Three key Mavericks return for a fifth year in the 2023-2024 season

PHOTO COURTESY OF JAELLE JOHNSON

Mitchell Cutcher SPORTS EDITOR

In the current landscape of college athletics with the transfer portal and NIL a team’s roster could be overhauled at any moment. For the Mavericks they had four players graduate, two players moved on in the portal and three key players decided to return for a fifth season.

The trio of skaters that will be playing a fifth season for Omaha are Kirby Proctor, last year’s leading scorer, Jack Randl, and team captain, Nolan Sullivan. Proctor and Sullivan are both key to the Mavericks’ penalty kill, as Proctor finished fourth on the team in blocked shots and Sullivan won 58% of his faceoffs. Randl led the team in points with 34 and goals with 18.

While Omaha will be returning three key players, they also lost a pair of skaters to the transfer portal. Cameron Berg transferred back to his home state of North Dakota to play for UND, the Islanders draft pick had 24 points and 10 goals this past season. The other player that transferred is defenseman Davis Pennington, the blue liner moved on to reigning national champion, Quinnipiac.

The Mavericks were also active in the transfer portal as they added four players from the portal. Omaha picked up a commitment from a pair of Big Ten players in forward Jesse Lansdell, a Notre Dame transfer who had 15 points, and former Ohio State defenseman, Dominic Vidoli. In addition to the two Big Ten players Omaha also added a defenseman from the University of Massachusetts, in Golden Knights draft pick Noah Ellis, and a goalie from Long Island State, Seth Eisle, who posted a .913 save percentage.

In the 2023-2024 season Omaha will be tasked with replacing four players who graduated in Jonny Tychonick, Tyler Weiss, Jake Kucharski, and Jake Pivonka. Tychonick was a threeyear starter for the Mavericks, finished third in points on the team with 26 and contributed eight goals in his final season in Omaha. Weiss is another player that will be difficult for the Mavericks to find a replacement for as he finished second in points with 27 and led the team in assists with 21. Weiss finished his career in the top 10 for career points for the Mavericks with 116 and third in career assists with 88.

Kucharski and Pivonka were only in Omaha for one season, but the pair were crucial in the team’s run to finish third in the NCHC. Kucharski came to the Mavericks from AIC, and made 18 starts in net for Omaha, posting a record of 8-9-1, and a .904 save percentage. Pivonka was tied for fourth on the team in goals with 10 and finished with 18 points overall.