2021–22 Omaha Mavericks men's ice hockey season

2021–22 Omaha Mavericks
men's ice hockey season
Conference6th NCHC
Home iceBaxter Arena
Rankings
USCHO.comNR
USA TodayNR
Record
Overall21–17–0
Conference11–13–0
Home14–6–0
Road7–11–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachMike Gabinet
Assistant coachesDave Noël-Bernier
Paul Jerrard
Captain(s)Kevin Conley
Alternate captain(s)Nate Knoepke
Nolan Sullivan
Taylor Ward
Omaha Mavericks men's ice hockey seasons
« 2020–21 2022–23 »

The 2021–22 Omaha Mavericks men's ice hockey season was the 25th season of play for the program. They represented the University of Nebraska Omaha in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season and for the 9th season in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). The Mavericks were coached by Mike Gabinet, in his fifth season, and played their home games at Baxter Arena.

Season

Omaha began its season with a tremendous run, winning seven consecutive games during the month of October. The extended winning streak vaulted the Mavericks into a top-10 ranking but it did come with a caveat. All of their early-season matches came against relatively weak non-conference opponents and wouldn't provide much assistance in the team's bid for an NCAA appearance. That didn't seem like much of a problem when Omaha earned a road split with top-ranked St. Cloud State, but the Mavericks didn't help themselves with inconsistent performances against the two worst teams in the NCHC.

After returning from the winter break, Omaha continued their up-and-down play with a split against unranked St. Lawrence that put them in the final potential at-large position. They were forced to postpone their series the following week due to COVID-19 but suffered a greater loss when they were swept by Denver afterwards.

Omaha was unable to arrest its downward slide for a while, splitting three consecutive weekends and then bottoming out with a sweep at the hands of Miami in mid-February. The losses to the RedHawks knocked Omaha out of the polls entirely and made it all but impossible for the team to make the NCAA tournament without a conference championship. While the team finished strong in the final three weeks, Omaha sat mired in 6th place with a losing conference record.

Isaiah Saville remained in goal for the Mavericks as they began postseason play. Omaha managed to gain a lead in the first game and were ahead at the start of the third, however, they were facing one of the top offenses in the country in Western Michigan and the Broncos stormed back with a 3-goal third period to take the match. The second game had a similar pattern with Omaha gaining a 3–1 lead mid-way through the contest, only to see their advantage erased with WMU netted three goals in less than 5 minutes. The Mavs were able to tie the game in the third period but could not get the game-winner and ultimately fell in overtime.

Departures

Player Position Nationality Cause
Josh Boyer Forward  United States Transferred to St. Lawrence
Ryan Brushett Forward  Canada Transferred to Massachusetts–Lowell
Jordan Klehr Defenseman  United States Graduation (retired)
Travis Kothenbeutel Forward  United States Left program (retired)
Alexandre Roy Defenseman  Canada Transferred to Niagara
John Schuldt Defenseman  United States Transferred to St. Thomas

Recruiting

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Cameron Berg Forward  United States 19 West Fargo, ND; selected 125th overall in 2021
Victor Mancini Defenseman  United States 19 Saginaw, MI
Brannon McManus Forward  United States 22 Newport Beach, CA; graduate transfer from Minnesota
Ty Mueller Forward  Canada 18 Cochrane, AB
Davis Pennington Defenseman  United States 20 Saline, MI

