<body><div>It had been nine months since No. 12 Omaha hockey had fallen at Baxter Arena, but that didn’t faze visiting Augustana in the Mavericks’ home opener.The Vikings became the first team to knock off the Mavericks at home since eventual national champion Denver Friday night, hanging on for a 2-1 win. For the first time in ages, goaltender Simon Latkoczy failed to best the opposing netminder – Augustana’s Josh Kotai saved 34 of the 35 shots he faced, including a number of high-danger chances from Omaha.To his credit, Latkoczy stopped an impressive 34 of 36 shots, earning the night’s second star. Much of his success could be attributed to the defense in front of him, which showed a vast improvement from last week’s action and kept high-danger opportunities to a minimum.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3f7Njb_0wDFXlsf00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3f7Njb_0wDFXlsf00" width="1759" height="1178" ><figcaption>Omaha hockey goaltender Simon Latkoczy guards the net after losing his stick in a prior play.</figcaption></figure>“We’re trying to limit those opportunities to make sure he sees a lot of pucks, and [Latkoczy] made a couple of nice saves as well,” head coach Mike Gabinet said.Both teams got off to a slow start offensively, and it was the Mavericks who found nylon first. With time winding down in the second period, Zach Urdahl converted on a golden opportunity from the slot for his third goal of the young season.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3zBnrH_0wDFXlsf00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3zBnrH_0wDFXlsf00" width="1763" height="1176" ><figcaption>Omaha hockey's Zach Urdahl celebrates his goal with the bench.</figcaption></figure>Omaha’s momentum was quickly snuffed out six minutes into the third period, despite being on the power play. The Mavericks let Augustana’s Luke Mobley slip by, and he caught Latkoczy off guard for a shorthanded goal. It was a lowlight for Omaha’s power play unit, who went 0-for-2 on the night.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=04G5DU_0wDFXlsf00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=04G5DU_0wDFXlsf00" width="1763" height="1176" ><figcaption>Omaha hockey head coach Mike Gabinet.</figcaption></figure>“[The power play unit] has to be good for us, especially when we’re in a lot of tight games,” Gabinet said. “If the power play does well, that usually helps us come up with W’s.”The Mavericks have seen plenty of those tight games already this season, with their first three games (including an exhibition match against Wisconsin) going to overtime.With just over two minutes left in regulation, Augustana prevented another overtime period from happening by jamming a loose rebound through Latkoczy for the eventual game-winning goal.“First off, we had multiple players change at the same time, which is tough,” Gabinet said of the last goal. “You have to protect that weak-side counter. And then it looked like the guy just threw it in the back of the net.”Omaha will get a chance to salvage the weekend tomorrow night against the Vikings, with puck drop again set for 7:07 p.m. Gabinet said more success for his team will require a bit more grit.“We have to find ways to get better, and we have to make sure we’re doing the hard things consistently that sometimes aren’t fun to do, but that’s how you get wins at this level,” Gabinet said.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

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Omaha hockey suffers rare loss in home opener, late line change amplifies woes

It had been nine months since No. 12 Omaha hockey had fallen at Baxter Arena, but that didn’t faze visiting Augustana in the Mavericks’ home opener. The Vikings became the first team to knock off the Mavericks at home since eventual national champion Denver Friday night, hanging on for a 2-1 win. For the first time in ages, goaltender Simon Latkoczy failed to best the opposing netminder – Augustana’s Josh Kotai saved 34 of the 35 shots he faced, including a number of high-danger chances from Omaha.