Friday, October 30
Denver, Colo.
8 p.m. CT
Omaha
2-3-0, 0-1-0
1
at
2
Denver
4-2-1, 1-0-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omaha | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Denver | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Oct 30, 2026 | Hockey
DENVER, Colo. -Â Omaha Hockey (2-3-0, 0-1-0 NCHC) battled defending national champion and No. 3 Denver (4-2-1, 1-0-0 NCHC) to the final minutes Friday night, but fell 2-1 at Magness Arena in its National Collegiate Hockey Conference opener.
Freshman goaltender William Lacelle (Gatineau, Quebec, Canada) delivered another strong performance between the pipes, recording 37 saves to keep the Mavericks within striking distance.Â
Captain Marc Lajoie (St. Albert, Alberta, Canada) anchored Omaha's defensive effort with a game-high six blocked shots.
Following a scoreless opening period, No. 3 Denver broke through just 1:32 into the second when Jack Pridham found the back of the net off assists from Ryan Lin and Kieran Cebrian.
Lacelle stood tall throughout the remainder of the middle frame, turning aside the Pioneers' scoring opportunities to keep Omaha within one heading into the final 20 minutes.
The Mavericks found their answer at 11:59 of the third period when Vincent Desjardins (Mirabel, Quebec, Canada) buried his second goal of the season to even the score at 1-1. Assistant captain Maxime Pellerin (Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada) Â and Sean Tschigerl (Whitecourt, Alberta, Canada) collected assists on the equalizer.
No. 3 Denver responded just 1:54 later as Kristian Epperson scored at 13:53 off assists from Clarke Caswell and Sam Harris, reclaiming a 2-1 advantage with 6:07 remaining in regulation.
Omaha continued to battle in the closing minutes, pulling Lacelle for an extra attacker with 2:04 remaining. Despite the late push, the Mavericks were unable to find the equalizer.
Defensively, Omaha finished with 19 blocked shots and shut down all five Denver power-play opportunities. The Mavericks' penalty kill remains perfect through five games this season, successfully killing off all 16 opposing power plays.
Omaha returns to Magness Arena on Saturday, Oct. 31, to close out its conference-opening series against No. 3 Denver. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. CT.
Connect with Omaha Hockey on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, @OmahaHKY.
Â
Freshman goaltender William Lacelle (Gatineau, Quebec, Canada) delivered another strong performance between the pipes, recording 37 saves to keep the Mavericks within striking distance.Â
Captain Marc Lajoie (St. Albert, Alberta, Canada) anchored Omaha's defensive effort with a game-high six blocked shots.
Following a scoreless opening period, No. 3 Denver broke through just 1:32 into the second when Jack Pridham found the back of the net off assists from Ryan Lin and Kieran Cebrian.
Lacelle stood tall throughout the remainder of the middle frame, turning aside the Pioneers' scoring opportunities to keep Omaha within one heading into the final 20 minutes.
The Mavericks found their answer at 11:59 of the third period when Vincent Desjardins (Mirabel, Quebec, Canada) buried his second goal of the season to even the score at 1-1. Assistant captain Maxime Pellerin (Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada) Â and Sean Tschigerl (Whitecourt, Alberta, Canada) collected assists on the equalizer.
No. 3 Denver responded just 1:54 later as Kristian Epperson scored at 13:53 off assists from Clarke Caswell and Sam Harris, reclaiming a 2-1 advantage with 6:07 remaining in regulation.
Omaha continued to battle in the closing minutes, pulling Lacelle for an extra attacker with 2:04 remaining. Despite the late push, the Mavericks were unable to find the equalizer.
Defensively, Omaha finished with 19 blocked shots and shut down all five Denver power-play opportunities. The Mavericks' penalty kill remains perfect through five games this season, successfully killing off all 16 opposing power plays.
Omaha returns to Magness Arena on Saturday, Oct. 31, to close out its conference-opening series against No. 3 Denver. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. CT.
Connect with Omaha Hockey on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, @OmahaHKY.
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Players Mentioned
Team Stats
OMA
DEN
Shots
21
39
PPG
0
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
6
3
Penalty Mins
12
6
Faceoffs Won
35
39
Game Leaders
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
4
A
1
+/-
1
Goals
0
Sh
1
A
1
+/-
-1
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
0
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