By Bridget (Weide) Brooks
The Omaha Mavericks hit the road for the second time this season, heading north to Duluth to face the No. 3 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs on Friday, Nov. 14 and Saturday, Nov. 15 at AMSOIL Arena.
It’s another marquee test in a brutal early stretch for Omaha — this weekend marks their fifth straight series against a ranked opponent and third consecutive NCHC series. The Mavericks (4-4-0, 2-2-0 NCHC) are looking to bounce back after being swept at home by then-No. 8 North Dakota, while the Bulldogs (10-2-0, 3-1-0 NCHC) are at home for the second weekend in a row, riding a sweep of St. Cloud State and one of the hottest offenses in college hockey.
Despite last weekend’s results, Omaha feels there was growth in their game — especially in Saturday’s response.
“It’s tough. Obviously, we get swept, and you don’t want to do that at home,” sophomore defenseman Marc Lajoie said. “But I liked our second game, especially after it didn’t go so well in the first game. We took a lot of penalties. It was a big thing for us to stay disciplined. I thought we did a better job of that in the second game. I think throughout the year, this year, we’ve done a good job of responding from bad situations. Getting swept this weekend was unacceptable, and we got a good opportunity next weekend against a good team.”
Head coach Mike Gabinet echoed the idea of learning quickly and moving forward.
“Sunday is always a tough day, right? You’re kind of licking your wounds a little bit there,” Gabinet said. “And then, like [Marc] said, you narrow your focus. You find a couple of things to keep growing at. And then you work on those things on Monday. And then, boom, your spirits are right back up. And you’re back to that process and helping these guys get better.”
“We’re going to our whatever straight-ranked opponent, and you’re not going to be successful all the time when you play good quality teams like that,” he added. “All you can do is keep learning, keep growing, keep giving responsibility to find ways to get better. And that’s what we did this week.”
Living the NCHC grind
For Lajoie — in his first NCHC season after transferring from the University of Alberta — the week-to-week grind has been an eye-opener.
“I mean… you’re not going to get any easy games in the NCHC, and we’ve seen that so far,” he said. “So I think for us we just want to keep growing every weekend, you know, kind of take some positives and some things you need to work on every weekend, and then take that into the next weekend. And it’s nice that every single weekend you get another game, and another good team, and you just kind of got to keep growing. Like I said before, it’s a good opportunity against a good team again this weekend.”
Gabinet tries not to let his team get lost in the stakes of any single series — even against a top-three opponent.
“I don’t get too much into it because I think when you start to over-analyze the pressure of whatever series — they’re all important,” he said. “You’ve got to make sure you’re prepared and you’re doing everything you can, and that’s what you’ve got to ultimately judge yourself on.
“Are you doing the work? Are you preparing? Are you holding guys accountable? Are you pushing the pace in practice? Are you doing all those things that ultimately lead to those results that we want to see happen? We know we’re playing the number three team in the country. We know they’re good. But, hey, we’re prepared. We’re doing the work. We’re going to be ready to go. And then ultimately free yourself up to go out and execute and play the game.”
Slowing down the Plante line
Duluth’s top line of Max Plante, Zam Plante, and Jayson Shaugabay has been lighting up the scoresheet — all three are among the top point-getters in the country, and Max leads the nation with 22 points through 12 games.
From Lajoie’s vantage point on the blue line, the game plan starts with decisiveness and support.
“I’m not too sure what kind of players they are, but obviously they’re skilled,” he said. “And for us, it’ll just be important to kill them early, kill plays early. And you give skilled players time and space, they’re going to make plays and capitalize. We’re going to have to kill and defend them in units of five and not give them too much time and space.”
Gabinet knows Omaha will have its hands full with that top group.
“That number one line, you can’t deny it,” he said. “I think they’re leading the country with the three of them for total points there. They’re extremely good hockey players that make plays and capitalize on their opportunities there. And again, I think, like every team, they’ve done a nice job adding some certain pieces to the puzzle. [Scott Sandelin’s] got them playing a really good style of hockey right now and they look good.”
“I’m excited for it. I’m excited to get up there and compete. And it’s another chance to see where we’re stacking up right now against one of the very best in the country,” Gabinet added.
Without giving away specific tactical details, Gabinet emphasized the need for solid habits and structure, especially against elite skill.
“Without giving up too much… you have to eliminate guys, you have to come off on the defensive side of the puck, you’ve got to recover in straight lines,” he said. “You’ve got to do all those things to slow those guys down a little bit from making plays and making that next play. And then you’ve got to really protect that puck, right? We want the puck, we want to be a possession team with the puck, and so you really got to decide where you want to give them the puck back.”
Lajoie’s impact and two-way growth
Lajoie has quickly become a key figure for the Mavericks on the back end, especially on the power play. He scored in both games against North Dakota and has provided an important net-front presence and shooting option.
