Weekly Release

This Week:  The #15 UNO Mavericks play their first road games of the 2009-10 season when they visit the Colgate University Red Raiders of the ECAC on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 16 and 17.  Face-off is 6:00 p.m. CT each night from Starr Rink in Hamilton, N.Y.

Last Week:  UNO began the season by winning the championship of the Mutual of Omaha Icebreaker last weekend at Qwest Center Omaha.  The Mavericks beat Army, 6-4, in the semifinal game, scoring three goals in the third period to overcome a one-goal deficit.  The Mavs were in come-from-behind form again on Saturday as they erased a 2-0 lead by UMass-Lowell by scoring three goals in the second period to win 4-3 in the championship game.  

The Records:  The Mavericks are 2-0-0 to start the season.  The Red Raiders are 1-0-1 so far this season.  They skated to a 4-4 tie with Niagra University in the season opener on Oct. 9 and followed that with a 3-2 win over Rochester Institute of Technology on Oct. 10.

The Series:  These will be the fourth and fifth meetings all-time between the two non-conference rivals.   The Mavericks swept a two-game series at Colgate in October of 2001, winning 5-4 and 5-3.  The two teams skated to a 5-5 tie in Omaha on Oct. 11, 2002.  This is one of two ECAC teams the Mavs will face this year.  They'll play St. Lawrence at the Denver Cup on Jan. 2, 2010.

The Coaches:  The 2009-2010 season marks a new era for Nebraska-Omaha as #Dean Blais# takes over as the head coach.  Mike Kemp, the only coach in the program's history, was promoted to Associate Athletic Director in May of 2009.  Blais brings an impressive resume to Omaha.  He led the University of North Dakota to national titles in 1997 and 2000.  He won five WCHA regular season titles with UND and two playoff championships.  He is a two-time winner of the Spencer Penrose Memorial Award given to Division I hockey's top coach.  The native of International Falls, Minn. has a career record of 264-115-33.  Blais will be assisted by former Omaha Lancer head coach and first-year associate head coach Mike Hastings and third-year assistant coach Nick Fohr.  Don Vaughan is in his 16th season as head coach at Colgate and is the program's all-time winningest coach.  He has an all-time record of 270-253-60 as the head man in Hamilton.  He is a 1984 graduate of St. Lawrence.

Media:  Both games this week will be broadcast live on “The Voice of Omaha's Team”, KVNO 90.7 FM.  Dave Ahlers will call the action, and Terry Leahy will provide the analysis.  Coverage begins 20 minutes before face-off each night.  Live audio is available at kvno.org and live stats at omavs.com.

Coming Up:  The Mavericks have next week off before beginning their final season of play in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association with a home series against Bowling Green State University on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 30 and 31.  Friday's game begins at 7:35 p.m. while Saturday's contest is scheduled for an 8:05 p.m. face-off.