Six games into the season, Nebraska’s Division II hockey club isn’t just winning– it’s dominating. The Huskers are off to a 5-1-0 start coming off back-to-back series sweeps of Augustana and Milwaukee on the road.
Here are three early-season takeaways from the Huskers’ hot start:
Elite goaltending tandem
Few teams at this level can roll out two goaltenders with full confidence, but Nebraska has been able to do just that. The Huskers have so far split the weekend workloads between sophomore goaltenders Jacob Morgan and Jaden Salado, who have turned in statement performances night after night. Instead of having a clear starter and backup, the two look more like a 1A/1B tandem that is giving the Huskers reliability every night.
The past three weeks, Morgan has typically gotten the nod on Friday nights to open weekends and feel out opponents’ play styles. In his three starts, Morgan has amassed a .910 save percentage while allowing just north of 3.5 goals a game. While facing a strong Iowa team to start the year didn’t play to his advantage, his numbers are sure to trend in the right direction as the chemistry continues to build early on.
Salado has picked up where Morgan leaves off and has been phenomenal. The Omaha native has only surrendered two goals across his three games of work, highlighted by a 4-0 shutout win over the UW-Milwaukee Panthers. His consistency on the back end of weekends has given the Huskers a rare advantage of having two starting-caliber goaltenders that can carry the load of facing up to 40 shots a night.
Depth and leadership throughout lineup
Coming off a 42-point freshman season, sophomore forward Jackson Beach has wasted no time picking up where he left off. The speedy Lincoln native notched three points in the weekend sweep of Augustana, highlighted by an assist on the opening goal from the Huskers’ 4-1 win last Saturday, Sept. 27.
While Beach may be the center of attention offensively, the Huskers have seen contributions from all four lines of offense. Junior Liam Joyce and sophomore Hunter Brickle both shone in the 9-4 win over Augustana back on Sept. 26, where they both turned in 5-point performances.
Behind them, a third line featuring juniors Heath Topil and Dylan McRae plays a very gritty, forechecking first style that has helped force turnovers. While they don’t always show up in the scoresheet as often as others, both were key in Sioux Falls, with their energy leading directly to a goal for the Huskers.
That depth has been backed by a roster built largely around their nine sophomores and seven juniors that form the core. Six freshmen have already stepped into meaningful roles, with several cracking the starting lineup and contributing right away, such as Braeden McCracken, who picked up the second goal in Saturday’s contest against Augustana. The young legs within the Nebraska lineup are bringing even more speed and stronger hockey IQs to be spread across all four lines.
The older upperclassmen have provided the counterbalance. Seniors Zack Brown and Ben McGinnis, along with graduate players Eric Losing and captain Nate Weber, are supplying leadership to a relatively young group. This blend of young impact players and veterans has made Nebraska’s roster layered and versatile. This has led to rotating players from opposite ends of the age spectrum to play with one another. While the line combinations have shifted a lot early on, Nebraska continues to put up results no matter who is out there together.
Complete team identity
Through the first three weekends, the Huskers have done more than just rack up wins; they’ve built a team identity that teams on their schedule have to pay attention to. Nebraska has outscored its opponents 27-13 just six games into the year. While it may seem they’re an offensive juggernaut at first glance, this iteration of Husker hockey might be one of the most complete it’s ever been.
Offensive firepower is the first piece most pay attention to, but those same guys on the top lines of offense are going out and winning possession battles. The team has the mindset that nobody is too skilled to do one singular thing on the ice, like scoring or forechecking. Nebraska’s lineup is full of guys who are hungry to do some damage in the Mid-American Collegiate Hockey Association conference tournament in early February on both sides of the puck.
Forechecking and causing turnovers are allowing the Huskers to roll four lines with ease, almost every game so far. This makes it even harder for opposing teams to wear them down because even if opponents can make it through the forwards, every defensive pair the Huskers have is very aware of who is where on the ice.
Looking ahead
Nebraska’s hot start has set the bar high, but they know it’s just the beginning. They’ll hit the road next weekend for a tough matchup against Arkansas from Oct. 10-11 before returning for their home debut at the John Breslow Hockey Center, where they will take on Augustana.