WK HK Release

The 20th-ranked University of Nebraska at Omaha Hockey team will make their annual trek to Fairbanks this weekend, Jan. 16-17, to take on Central Collegiate Hockey Association rival Alaska. Both games are set for a 10:05 p.m. CST face-off and will be broadcast live on 1290 AM KKAR.

It will be the second series between the two CCHA rivals this season with the Mavericks and Nanooks skating  to a pair of ties, 0-0 and 1-1, at the Qwest Center Omaha back in December.

The Series
UNO and UAF tied twice in Omaha earlier this season, 0-0 and 1-1. UNO won the shootout on Friday in six rounds while UAF won the Saturday night shootout in three. The Nanooks lead the all-time series against the Mavericks, holding 19-14-10 advantage. UAF has claimed ten of the twenty meeting in Fairbanks, holding a 10-5-5 edge in the all-time series in Alaska. The Mavericks have not lost in Fairbanks since the 2004-05 season, posting a 5-0-1 mark in those six games.

Last Week
UNO hosted the Northern Michigan University Wildcats at the Qwest Center Omaha last weekend, Jan. 9-10, splitting a two-game set with the Wildcats, 4-3 and 2-3. Senior forward Tomas Klempa and sophomore defenseman Mike Phillippi each recorded three points on the weekend. Klempa scored twice Saturday and had an assist in Friday's 4-3 win while Phillippi picked up a pair of assists Saturday to go along with a lone helper Friday. Alaska dropped a pair of games in South Bend, Ind. over the weekend, getting shutout twice by the Irish, 2-0 and 2-0.

The Rankings
UNO slid two spots in the polls this week after a split with Northern Michigan last weekend. USCHO.com/CBS Sports has the Mavs at No. 20. The Mavericks are ranked fifth in the CCHA in scoring offense and defense, averaging 2.94 goals per game while surrendering just 2.12 per contest. Alaska, on the other hand, ranks near the bottom of the conference in offense, averaging 1.89 goals per game but is second in the CCHA in defense, surrendering only 1.67 per contest.

The Coach
Nebraska-Omaha's Mike Kemp, the only coach in the program's history, is in his 12th season at the helm of the Maverick hockey program. A native of Duluth, Minn. and 1975 graduate of Gustavus Adolphus, Kemp brings a career mark of 192-213-52 into the 2008-09 season. He has amassed a record of 109-118-40 in CCHA play. Dallas Ferguson was named the eighth head coach of the Alaska Nanooks hockey program on May 15, 2008. He spent the previous four years as an assistant on the UA staff.

Coming Up
The Mavericks return home next weekend, Jan. 23-24, to take on the 9th-ranked Miami RedHawks at the Qwest Center Omaha. UNO dropped four games to the RedHawks a year ago, losing by a total of 22-8 in those games.

Other News
The CCHA released their annual Captains Poll this week with UNO's Eddie DelGrosso being voted by other CCHA team captains to be the best power-play pointman in the league. Check out the rest of the results here.