Weekly Release
This Week
Following a week off, fourth-ranked University of Nebraska at Omaha hits the road this week to play the Bemidji State University Beavers on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 3 and 4. Friday's game begins at 7:37 p.m., and Saturday's starts at 7:07 p.m. from the Bemidji Regional Events Center in Bemidji, Minn. These will be the first two of four meetings between the newest members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. This is also the last of three straight series between the Mavericks and the other teams in their scheduling pod (North Dakota and St. Cloud State).
The Teams
The Mavericks bring to the table a record of 9-2-1 overall and a mark of 6-1-1 in the WCHA. That puts them in fourth place, just a point behind North Dakota which has played two more games. The Mavericks, along with league-leading Minnesota Duluth, are the only two teams with just one conference loss. Bemidji State enters this weekend's series with a record of 3-8-1 overall and a mark of 2-7-1 in league play, good for 11th place. The Beavers are coming off a split of a non-conference series with Northern Michigan, losing 4-0 the first night but rebounding the next night for a 3-0 win.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks split a home series with North Dakota in their last weekend of action. The Mavs had leads of 2-0, 3-2 and 4-3 but couldn't hold off the Sioux who won 6-5 in the first ever meeting of the two teams on Nov. 19. #Rich Purslow#, #Joey Martin#, Brock Montpetit, #Terry Broadhurst and Alex Hudson all had goals while Eric Olimb# added a pair of helpers. The following night, defense reigned supreme as the two teams nearly played to a 0-0 tie before Hudson knocked home the winner with .3 seconds remaining in regulation for a 1-0 UNO win. #John Faulkner# made 30 saves to earn his third shutout of the season. The Mavs blunted nine of 10 UND power plays but did not score with the man advantage.
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 291-133-39 (.670) and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 29-18-6 (.602) since coming to Omaha. 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.
Tom Serratore is in his ninth year guiding the fortunes of Bemidji State. The 1987 graduate of BSU is 143-128-30 all-time as a head coach, all at his alma mater. Last season, he led the Beavers to a mark of 23-10-4 overall and a record of 14-3-1 and first place in the final season of College Hockey America. He is assisted by Bert Gilling and Ted Beslisle.
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 games this weekend. Coverage begins 37 minutes before game time. Live audio, streaming video through America One and live stats are available at omavs.com.
Up Next For the Mavericks
The Mavericks return home next week for a rare Thursday-Friday series when they will welcome Michigan Tech to Qwest Center Omaha. Both games begin at 7:37 p.m. CT. The two contests will be the first between the two schools since February of 1999 and the first in Omaha since December of 1997. The games also will be the last home games for UNO before the New Year.