Roster

As of September 9, 2021.[1]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
2 Minnesota Jason Smallidge Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1998-05-20 Eagan, Minnesota Youngstown (USHL) —
3 Alberta Kirby Proctor Junior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 197 lb (89 kg) 2001-04-20 Okotoks, Alberta Des Moines (USHL) —
4 Ontario Brandon Scanlin Junior D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 213 lb (97 kg) 1999-06-02 Hamilton, Ontario Brooks (AJHL) —
7 Minnesota Nate Knoepke (A) Graduate D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1999-04-08 Farmington, Minnesota Sioux City (USHL) —
10 Wisconsin Kevin Conley (C) Graduate F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 191 lb (87 kg) 1997-02-17 Wausau, Wisconsin Sioux Falls (USHL) —
11 Minnesota Nolan Sullivan (A) Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 1999-05-21 Eden Prairie, Minnesota Muskegon (USHL) —
12 Minnesota Nolan Krenzen Sophomore D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-07-13 Duluth, Minnesota Omaha (USHL) —
13 New Jersey Chayse Primeau Senior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-09-15 Margate City, New Jersey Dubuque (USHL) —
14 Minnesota Cameron Berg Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2002-01-29 White Bear Lake, Minnesota Muskegon (USHL) NYI, 125th overall 2021
16 Sweden Martin Sundberg Graduate F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 197 lb (89 kg) 1996-12-04 Linköping, Sweden Fargo (USHL) —
17 British Columbia Taylor Ward (A) Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 1998-03-31 Kelowna, British Columbia Penticton (BCHL) —
19 Alberta Ty Mueller Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2003-02-26 Cochrane, Alberta Sherwood Park (AJHL) —
20 Alberta Jonny Tychonick Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2000-03-03 Calgary, Alberta North Dakota (NCHC) OTT, 48th overall 2018
22 Illinois Jimmy Glynn Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 168 lb (76 kg) 2000-02-24 Lemont, Illinois Dubuque (USHL) —
23 Michigan Victor Mancini Freshman D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 2002-05-26 Saginaw, Michigan Green Bay (USHL) —
26 Minnesota Brock Bremer Sophomore F 5' 5" (1.65 m) 140 lb (64 kg) 1999-08-26 Forest Lake, Minnesota Lincoln (USHL) —
27 Indiana Matt Miller Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1999-09-04 Leo, Indiana Lincoln (USHL) —
28 Illinois Jack Randl Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-05-07 Carpentersville, Illinois Omaha (USHL) —
29 Minnesota Kaden Bohlsen Sophomore F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 2001-01-10 Willmar, Minnesota Fargo (USHL) —
31 Alaska Isaiah Saville Junior G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 196 lb (89 kg) 2000-09-21 Anchorage, Alaska Tri-City (USHL) VGK, 135th overall 2019
35 Ohio Jacob Zab Junior G 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1998-04-12 Mentor, Ohio Pittsburgh (USPHL) —
36 British Columbia Austin Roden Junior G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1998-04-30 Victoria, British Columbia Merritt (BCHL) —
39 California Brannon McManus Graduate F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-07-05 Newport Beach, California Minnesota (Big Ten) —
40 North Carolina Tyler Weiss Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 146 lb (66 kg) 2000-01-03 Raleigh, North Carolina USNTDP (USHL) COL, 109th overall 2018
44 British Columbia Jake Harrison Sophomore D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 1999-04-13 Kelowna, British Columbia West Kelowna (BCHL) —
45 Illinois Joey Abate Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 1998-09-26 Bloomingdale, Illinois Youngstown (USHL) —
48 Michigan Davis Pennington Freshman D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-05-27 Saline, Michigan Muskegon (USHL) —

Standings

2021–22 National Collegiate Hockey Conference Standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL 3/SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#1 Denver † 24 18 6 0 1 0 0 53 98 55 41 31 9 1 175 93
#9 North Dakota † 24 17 6 1 1 1 1 53 78 58 39 24 14 1 119 99
#6 Western Michigan 24 14 9 1 1 0 1 43 84 68 39 26 12 1 138 101
#11 St. Cloud State 24 10 10 4 1 2 1 36 84 69 37 18 15 4 133 97
#5 Minnesota Duluth * 24 10 10 4 1 1 2 36 61 56 42 22 16 4 109 93
Omaha 24 11 13 0 2 1 0 32 65 74 38 21 17 0 123 102
Colorado College 24 6 17 1 2 1 0 18 48 87 36 9 24 3 79 116
Miami 24 4 19 1 0 3 1 17 54 105 36 7 27 2 94 153
Championship: March 19, 2022
† indicates conference regular season champion (Penrose Cup)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Frozen Faceoff Championship Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
October 2 7:07 PM Lake Superior State* #17 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Saville L 3–4 OT 3,397 0–1–0
October 3 6:07 PM Lake Superior State* #17 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Saville W 3–0  2,837 1–1–0
October 8 7:07 PM Maine* #17 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Saville W 4–1  4,036 2–1–0
October 9 6:07 PM Maine* #17 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Saville W 5–3  2,919 3–1–0
October 15 7:07 PM Alaska* #13 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Saville W 3–2  3,709 4–1–0
October 16 4:07 PM Alaska* #13 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Saville W 5–1  3,314 5–1–0
October 29 7:07 PM Long Island* #10 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Saville W 6–0  4,369 6–1–0
October 30 7:07 PM Long Island* #10 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Roden W 7–1  3,654 7–1–0
November 5 7:07 PM Miami #9 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Saville L 3–4  4,325 7–2–0 (0–1–0)
November 6 6:07 PM Miami #9 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Saville W 4–1  4,003 8–2–0 (1–1–0)
November 12 7:37 PM at #1 St. Cloud State #11 Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota   Saville L 1–5  3,825 8–3–0 (1–2–0)
November 13 6:07 PM at #1 St. Cloud State #11 Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota   Roden W 3–2 OT 0 9–3–0 (2–2–0)
November 19 10:07 PM at Alaska* #9 Carlson Center • Fairbanks, Alaska   Roden W 5–2  2,253 10–3–0
November 20 10:07 PM at Alaska* #9 Carlson Center • Fairbanks, Alaska   Roden W 4–2  1,832 11–3–0
December 3 7:07 PM Colorado College #10 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Saville W 4–3  5,097 12–3–0 (3–2–0)
December 4 6:07 PM Colorado College #10 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Roden L 0–4  4,457 12–4–0 (3–3–0)
December 10 6:05 PM at #4 Western Michigan #14 Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan   Saville L 2–4  3,275 12–5–0 (3–4–0)
December 11 6:05 PM at #4 Western Michigan #14 Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan   Saville W 1–0  3,673 13–5–0 (4–4–0)
December 31 6:00 PM at St. Lawrence* #14 Appleton Arena • Canton, New York   Saville L 2–3  468 13–6–0
January 1 6:00 PM at St. Lawrence* #14 Appleton Arena • Canton, New York   Saville W 5–0  639 14–6–0
January 15 5:00 PM at #6 Denver #15 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado   Saville L 2–5  5,197 14–7–0 (4–5–0)
January 16 5:00 PM at #6 Denver #15 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado   Saville L 0–4  4,208 14–8–0 (4–6–0)
January 21 7:07 PM #7 Minnesota Duluth #16 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Saville L 1–5  4,348 14–9–0 (4–7–0)
January 22 6:07 PM #7 Minnesota Duluth #16 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Saville W 5–1  4,702 15–9–0 (5–7–0)
January 28 8:07 PM at Colorado College #16 Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado CBSSN Saville L 1–4  3,407 15–10–0 (5–8–0)
January 29 7:07 PM at Colorado College #16 Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado ATTRM Saville W 3–2  3,514 16–10–0 (6–8–0)
February 4 7:07 PM at #12 North Dakota #18 Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota   Saville L 1–4  11,173 16–11–0 (6–9–0)
February 5 6:07 PM at #12 North Dakota #18 Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota   Saville W 3–2  11,632 17–11–0 (7–9–0)
February 11 6:00 PM at Miami #18 Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio CBSSN Saville L 4–5  2,303 17–12–0 (7–10–0)
February 12 6:05 PM at Miami #18 Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio   Saville L 2–4  2,614 17–13–0 (7–11–0)
February 18 7:07 PM #8 St. Cloud State Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Roden W 5–2  5,011 18–13–0 (8–11–0)
February 19 7:07 PM #8 St. Cloud State Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Saville W 5–1  5,454 19–13–0 (9–11–0)
February 25 7:07 PM #3 Denver Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska CBSSN Saville W 5–1  5,215 20–13–0 (10–11–0)
February 26 6:07 PM #3 Denver Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Saville L 2–5  5,630 20–14–0 (10–12–0)
March 4 7:07 PM #4 North Dakota #20 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Roden L 4–5  6,387 20–15–0 (10–13–0)
March 5 6:07 PM #4 North Dakota #20 Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska   Saville W 4–1  6,748 21–15–0 (11–13–0)
NCHC Tournament
March 11 6:05 PM at #7 Western Michigan* #19 Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan (Quarterfinal Game 1)   Saville L 2–4  3,107 21–16–0
March 12 6:05 PM at #7 Western Michigan* #19 Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan (Quarterfinal Game 2)   Saville L 4–5 OT 3,669 21–17–0
Omaha Lost Series 0–2
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Central Time.
Source:[2]

