Omaha had lost three straight games heading into its series at St. Cloud State on Jan. 26 and had posted just three wins in the previous eight weeks.
But the Mavericks beat the Huskies, 7-6 in overtime that night and are 5-1-2 in their last eight since, earning a top-20 spot in the national rankings.
Despite this being the penultimate regular season series for both NCHC teams, this is UNO and Miami’s first and only meeting of 2023-24.
VFTG takes a look at the upcoming series:
WHO: No. 18 Omaha (16-10-4, 9-8-3 NCHC) at Miami RedHawks (7-20-3, 1-17-2).
WHERE: Cady Arena (3,049), Oxford, Ohio.
WHEN: Both games — 7:07 p.m.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Miami leads, 29-25-7.
OMAHA: Both nights — KOIL-AM (1290), Omaha, Neb.
MIAMI RADIO: Both nights — WKBV-AM (1490), Richmond, Ind.
STREAMING: NCHC.tv ($).
NOTES: One can debate whether winning or losing close games is simply a matter of good or back luck vs. a product of superior coaching, confidence, etc.
But one thing is irrefutable: Omaha wins tight games better than any other team in college hockey.
The Mavericks are a ridiculous 12-1 in one-goal contests (Miami is 1-6) and 7-1-3 in overtime.
Their current streak has vaulted them into the top 20, and defense has played a key role. UNO has allowed just 14 goals in its last seven games, and six came in a loss to Western Michigan. The Mavericks have surrendered just three goals in their last three contests.
Slovakian-born goalie Simon Latkoczy has logged over 80 percent of Nebraska-Omaha’s minutes in net, going 13-9-3 with a 2.79 goals-against average and posting a .905 save percentage.
Lake Superior State graduate senior Seth Eisele is 3-1-1 in relief and turned aside 31 of 32 shots to earn a tie in his last outing vs. St. Cloud State on Jan. 27.
After not recording a point in 14 games as a freshman last season, Griffin Ludtke leads UNO in points by a defenseman (3-14-17).
Sophomore Washington draft pick Joaquim Lemay is 4-8-12, and fifth-year senior Kirby Proctor has five goals, leading all blueliners, plus six assists for 11 points.
Fellow D-men junior Victor Mancini, senior Nolan Krenzen and sophomore Jacob Guevin have all dressed for all 30 games on defense and have a combined 24 points.
The big name up front of course is Jack Randl, who scored 18 times last season and has a team-high 11 tallies in 2023-24 to go along with nine assists.
Vancouver fourth-rounder Ty Mueller leads the Mavericks in points with 24, including a UNO-best 15 helpers. Tanner Ludtke — a freshman Arizona third-round pick and brother of Griffin — is 9-13-22 and second on the team in points and third in assists.
Wisconsin transfer Zach Urdall is third on the team with eight goals to go along with seven assists, and seniors Jimmy Glynn, Brock Bremer and Jesse Lansdell also have double-digit points totals.
Omaha is the only NCHC team against which Miami has a winning record all-time, but the Mavericks have won the last four meetings and have closed to within four games of the break-even point.
The RedHawks are mired in a 10-game winless streak, going 0-9-1 since their last victory, which came on Jan. 13 vs. Western Michigan.
It’s the 13th time Miami has seen a winless streak reach double digits in program history.
The RedHawks have lost 18 straight March games and are 0-11 in this month under coach Chris Bergeron. MU beat St. Cloud State on March 10, 2018 but have not won a March game since.
MU’s longest winless streaks:
| Streak length | Dates | Record |
| 17 | Dec. 15, 1990-Feb. 2, 1991 | 0-16-1 |
| 15 | Nov. 23, 2018-Feb. 8, 2019 | 0-11-4 |
| 14 | Nov. 2, 1985-Dec. 20, 1985 | 0-13-1 |
| 13 | Oct. 27, 1990-Dec. 8, 1990 | 0-11-2 |
| 12 | Feb. 10, 2017-Oct. 7, 2017 | 0-11-1 |
| 12 | Oct. 24, 1986-Nov. 29, 1986 | 0-12 |
| 12 | Oct. 15, 1983-Nov. 26, 1983 | 0-12 |
| 12 | Dec. 31, 2022-Feb. 25, 2023 | 0-10-2 |
| 11 | Jan. 11, 2020-Feb. 22, 2020 | 0-9-2 |
| 11 | Jan. 3, 1987-Feb. 7, 1987 | 0-11 |
| 10 | Feb. 23, 2019-Oct. 12, 2019 | 0-9-1 |
| 10 | Oct. 29, 2016-Dec. 9, 2016 | 0-7-3 |
| 10 | Jan. 19, 2024-present | 0-9-1 |
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