By Cooper Schroeder · The Mavericks are looking to bring home another trophy as they head to Missouri for the conference playoffs. The bracket is set and UNO will be takin…
The Mavericks are looking to bring home another trophy as they head to Missouri for the conference playoffs.
The bracket is set and UNO will be taking on the Northern Illinois University Huskies in the quarterfinal of the Mid-American Collegiate Hockey Association Tournament being held in Chesterfield, MO starting on Friday, February 20th. While most of you reading this may be well aware of how UNO finished their regular season, let’s take a look at some key details. First, the Mavs had the best record in all of D3, at 28-4-1 (84 standings points). As well, they are currently ranked #9 amongst all D3 teams. In terms of individual stat leaders, the Mavs are proud to have the D3 leading scorer in freshman Blake Glaser, with 39 goals and 80 points in 31 games, which puts him ahead of the next best scorer by ten. Freshman Ryan Hedquist finds himself in the top 20 for scoring as well with 45 points in 31 games. Rounding the top stats leader for UNO in goaltending is senior Nahuel Veyan, who was 3rd in save percentage (94.9%) amongst goalies playing at least 12 games, as well as being 4th in goals against average with only 1.47 GAA and 11 wins for Omaha.
Now, to preview NIU, let’s take a look at how they finished among D3 competition. The Huskies topped their respective division with a total of 62 points, having a record of 21-7-2. The eighth best record overall. Some players to watch on NIU are senior Tate Noble(23 goals and 43 points in 30 games), sophomore Evan Rzeszutko (39 pts), sophomore John Wende (37 pts) and freshman Anthony Aceste (30 pts). Their leader between the pipes is senior Jacob Stermin. He has posted a save percentage of 92.9 as well as a GAA of 2.75 with 16 wins for his club. The Huskies boast a 7-3 record in their last ten games going into playoffs, while the Mavericks hold an impeccable record of 9-1 in the same span.
With all of this being said. There are certainly players to watch on both sides of this matchup, but at the end of the day, it will come down to which team wants it more. The leadership of upperclassmen such as Veyan, Captain Troy Hunsicker, Camden Forys and Sebastian Cacioppo will be crucial as this Mavs team is quite young. They have had success but will look to stay focused on the task at hand. Win the next game. Coach Nick Harrahill and his coaching staff will certainly be looking to keep their team composed. I caught up with Coach Harrahill after their last win against Creighton and asked him about how the team refocuses before heading to Missouri. Harrahill said this, “I think [this game] was a great way to refocus, you know, losing yesterday was a good wake up call. And it's an opportunity for us to see if we're going to be resilient... We're three wins away from getting an auto clinch to nationals, and that's where the focus is. But you're not gonna get three wins in one day. We gotta get one at a time, and that's where the focus goes.” Well said by the bench boss. One win at a time. Go Mavs!
Catch the live stream of the first round matchup vs Northern Illinois!
When: February 20th at 5:15 PM Central Time
Where: Round 1 will be broadcasted on the Omaha ACHA Mavericks YouTube channel with proceeding rounds produced on The “Maryville Saints DIII Hockey” YouTube channel (@MaryvilleSaintsD3Hockey)