“I’m getting a lot of touches on that,” he said about his recent power play success. “And we have a good kill, too, and we get to go up against that every day in practice. And then you get a couple reps and a couple goals, and you start to build confidence that way. So hopefully we can keep that going this weekend.”
Even as his offensive numbers climb, Lajoie still anchors his identity in his own zone.
“Defensively, that’s what I value the most about my game, a lot more than offensively,” he said. “But I still like to be able to contribute, and it’s been nice to be able to do that a little bit this year on the power play. But being a bigger guy, I’ll always value the defensive side of the puck first, and then the offense will come and I can start contributing there.”
Gabinet has long admired the Lajoie family — and he’s thrilled with what Marc has brought to Omaha this season.
“I think he’s done an unbelievable job. He’s one of our best defensive defensemen. Like he mentioned himself, (he takes) a lot of pride in that,” Gabinet said. “He has the ability to kill plays. He has the ability to make plays under pressure. Even on some of those 6-on-5 situations we’ve been in the year, he makes the right play under extreme pressure.”
“And then he also, I think, has a very good mind for the game. If you watch him offensively, I think he does some really strategic things offensively… that frees up other people to make plays. So I just really like the way he thinks the game, not only defensively, but offensively as well,” Gabinet added.
For Lajoie, that competitive mindset and composure trace back to his dad, longtime coach (and former University of Alberta Golden Bear) Serge Lajoie.
“Obviously he’s been a big part of my hockey career and he’s kind of really shaped me to who I am today,” Marc said. “Growing up and him always being around and coaching me, there’s been a lot of things that he’s taught me along the way. He’s the reason that I am the player and person I am today.”
Special teams and “Big Sam”
Omaha’s power play has been a bright spot to start the year, including a strong showing against North Dakota. The numbers back that up — the Mavericks enter the weekend with a power play clicking at just under 28 percent, while Duluth’s sits just under 30 percent, giving this series the potential for big swings on special teams.
“Special teams are huge,” Gabinet said. “If you look around the country at the number of penalties being called right now, there’s a lot. And so you really have to make sure your special teams continue to improve and get better.”
“I think the power play has done a great job of either scoring a big goal or giving us momentum there. And again, we’re continuing to work on our PK, too. We’re trying to get our power play better, we’re trying to get our penalty kill better, we’re trying to get better 5-on-5. Lots of things that we know we have to continue to improve at to be successful, especially in this conference,” Gabinet said.
Last weekend also marked the return of forward “Big Sam” Huo to the lineup, adding size and physicality up front. But a couple of key forwards were out of the lineup during the North Dakota series.
“I think both those guys are doubtful there,” Gabinet said of injured forwards Brett Hyland and Jeremy Loranger. “But it was nice to get Sam back in the lineup. He hadn’t played a lot in a long time. Just nice to get him some limited minutes there. But, again, I think as he gets more experience there, more time playing, [he’s] just going to keep growing. I’ve always really liked his game from day one here. It gives us some size, which is nice. So hopefully he just continues to improve here as he gets back to feeling 100%.”
Interesting Tidbits:
- Series history: Minnesota Duluth leads the all-time series 29-20-4, but Omaha has won five straight against the Bulldogs — including a series in Omaha last February, when the Mavericks outscored UMD 9-3.
Five-game heater vs. UMD: Omaha’s current five-game winning streak over the Bulldogs dates back to December 2023. In that span, the Mavericks have allowed just eight goals while scoring 19.
Scoring machines in maroon & gold: UMD’s top line has been electric — Max Plante (10-12-22), Zam Plante (7-12-19), and Jayson Shaugabay (5-12-17) have combined for 58 points and half of Duluth’s 44 goals this season.
Goaltending contrast: Omaha senior co-captain Simon Latkoczy enters the weekend with 212 saves, a .898 save percentage, and a 3.45 GAA through seven games, while UMD’s Adam Gajan is 10-2-0 with a 1.70 GAA and .925 save percentage.
Ranked-road gauntlet: Omaha already owns four wins over top-20 opponents, including a sweep of then-No. 15 Colorado College — the only NCHC sweep that weekend.
Maroon Loon returns: For an extra bit of Duluth flavor, UMD’s beloved “Maroon Loon” secondary mascot will make a rare appearance at AMSOIL this weekend — his first since 2010, with special merchandise available in the Bulldog Shop.
Game previews:
UNO Gateway (Tyler Doremus):
Hurrdat Sports (Jordan McAlpine):
UMD Athletics:
Omaha Hockey:
https://omavs.com/news/2025/11/13/-rv-hockey-travels-to-no-3-minnesota-duluth.aspx
Omaha World-Herald (Mike Patterson): ($)
https://omaha.com/sports/college/uno/article_6cfbbb66-f492-403b-8295-f0388fc8b466.html
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