Defenseman 21 Minneapolis, MN Garrett Pinoniemi Forward 23 Robbinsdale, MN; transfer from Minnesota Kevin Reidler Goaltender 20 Gävle, SWE; selected 151st overall in 2022 Brady Risk Forward 25 Medicine Hat, AB; graduate transfer from Alaska Sam Stange Forward 23 Eau Claire, WI; graduate transfer from Wisconsin; selected 97th overall in 2020 Alexi Van Houtte-Cachero Forward 21 Montreal, QC Liam Watkins Forward 20 Okotoks, AB

Roster As of September 5, 2024.

Standings

Schedule and results

!colspan=12 style=";" | Exhibition

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!colspan=12 style=";" | Regular Season

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Scoring statistics RW 36 16 18 34 20 LW/RW 36 13 12 25 30 C 34 10 15 25 14 LW 33 12 10 22 6 LW 33 8 12 20 10 D 36 7 13 20 10 F 35 8 7 15 14 F 36 3 12 15 26 D 36 2 12 14 6 D 36 2 11 13 21 F 25 6 6 12 4 LW 36 4 8 12 20 D 36 0 11 11 18 F 20 4 6 10 28 D 27 1 8 9 22 F 19 3 1 4 4 F 15 2 2 4 0 D 26 1 3 4 8 F 33 1 3 4 24 D 33 0 4 4 4 C 29 1 2 3 8 C 8 1 1 2 2 D 6 0 1 1 2 D 16 0 1 1 2 G 1 0 0 0 0 C/RW 4 0 0 0 4 G 8 0 0 0 0 G 31 0 0 0 0 Bench – – – – – 12 Total 105 179 284 319

Goaltending statistics 1 10:04 0 0 0 0 4 0 1.000 0.00 31 1771:30 14 16 1 80 952 1 .922 2.71 8 371:59 4 1 0 17 196 0 .920 2.74 Empty Net - 20:54 - - - 2 - - - - Total 36 2174:27 18 17 1 99 1152 1 .921 2.73

Rankings

PollWeekPre 1 23456789101112131415161718192021222324252627 (Final) USCHO.com15151216RVRVRVNRNRNRNRNR–NRNRRVRVRVRV20RVRVRV20RVRV–RV USA Hockey17161219RVRVRVNRNRNRNRNR–NRNRRVRVRVRV20RVRVRVRVRVNRNRNR Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 12 or 26.Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

Awards and honors Šimon Latkoczy NCHC Goaltender of the Year Šimon Latkoczy All-NCHC First Team Sam Stange All-NCHC Second Team

2025 NHL entry draft

7 198 † Columbus Blue Jackets † incoming freshman

References