Photo courtesy of Omaha Athletics
By Bridget (Weide) Brooks
Omaha Hockey returned to Baxter Arena over the weekend for its first home NCHC series of the 2026-27 season, earning five of six conference points against St. Cloud State.
The Mavericks (3-4-1, 1-2-1 NCHC) battled the Huskies to a 2-2 overtime tie Friday before Logan Wormald scored the deciding goal in the fifth round of the shootout. Saturday, Omaha scored twice in the final four minutes to earn a 5-3 victory.
Friday’s game also featured a historic moment for the program, as Omaha retired Jake Guentzel’s No. 20 jersey — the first jersey retirement in Omaha Hockey history. The university also recognized its 2026 Athletics Hall of Fame class.
On the ice, Omaha got goals from four different players over the weekend, including the first two collegiate goals for freshman Gavin Hodnett. Ryan McCleary also scored in both games, while Sean Tschigerl recorded a two-goal performance Saturday.
Freshman goaltender William Lacelle started both games, making 65 saves over the weekend.
The Mavericks had to overcome special teams difficulties throughout the series. All five St. Cloud State goals came on the power play, but Omaha held the Huskies scoreless at even strength.
Friday: Omaha 2, St. Cloud State 2 (OT) — Omaha Wins Shootout
St. Cloud State opened the scoring just 1:49 into the first period when William Sharpe scored on the power play, assisted by Jake Southgate and Finn McLaughlin.
The Huskies controlled much of the opening period, outshooting Omaha 15-7.
Freshman Gavin Hodnett tied the game at 11:36 with his first collegiate goal. Trevor Wong and Logan Wormald assisted on the even-strength goal.
Omaha took its first lead at 12:31 of the second period when Ryan McCleary scored his first goal of the season, assisted by Marcus Nguyen and Parker Berge.
The Mavericks outshot St. Cloud State 18-10 in the second period, but couldn't extend their 2-1 advantage.
St. Cloud State tied the game at 8:26 of the third period on Finn McLaughlin’s power-play goal, with assists from Hayden Paupanekis and Noah Urness.
The Huskies outshot Omaha 17-6 in the third period, but Lacelle kept the game tied through regulation.
Neither team scored in the five-minute overtime period, sending the game to a shootout.
Both goaltenders stopped the first four attempts they faced. After Lacelle stopped Jamison Sluys in the fifth round, Wormald scored against Yan Shostak to give Omaha the shootout victory and the extra NCHC point.
Lacelle finished with 42 saves, including 16 in the third period. Shostak made 31 saves for St. Cloud State.
The Huskies outshot Omaha 44-33. St. Cloud State went 2-for-3 on the power play, while Omaha finished 0-for-2.
McCleary was named the game’s first star, followed by Hodnett and McLaughlin.
Saturday: Omaha 5, St. Cloud State 3
Omaha got off to a fast start Saturday, scoring twice in the first three minutes.
Tschigerl opened the scoring at 1:40 of the first period, assisted by Carter Sotheran and Maxime Pellerin.
Just 1:08 later, McCleary scored his second goal of the weekend to give Omaha a 2-0 lead. Nguyen and Wong assisted on the goal.
St. Cloud State answered on the power play at 6:24 when William Ahlrik scored to cut Omaha’s lead to 2-1.
Hodnett restored the Mavericks’ two-goal advantage at 14:45, scoring his second collegiate goal in as many nights. Wong and Wormald assisted, just as they had on Hodnett’s goal Friday.
Omaha led 3-1 after the first period, outshooting the Huskies 11-8.
St. Cloud State cut the deficit to one goal at 17:09 of the second period when Nolan Roed scored on the power play, assisted by Noah Urness and Thor Byfuglien.
The Huskies tied the game 3-3 at 9:08 of the third period on another power-play goal, this time from Carson Pilgrim.
With the game tied and less than four minutes remaining, Omaha finally got a power-play opportunity of its own.
Pellerin scored at 16:07, assisted by Luke Woodworth and Maël Lavigne, to give the Mavericks a 4-3 lead with 3:53 remaining.
Tschigerl added an empty-net goal at 18:25, assisted by Woodworth and captain Marc Lajoie, to seal the 5-3 victory.
Tschigerl finished with two goals, while Pellerin recorded a goal and an assist. Wong and Woodworth each had two assists.
Lacelle made 23 saves to earn the victory, while Shostak stopped 19 shots for St. Cloud State.
The Huskies outshot Omaha 26-24 and converted all three of their power-play opportunities. Omaha went 1-for-1 with the man advantage.
Tschigerl was named the game’s first star, followed by Pellerin and Pilgrim.
St. Cloud State Scores Five Power-Play Goals
St. Cloud State scored all five of its goals over the weekend on the power play.
The Huskies converted two of three opportunities Friday and went a perfect 3-for-3 Saturday, finishing the series 5-for-6 (83.3%).
Omaha, meanwhile, went 0-for-2 on the power play Friday before Pellerin scored the game-winning goal on the Mavericks’ only opportunity Saturday.
Omaha finished the weekend 1-for-3 (33.3%) with the man advantage.
Despite allowing five power-play goals, the Mavericks did not surrender an even-strength goal in either game.
Hodnett Scores in Consecutive Games
Freshman forward Gavin Hodnett entered the St. Cloud State series looking for his first collegiate goal.
He left the weekend with two.
Hodnett scored Omaha’s first goal Friday, tying the game 1-1 in the opening period. He followed with another first-period goal Saturday, giving the Mavericks a 3-1 lead.
Both goals came at even strength, and both were assisted by Trevor Wong and Logan Wormald.
Hodnett finished the weekend with two goals, three shots on goal, two blocked shots, and a combined plus-3 rating.
The Winnipeg, Manitoba, native joined Omaha this season after spending four-and-a-half years with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League. He served as Edmonton’s captain for his final two seasons and finished his WHL career with 227 points in 229 regular-season games.
Lacelle Makes 65 Saves
Freshman goaltender William Lacelle started both games against SCSU, facing 70 shots and making 65 saves across the two games.
Friday, Lacelle faced 44 shots, stopping 42 in the 2-2 overtime tie. He made 16 saves in the third period alone as St. Cloud State outshot Omaha 17-6.
He also stopped all five St. Cloud State attempts in the shootout.
Saturday, Lacelle made 23 saves on 26 shots to earn his second collegiate victory.
All five goals he allowed during the series came on St. Cloud State power plays.
By the Numbers
- Omaha earned five of six available NCHC points with Friday’s shootout victory and Saturday’s regulation win.
- St. Cloud State outshot Omaha 70-57 over the two games.
- The Huskies scored all five of their goals on the power play, finishing 5-for-6 (83.3%).
- Omaha went 1-for-3 (33.3%) on the power play, with Pellerin scoring Saturday’s game-winner.
- William Lacelle made 65 saves over the weekend, including 42 Friday.
- Gavin Hodnett scored his first two collegiate goals, one in each game.
- Ryan McCleary also scored in both games, recording his first two goals of the season.
- Sean Tschigerl scored twice Saturday, including an empty-net goal.
- Trevor Wong recorded three assists over the weekend, including assists on both Hodnett goals.
- Logan Wormald recorded two assists and scored the decisive fifth-round shootout goal Friday.
- Friday’s announced attendance was 6,449, while Saturday’s was 6,090.
Up Next
Omaha returns to the road this weekend for a two-game NCHC series against Miami University at Goggin Ice Center in Oxford, Ohio.
Friday’s game is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CT, with Saturday’s finale set for 5:05 p.m. CT.
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