Friday, March 6
Grand Forks, N.D.
7 p.m. CT
Omaha
12-23-0
3
at
5
North Dakota
26-8-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omaha | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| North Dakota | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
Hockey drops game one of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Quarterfinal
Mar 6, 2026 | Hockey
GRAND FORKS, N.D. — (8) Omaha Hockey took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission before top-seeded North Dakota controlled the second period on its way to a 5-3 victory over the Mavericks in the opening quarterfinal game of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff on Friday night.
Omaha scored twice in a 90-second span to grab the 2-1 lead.
Omaha's first goal came with just under nine minutes left in the first period when Ryan McCleary delivered a pass to an open Samuel Huo in front of the net, and Huo scored his seventh goal of the season.
Omaha (12-23) then went on a power play. Seconds into the man advantage, Maxime Pellerin scored on assists from Luke Woodworth and Jeremy Loranger. It was the ninth goal of the season for Pellerin, Omaha's points leader.
But North Dakota (26-8-1) seized the momentum in the opening minutes of the second period. UND scored three times in the first six minutes to take a 4-2 lead for most of the period. North Dakota, which outshot Omaha 15-4 in the second period, added another goal with 1:37 left in the period.
Omaha cut its deficit to 5-3 with four minutes to go on a goal from Myles Hillman. Pellerin earned an assist on the goal.
The Mavericks continued to put pressure on UND after that as Omaha pulled goalie Simon Latkoczy with two minutes left for an extra attacker. But Omaha couldn't draw any closer.
Latkoczy finished the night with 23 saves as North Dakota outshot the Mavericks 28-20.
Omaha and North Dakota will play the second game of their playoff series at 6 p.m. CT Saturday. If Omaha wins, a third game will be played Sunday.
Connect with Omaha Hockey on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, @OmahaHKY.
Omaha scored twice in a 90-second span to grab the 2-1 lead.
Omaha's first goal came with just under nine minutes left in the first period when Ryan McCleary delivered a pass to an open Samuel Huo in front of the net, and Huo scored his seventh goal of the season.
Omaha (12-23) then went on a power play. Seconds into the man advantage, Maxime Pellerin scored on assists from Luke Woodworth and Jeremy Loranger. It was the ninth goal of the season for Pellerin, Omaha's points leader.
But North Dakota (26-8-1) seized the momentum in the opening minutes of the second period. UND scored three times in the first six minutes to take a 4-2 lead for most of the period. North Dakota, which outshot Omaha 15-4 in the second period, added another goal with 1:37 left in the period.
Omaha cut its deficit to 5-3 with four minutes to go on a goal from Myles Hillman. Pellerin earned an assist on the goal.
The Mavericks continued to put pressure on UND after that as Omaha pulled goalie Simon Latkoczy with two minutes left for an extra attacker. But Omaha couldn't draw any closer.
Latkoczy finished the night with 23 saves as North Dakota outshot the Mavericks 28-20.
Omaha and North Dakota will play the second game of their playoff series at 6 p.m. CT Saturday. If Omaha wins, a third game will be played Sunday.
Connect with Omaha Hockey on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, @OmahaHKY.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Hockey
G
/ Hockey
D
/ Hockey
F
/ Hockey
F
/ HockeyTeam Stats
OMA
UND
Shots
20
28
PPG
1
2
SHG
0
0
Penalties
4
2
Penalty Mins
8
4
Faceoffs Won
17
32
Game Leaders
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
1
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
0
+/-
-2
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
1
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