Weekly Release
This Week
The No. 10/11-ranked UNO Mavericks play their first home games in a month this week when they host fellow WCHA newcomer Bemidji State on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 14 and 15. These will be the third and fourth meetings between the two schools. The Beavers swept a pair of games from the Mavericks back on Dec. 3 and 4 in Bemidji, Minn.
The Teams
The Mavericks are coming off their final bye week of the season. They haven't played since losing a pair of games at Quinnipiac on Dec. 30 and 31. Overall, the Mavs have posted a record of 12-7-1 on the year and 9-4-1 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, good for fourth place, just one point behind Minnesota Duluth and Denver which are tied for second. Bemidji State is 8-11-1 overall and 4-9-1 in the WCHA, putting the Beavers in 11th place. BSU is coming off a split of two non-conference games with former College Hockey America neighbor Alabama Huntsville last weekend. The Beavers won the opener 3-1 before bowing in the finale, 4-3.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks were swept for just the second time this season, losing at Quinnipiac 4-3 and 3-2 on Dec. 30 and 31. In the first game of the series, the Mavericks fell behind 3-0 in the game before rallying to tie the game on goals by #Bryce Aneloski#, Matt Ambroz and #Brent Gwidt#. But the Bobcats took advantage of a late power play and got a goal from Scott Zurevenski to retake the lead and win, 4-3. #John Faulkner# had 23 saves in the loss. The following afternoon, Quinnipiac again got out to a lead, this time 2-0, before the Mavs stormed back thanks to markers from Joey Martin and Matt White. But another late penalty doomed the Mavs as Quinnipiac got a goal from Zach Hansen on the ensuing power play to win, 3-2. Faulkner started the game and allowed the first two goals while making 20 saves. Mike Taffe, in his collegiate debut, stopped 12 shots in relief but took the loss when he allowed the game winner. For the weekend, the Mavericks outshot the Bobcats, 102-62.
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 294-138-40 (.665) and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 32-23-7 (.573) 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 season as the head coach at Bemidji State. In that time, the 1987 graduate of BSU has posted a record of 148-131-30 leading the team for which he once played. He is assisted by Bert Gilling and Ted Belisle.
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 and live stats are available at omavs.com.
Up Next For the Mavericks
The Mavericks are back on the road next weekend when they conclude their four-game season series with the North Dakota Fighting Sioux. The two teams will face off at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 21 and 22. Friday's game begins at 7:37 p.m. while Saturday's tilt faces off at 7:07 p.m.