Scoring statistics

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Taylor Ward F 38 19 20 39 39
Tyler Weiss C/LW 36 8 25 33 20
Brannon McManus C/RW 34 9 23 32 4
Brandon Scanlin D 38 6 25 31 31
Chayse Primeau LW/RW 30 9 14 23 18
Cameron Berg C 37 8 15 23 14
Kevin Conley F 37 10 11 21 77
Jack Randl LW 38 9 11 20 26
Matt Miller RW 30 10 3 13 14
Ty Mueller F 24 8 5 13 2
Kirby Proctor D 37 5 7 12 20
Jimmy Glynn F 33 5 6 11 29
Brock Bremer LW 35 4 6 10 18
Nate Knoepke D 38 1 9 10 14
Jonny Tychonick D 24 2 6 8 19
Davis Pennington D 30 2 5 7 20
Nolan Krenzen D 30 1 5 6 8
Joey Abate LW 32 2 3 5 54
Victor Mancini D 38 0 5 5 26
Nolan Sullivan F 37 3 1 4 34
Jake Harrison D 7 1 1 2 0
Martin Sundberg RW 9 1 1 2 2
Jason Smallidge D 8 0 1 1 4
Kaden Bohlsen C 19 0 1 1 6
Isaiah Saville G 30 0 1 1 0
Austin Roden G 10 0 0 0 0
Total 123 209 332 499

[3]

Goaltending statistics

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Isaiah Saville 30 1760 16 14 0 74 725 4 .907 2.52
Austin Roden 10 522 5 3 0 22 246 0 .918 2.53
Empty Net - 13 - - - 6 - - - -
Total 38 2296 21 17 0 102 971 4 .905 2.66

Rankings

Main article: 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings
Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (Final)
USCHO.com 17 17 13 11 10 9 11 9 9 10 14 14 15 15 16 16 18 18 NR NR 20 19 NR NR - NR
USA Today NR 15 14 11 9 7 11 10 9 10 14 15 15 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 24.[4]

Players drafted into the NHL

2022 NHL Entry Draft

Round Pick Player NHL team
5 159 Victor Mancini New York Rangers

† incoming freshman [5]

References

  1. ^ "2020–21 Hockey Roster". Omaha Athletics. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  2. ^ "Omaha 2021-22 Team Schedule". College Hockey Inc. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "Univ. of Nebraska-Omaha 2021-2022 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  4. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  5. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2022 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved July 9, 2022.