By Bridget (Weide) Brooks
Hockey in the desert is now a regular thing for the Omaha Mavericks. With Arizona State University joining the NCHC this season, Omaha and ASU are travel partners (starting officially in the 2026-27 season), meaning the two teams will meet annually in Omaha and in Tempe.
This weekend is the first matchup of the two NCHC foes in conference play as Omaha takes on the Sun Devils in Tempe on Nov. 15 and 16.
ASU (3-6-1, 0-2-0 in the NCHC) is 3-0 in home games versus Omaha all-time. Omaha last played ASU in the championship game of the Desert Hockey Classic at Mullett Arena in January 2024. The Mavs lost that game in overtime 2-1. Tanner Ludtke had the lone Omaha goal in the contest.
The Sun Devils opened NCHC conference play last weekend against Colorado College in Colorado Springs. ASU lost in overtime 4-3 on Friday night after coming back from a two goal deficit. The Tigers swept the Sun Devils after securing a 3-1 win on Saturday night.
Omaha is 2-6-0 and 0-2-0 in conference play. The Mavericks were swept by the Western Michigan Broncos in a home series at Baxter Arena last weekend. Omaha fell 2-1 on Friday and 4-2 Saturday.
The Mavericks have lost the last six games after starting the season 2-0 in the Ice Breaker tournament.
The Mavs have also been plagued by the injury bug. Graduate defenseman Aiden Gallacher and freshman forward Liam Watkins have yet to play a game for UNO after suffering preseason injuries.
At the team’s Nov. 13 press conference, Coach Mike Gabinet shared that sophomore forward Tanner Ludtke is likely out for the season after undergoing surgery last weekend to remedy an injury he re-aggravated in the Oct. 25 game at MSU-Mankato.
T. Ludtke was Omaha’s top point producer in the 2023-24 season.
Coach Gabinet also said that forwards Alexi Van Houtte-Cachero, Myles Hillman, and Garrett Pinoniemi are dealing with injuries.
Junior defenseman Jacob Guevin told assembled media at the press conference that the Mavericks are working to get back on the winning track.
“If you look back at last year, we had a lot of one goal games; same story again this year. I mean, luckily last year, we were on the good side of them,” he said. “I think this year we’re just a couple details away from being on the good side again. I’m really confident we’re going to get back on track.”
Gabinet agreed. “You’re right there, but you’re not there. Having a couple crucial mistakes at key moments in games are resulting in the losses and one goal losses,” he said. “So those are things you don’t want to go through it, but sometimes you do, and that’s when you grow.”
Resiliency — especially in light of the injuries — continues to be a theme for the team.
“(You’ve) got to keep getting back up and keep showing up and be resilient — and find ways to get better,” Gabinet said. “There’s some positive things to the game... that we can see the growth in. You can see some production (that is) trending the right direction. Now it’s about doing that consistently and making the right decision in those key moments to allow ourselves a chance to continue (having) success.”
Gabinet said fans may see freshman goaltender Kevin Reidler in net for the Mavericks in Arizona (which would be Reidler’s first game action of the regular season).
“He’s been working really hard throughout training camp and practice. I think he’s now earned (the) opportunity to play, just by the way he’s been practicing and the consistency and the work ethic that needs to take place in order to be successful at this level.”
“We know what we’re getting ourselves into here, and (we’ve) got to be ready to go,” Gabinet said.
Omaha Hockey Press Conference - Nov. 13, 2024:
Omaha World-Herald article about the series ($):
The MavPuckCast podcast with Jason & Jon
S7, E8: Honors, Omaha Hockey Swept Yet Again, Alumni Honors, Sponsored Players, Mavs vs. Sun Devils Preview:
When:
Friday, 8 p.m. Central (7 p.m. Mountain)
Saturday, 6 p.m. Central (5 p.m. Mountain)
TV:
Both games will be streamed on NCHC.tv ($)
NOTE: If you decide to subscribe to NCHC.tv, choose OMAHA as your home team and the program will receive 80% of your subscription fee from new subscriptions (this also applies to renewing subscribers).
Radio Coverage:
The series will be broadcast live on 1290 KOIL and on the Varsity Sports app. “Voice of the Mavs” Mike Vaillancourt will provide play-by-play and Terry Leahy is back with color commentary. Coverage begins 30 minutes prior to puck drop each night.
Live audio and stats:
ASU Live audio link https://foxsports910.iheart.com/
Varsity Network App: https://thevarsitynetwork.com/audioapplink/source/university-of-nebraska-at-omaha:oas-1342/content/nebomaha:allaccess-Live-10111
Live stats link here.
Next Weekend:
The Mavs return to Baxter Arena to face conference foe Miami on Friday, Nov. 22 (Lumberjack Night) and Saturday, Nov. 23 (Military Appreciation).
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