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At first glance Austin Ortega doesn’t appear to belong in big-time college hockey. At 5-foot-8,175 pounds the UNO sophomore forward is smallish for a power conference player and his Mexican-Filipino ancestry makes him a rare brown face in a white-centric game.

But as anyone who’s seen him play can attest, this clutch scoring machine for the 16-7-3 and No. 4-ranked Mavericks is right at home on the ice. He was named National Player of the Month for December and through January his nine game-winning goals led the nation. He’s the top scorer and point producer for a UNO team enjoying its best season ever and coming off a historic two-game split with No. 1 North Dakota.

In UNO’s 3-2 sudden-death overtime win over NDU on Jan. 30 Ortega tallied the game-winner on a power play before 11,000-plus fans at the CenturyLink arena and a CBS Sports Network audience.

The Escondidio, Calif. native is the first in his family to play the sport. He says his parents figured he’d lose interest but his passion only grew through travel club and junior league play on his way to becoming a prized Division I recruit. Still, his dominance so early in his collegiate career is a surprise to everyone, including himself.

“Obviously you want to come into the school and be an impact player
but it’s older guys, it’s college hockey. it’s hard to get here in the first place,” he says. “You don’t know what you can do but I wanted to continue to play the role I played before I came here – scoring goals, being an offensive threat. Last year, I think I had a decent year for a freshman and this year I wanted to keep building on that, and I’d say I’ve already surpassed my expectations.”

UNO Coach Dean Blais confirms Ortega’s development is on a faster track than anticipated. But he no longer questions the player’s capabilities, not with his new star ably filling the void created by 2014 All-American Josh Archibald’s departure for the NHL.

“Austin Ortega stepped right in and took over Josh’s spot and has had almost the same success, so that says something about his ability,” Blais says. “He can make something out of nothing, and that takes a special player. There’s been times he should have been off the ice and he managed to generate enough energy to get to the net to score.

“A sign of his leadership and his want-to is the nine game-winning goals. Some players don’t get nine game-winning goals in a career.”

Ortega attributes his ability to be a difference-maker to “a lot of hard training all summer long.” Back home he works out with pros and amateurs at an athletic performance training center. “You see someone lifting more than you, someone faster than you, someone working harder than you, you want to match that.”

A serious worth ethic instilled during childhood drives him to improve.

“If you’re not working hard you’re not getting better, that’s how I view it. That’s always what my parents have taught me. That’s just the mindset I have – to always work hard. You can’t get worse if you’re always working hard. I’ve heard that all my life.”

Blais says there’s more to Ortega than what first meets the eye.

“In practice you might not even notice him. He goes up and down (the rink) and he looks like just another player. Then you drop a puck in any kind of a game and he wants to be the guy that scores the goal and that has the puck and makes plays. He can affect the game.”

The coach sees major strides since he first arrived.

“He started off as maybe trying to look for offense instead of working for it because you’ve got to work to get your offense and he’s done that. He’s learned how to get open, he’s learned how to communicate better offensively, and that’s all verbal. He knows when he wants the puck and he yells for it. There’s sometimes 10-12,000 people in the building and you can hear him communicating. That’s not instinctive, that’s learning how to do it.”

Ortega aspires to the NHL and Blais doesn’t doubt he can make it.

“If Martin St. Louis can play for the (New York) Rangers, then I think Austin Ortega can play at the next level. If he keeps going in that direction, if he keeps improving and doing the things we taught him, he’s got a chance. Martin is about the same size as Austin. Austin’s just as quick and he’s got a great shot. Martin’s a little better at stick handling right now but Austin’s a few years out yet.”

Some may regard Ortega’s size as an issue but not Blais.

“He’s not that big but he’s really strong and solid on his skates. He’ll hit a 6-foot-2 guy and make him know he’s around. He can finish checks. And with the way the game’s being officiated today, it’s a game of speed and entertainment, not of intimidation and fighting like it used to be. So, it fits Austin, and we coach that way. He couldn’t be at a better school at a better time than right now.”

Ortega respects the vast knowledge that Blais, a college coaching legend brought to UNO six years ago to make the program nationally relevant, has for the game. “I feel like if I want to make it to the next level he’s the coach to play for,” he says. “I learn something every day. He’s hard on you when he needs to be.”

Blais, who has UNO in a position it’s never been in before, feels “the foundation is there” for his young, talented team to “be knocking on that championship door,” He feels things are trending for Ortega to lead UNO there and to contend for hockey’s top individual awards.

“He’s got a lot to shoot for but he’s given us a lot already.”

Ortega, who as a kid once juggled hockey, soccer and baseball, says he’s never dwelled on being a person of color in a sport lacking diversity. He’s intrigued to learn UNO has a legacy of athletes of color in history-making spots. Joe Arenas, a Mexican, operated then-Omaha University’s single-wing offense in the 1950s. Marlin Briscoe, an African-American, quarterbacked OU before becoming the NFL’s first black starting signal-caller. Before Ortega, UNO hockey featured an African-American player in Alex Hudson.

“I’d never even thought about that before, but yeah it’s cool to be a part of something like that,” says Ortega, whose Mavericks face Western Michigan in a February 13-14 home series.

If Ortega keeps netting game-winners, come March UNO may finally advance past the NCAA opening round. The ultimate goal is the Frozen Four in April.

For UNO hockey details, visit http://www.omavs.com.