Game Notes
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The University of Nebraska at Omaha hockey team is headed to South Bend, Ind. this weekend, Mar. 13-15, to take on the second-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the second-round of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association Playoffs. Face-off for Friday's game is 6:35 p.m. CDT at the Joyce Center. Game two is Saturday at 6:05 p.m. CDT and Sunday, if necessary, also will start at 6:05 p.m.
The Mavericks head to South Bend with a record of 15-15-8 overall. They finished the CCHA regular season at 8-13-7-3, good for eighth place. UNO earned its trip to Indiana with a 2-0 series sweep of Ferris State University in the first round of the CCHA playoffs last weekend. The Mavericks snapped a 14-game winless streak with a 3-0 win in game one on March 6. They finished off the Bulldogs with a 5-2 win the next night at Qwest Center Omaha.
Notre Dame is 27-5-3 on the season and finished first in the CCHA regular season with a mark of 21-4-3-3. The Fighting Irish enjoyed a bye last weekend and did not play. UNO trails the all-time series with the Irish, 9-14-4. They are 4-6-2 all-time in South Bend. The Irish won the season series with the Mavs, winning 4-3 and 1-0 in games played at the Omaha Civic Auditorium on Feb. 20 and 21.
UNO is winless in its last four games in South Bend, going 0-3-1. The Mavericks' last win at the Joyce Center was Feb. 5, 2005 when they stopped Notre Dame, 6-3. The two teams have met once prior in the postseason. Notre Dame earned a 2-1 series win in the first round of the 2002 playoffs.
CCHA All-Conference Second Team defenseman #
Eddie DelGrosso# leads the Mavericks in scoring with six goals and 28 assists for 34 points. His assist total is also a team best. Forward #
Tomas Klempa leads the Mavs with 14 goals while Matt Ambroz# tops all UNO players with 81 penalty minutes. Goaltender #
Jerad Kaufmann# started both games for the Mavs in their first round series with Ferris State. He earned his first shutout of the season in the opener, stopping 24 shots. He made 18 saves the next night in the series clincher.
CCHA All-Conference Second Team forward Erik Condra is the top point producer for the Irish with 12 goals and 22 assists for 34 points. Christian Hanson tops all Notre Dame players with 15 goals while Kevin Deeth has a team-best 25 assists. CCHA All-Conference First Team defenseman Ian Cole leads the Irish with 46 penalty minutes. Goalie Jordan Pearce has made 33 appearances this season, posting a record of 25-5-3, a goals-against average of 1.74 and a save percentage of .928. His goals-against and save percentage rank second in the league.
CCHA All-Conference Release
Every game of the series may be heard live on 1290 KKAR with Greg Harrington and Terry Leahy calling the action. Their coverage begins 25 minutes before the opening face-off. The games also may be heard on-line at omavs.com.
