# 2021–22 Omaha Mavericks men's ice hockey season

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.

## Standings

2021–22 National Collegiate Hockey Conference Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall 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: ||||||||||

## 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 |

## 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

| Poll | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | 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.

## Players drafted into the NHL
### 2022 NHL Entry Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NHL team |
| 5 | 159 | Victor Mancini | New York Rangers |
† incoming freshman