The road reds proved powerful once again for Denver.

The No. 8 Pioneers (19-11-3, 15-6-1 NCHC) completed a weekend sweep at Omaha (10-20-0, 6-14-0) that cemented home-ice advantage in the first round of the conference tournament next month and improves the team’s standing in the NCAA Percentage Index (NPI) that determines who makes the NCAA Tournament.

Senior forward Rieger Lorenz scored the game-winning goal on Saturday night as his tally less than 90 seconds into the third period was the difference in the 3-1 victory that capped the team’s second road sweep of the season and their 10th win away from Magness Arena this season. They’re 4-0-1 in their last five road games.

Sophomore Hagen Burrows opened the scoring at Baxter Arena, finding the back of the net for the first time since mid-December. Fellow sophomore and Avalanche draft pick Jake Fisher iced the game with an empty-net goal in the final minute.

The Pios scored four unanswered goals on Friday, turning a 1-0 deficit at the end of the first period into a 4-1 lead by the midway point of the third period. Sophomore James Reeder scored twice for his second multi-goal game of the season, while freshmen Clarke Caswell and Kyle Chyzowski also scored in that stretch before Lorenz sealed the 5-2 win with an empty-net goal.

Freshman goaltender Johnny Hicks continued his stellar play in place of regular starter Quentin Miller as Hicks is now 6-0-1 on the season after stopping 57 of the 60 shots he faced across the two games against the Mavericks.

DU now has a weekend off for the first time since the winter break and remain in second place in the NCHC standings, two points behind rival North Dakota for first place in the race for the Penrose Cup (regular season championship). The Pios will be back in action Feb. 27-28 when they welcome Arizona State to Denver for a pair of games to close the regular season.