Weekly Release
This Week
The regular season begins for the UNO hockey team with its annual tournament, the Mutual of Omaha Stampede. Last year, the Stampede took a year off as the Mavericks hosted Division I hockey's Ice Breaker tournament. This will officially be the tenth Stampede with the Mavs playing Clarkson on Friday and RIT on Saturday. St. Cloud State will play RIT in Friday's opening game at 4:37 p.m., and the Huskies will square off with Clarkson in Saturday's matinee at 4:07 p.m. UNO has won the Stampede for three straight seasons and in five of the last six.
The Teams
UNO has never played Clarkson out of the ECAC. Last year, the Golden Knights finished with a record of 9-24-4 and 4-15-3 in the ECAC, good for 12th place. The Knights earned a 5-2 exhibition win over Carleton University of Ottawa, Ontario on Oct. 3. Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) out of the Atlantic Hockey Association, was 28-12-1 last year and won the AHA with a record of 22-5-1. The Tigers made it to the 2010 Frozen Four in Detroit, losing to Wisconsin in the semifinals. They earned a 3-1 exhibition win over Wilfrid Laurier University of Waterloo, Ontario on Oct. 2. St. Cloud State was 24-14-5 last year and 15-9-4 in the WCHA, good for third place. The Huskies beat the University of Manitoba, 7-4, in exhibition play last Saturday.
This Season
The Mavericks had their own exhibition game last weekend, beating the University of British Columbia, 6-1. UNO concluded its 13th season of play in 2009-10 with a record of 20-16-6 overall, the fourth 20-win season in school history. They posted a record of 13-12-3-2 in the CCHA, good for sixth place, their best finish since the 2006-07 season. UNO finished strong down the stretch, posting a record of 8-3-1 over the final 12 regular season games. They swept Bowling Green, 2-0, in a first round CCHA playoff series at Qwest Center Omaha before being swept by Ferris State to end the season.
The Coaches
#Dean Blais# is in his second year as the head coach of the Mavericks. The 1973 graduate of Minnesota has posted a career record of 282-131-39 (.667) and guided the Mavericks to a mark of 20-16-6 in his first season. Blais is a two-time Spencer Penrose Memorial Award winner as the Division I coach of the year. He spent 10 years as head coach at North Dakota where he led the Fighting Sioux to national championships in 1997 and 2000. He is assisted by second-year associate head coach Mike Hastings and first-year assistant coach Mike Guentzel.
George Roll is in his eighth season guiding the fortunes of the Golden Knights. He has a career record of 115-123-31 in that time. Roll is a 1986 graduate of Bowling Green University.
Wayne Wilson is the mentor for RIT. Now in his 13th season, the 1984 graduate of Bowling Green is 216-103-25 behind the Tigers' bench.
St. Cloud State is coached by Bob Motzko. The 1987 graduate of St. Cloud has posted a record of 105-74-24 as head coach of the Huskies.
Media
UNO hockey can be heard live on the Voice of UNO Athletics, KVNO, 90.7 FM. Dave Ahlers will call the play-by-play while Terry Leahy provides analysis for both UNO games this weekend. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time. Live audio, streaming video and live stats are available at omavs.com.
Up Next For the Mavericks
UNO plays its first regular season games as members of the WCHA on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 15 and 16 when it visits the University of Minnesota. Game time is 7:07 p.m. each night from Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis.
