Weekly Release
This Week: The UNO Mavericks will serve as hosts of the Mutual of Omaha Icebreaker beginning with a game against the Army Black Knights of Atlantic Hockey on Friday, October 9 at 7:35 p.m. They'll play either the St. Lawrence University Saints of the ECAC or the #10 University of Massachusetts Lowell Riverhawks of Hockey East on Saturday. The Saints and River Hawks begin the tournament on Friday at 4:35 p.m. The Mavs opened their 13th season with a 2-1 exhibition win over the University of Lethbridge on Monday. #
John Kemp# had the game-tying goal, and #
Nick Von Bokern# had the winner as the Mavericks erased a 1-0 deficit in the third period. #
Jeremie Dupont and John Faulkner# split time in net. Faulkner earned the win with five saves.
Last Season: UNO finished the 2008-09 season with a record of 15-17-8. The Mavericks posted the best start in school history at 12-4-3. They were 8-13-7-3 in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, good for eighth place. The Mavs swept their first round CCHA playoff series with Ferris State, 3-0 and 5-2, before losing to Notre Dame in the second round, 5-0 and 1-0.
The Tournament: The Mavericks have posted a record of 1-4-0 all-time against the Black Knights of Army. Their only win came in the last meeting, a 3-2 triumph on Oct. 14, 2005 in Omaha. UNO is 1-0 against UMass-Lowell. They beat the Riverhawks 5-2 at a holiday tournament in Huntsville, Ala. on Dec. 29, 2000. The Mavs have never played St. Lawrence although they are scheduled to play the Saints at the Denver Cup in January.
The Coach: 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 262-115-33. 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.
Media: All three 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. The games can be watched on-line using the link to B2 Networks at omavs.com. In addition, live stats are available at omavs.com.
Coming Up: The Mavericks play their first road games of the new season with a non-conference series against Colgate University of the ECAC on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 16 and 17. Both games against the Red Raiders begin at 6:00 p.m. CT from Starr Rink in Hamilton, N.Y.
