Weekly Release
This Week: The 10th-ranked UNO hockey team plays its first road games on the Central Collegiate Hockey Association schedule when it visits the Michigan State Spartans for games on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 5 and 6. Face off is 7:05 p.m. ET each night from Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing, Mich.
Last Week: The Mavericks are coming off a tie and a win against Bowling Green in the opener of their final season in the CCHA. UNO tied BGSU 3-3 on Friday night and lost the shootout, 1-0. On Saturday, the Mavs earned a 3-1 win at Qwest Center Omaha. #Rich Purslow had three goals during the weekend while Eddie DelGrosso# had a goal and two assists. UNO's goalies split the duties with #John Faulkner# (17 saves) in net for Friday's tie and #Jeremie Dupont# (15 saves) earning Saturday's win.
The Records: The Mavericks are 4-0-2 this season and 1-0-1-0 in the CCHA. They are tied with Notre Dame for sixth in the league. The Spartans are off to a 6-2-1 start overall and a 3-1-0-0 mark in the conference. They earned a home-and-home sweep of Western Michigan last week, winning 2-1 at home and 5-3 in Kalamazoo.
The Series: UNO is 11-18-1 all-time against Michigan State and 6-12-0 at Munn Ice Arena. Last year, the Mavericks beat the Spartans 7-1 and 3-1 in Omaha to earn their first series sweep since the 2001-02 season.
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 266-115-35. 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. Rick Comley is in his fifth season at Michigan State and his 35th season overall as a head coach. The 1972 graduate of Lake Superior State is 720-550-91 all-time and 123-75-20 at Michigan State.
Media: Both games this weekend 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 and live video are at omavs.com.
Coming Up: UNO is back home next week to host cluster mate Lake Superior State on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13 and 14. Face off is 7:35 p.m. on Friday night and 7:05 p.m. Saturday night from Qwest Center Omaha.
