By Bridget Brooks
Home ice is at stake in the final regular season series of the 2024-25 season. Omaha is two points ahead of North Dakota and Denver in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) standings. Western Michigan and Arizona State have locked up two of the four home ice spots, with Omaha, UND, and DU looking to secure the two remaining spots. Omaha needs two points to get home ice for the NCHC quarterfinal playoff series. (If the Mavericks end up in a tie with North Dakota at 43 points, Omaha wins the relevant tie-breaker in that instance with North Dakota, having more "regulation wins" in conference play.)
Omaha is 17-14-1 overall (13-8-1 in the NCHC), good for third place in the conference currently. North Dakota is 18-13-2 (also 13-8-1 in the NCHC, tied for fourth with Denver).
No. 18 North Dakota has the series advantage, 36-22-2 overall. The first team to score a goal in the game has won 28 of the last 33 meetings. But Omaha had the advantage last season, winning four of the five games, including the semifinal game in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff in St. Paul.
Omaha is coming off a split with Arizona State (4-1 loss Friday, 4-2 win Saturday), while North Dakota split with Western Michigan last week (6-4 loss Friday, 4-3 win in overtime Saturday).
A high-scoring affair tends to benefit the Fighting Hawks. UND is 13-2-0 when scoring at least four goals. However, Maverick senior forward Zach Urdahl might have something to say about that. Almost 15 percent of Urdahl’s career goals have come against North Dakota, including a hat trick in the Frozen Faceoff.
Special teams are likely to come into play. Omaha’s power play is clicking at 34.1 percent since Jan. 12, the second-highest in the conference. However, the Mavs were 1-for-9 with the man advantage against ASU last weekend. UND is averaging 5.1 penalties per game, so the Mavs need to capitalize on power play opportunities when they get them.
Omaha junior defenseman Griffin Ludtke and Coach Mike Gabinet met with the media (via Zoom this week due to the weather) to talk about the UND series.
“I grew up in Minnesota and was never a [UND] fan, but I always loved their environment. I love playing at the Ralph. I love playing at Western. I love playing at Denver … all these high-energy arenas,” Ludtke said. “I just think it’s fun to get those opportunities. Someone is going to get to score the game winner on Friday and Saturday. Someone is going to get to make the big play.”
“We’re not looking just to get, you know, ‘X’ amount of points to secure home ice advantage. We’re going there to win and to continue to send a message to the rest of the league — and the country — that we’re the team to beat,” Ludtke said. “It’s an exciting time to play with this group.”
Growth and resilience have epitomized the theme for the team this season.
“I think you look at our tough start to the year — especially non-conference, getting swept by Mankato and Augustana — and I think it’s easy to get down on yourselves in those moments, and I think part of our growth has come from when we give up a goal and get scored on … what’s our response?” Ludtke said. “I think that’s something that’s really propelled us to having a ton of success here down the stretch.”
His coach agrees. “I think that’s kind of been our theme for our whole team, where you see some of these guys — where they were at the start of the year, where they were in years past in the lineup, to where they are now, it’s pretty unbelievable to see the development that’s taking place individually and collectively with these players,” Gabinet said. “I just love the word ‘growth’ — I think that is a testimony to how the whole organization looks at this season.”
As of this writing, Tanner Ludtke’s playing status is uncertain for the weekend. He has spent the bulk of the season recovering from an upper-body injury. His last game played was Friday, Oct. 25.
Griffin Ludtke said he would relish the opportunity to play with Tanner again this season. “You just notice all the things that you miss when your brother and best friend is not in the lineup. It’s the small things — of doing dry-land warm-up together, or kicking the soccer ball, or tying your skates across the room from each other.”
“Being injured is no fun, let alone what could or would be a season-ending injury, and he’s made a strong case to potentially play here down the stretch,” Ludtke added.
Both Tanner Ludtke and Harrison Israels made the trip to Grand Forks. “Both those guys are trying their best to come back as quickly and safely as possible,“ Gabinet said. “Probably be a game-time decision to see where those guys end up.”
Gabinet said the series will be exciting, and the team is looking forward to the challenge. “We’ve played some pretty tough games over the course of the [season], and we know it will be no different there.”
“Both teams are probably excited to play each other for the first time [this season], and [we’re] looking forward to a good weekend,” Gabinet said. “Every weekend’s a big game and [it’s] no different this weekend.”
Weekly Press Conference (held on Zoom due to weather):
Series preview articles:
