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This Week
The No. 19 UNO Mavericks continue their four-game road trip by visiting the 11th-ranked Denver Pioneers on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 18 and 19. Friday's game begins at 8:37 p.m. CT, and Saturday's contest faces off at 8:07 p.m. CT. These are the first two of four meetings between the two schools. The Pioneers will come to Omaha for the final two games of the regular season on March 3 and 4.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 6-5-1 overall and 5-2-1 in the WCHA, putting them in a tie with Minnesota Duluth for second place, three points behind league-leading Minnesota. UNO is 3-8-0 all-time against Denver and will head to the Mile High City looking for its first-ever win there. The Mavericks are 0-6-0 all-time in Denver.
The Pioneers are 4-3-2 overall and 3-2-2 in the WCHA, putting them in sixth place, three points behind the Mavs. Denver is coming off a single game last week, beating in-state rival Colorado College, 5-4, on Saturday at Magness Arena.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks took three of four points on the road last week, earning a 3-3 tie and a 5-1 win at Bemidji State. On Friday, UNO had a 1-0 lead on a goal by
Josh Archibald before the Beavers tallied the next two to take a 2-1 advantage. The Mavs answered with a goal from
Terry Broadhurst at 7:58 and then a marker from
Jayson Megna with just two seconds left in the period. The Beavers tied the game on a shot by Jordan George with less than a minute to go in the third.
Ryan Massa made 22 saves for UNO.
The following night, the Mavs again struck first on
Jaycob Megna's first collegiate goal. The Beavers evened the game early in the second period, but Broadhurst restored the lead with a goal later in the stanza. He then gave UNO a 3-1 advantage with a powerplay goal early in the third period. Archibald (empty net) and
Brent Gwidt added goals as the Mavericks pulled away late.
John Faulkner made 20 saves.
The Coaches
Dean Blais is in his third year as the head coach of the Mavericks, having led UNO to back-to-back 20-win campaigns. The 1973 graduate of Minnesota has posted a career record of 309-152-42 (.656) and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 47-37-9 (.554) since coming to Omaha. In 2010-11, he was named the WCHA Coach of the Year, the fourth time he's earned the honor. He will serve as the head coach of the 2012 U.S. World Junior Team in December.
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 third-year associate head coach Mike Hastings and first-year assistant coach Brian Renfrew who joins the UNO staff after eight seasons at Michigan State.
George Gwodzecky is in his 23rd season as a Division I head coach, his 18th at Denver. He has compiled a record of 485-336-76 including two national championships, both with Denver. He is assisted by Steve Miller and David Lassonde.
Media
Both UNO games this weekend can be heard live on 96.1 The Brew.
Dave Ahlers will call the play-by-play while Terry Leahy will provide analysis. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time online at UNO's IHeart Radio channel, “Mavericks Radio.” Streaming audio, video and live stats are available at OMavs.com. Friday's game will be carried live on Root Sports in Denver which is available on DirecTV channel 683 and Dish Network channel 414.
Up Next For the Mavericks
Next week, the Mavericks will play at home for the last time before the Christmas holiday when they host St. Cloud State on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 26 and 27. Saturday's game begins at 7:07 p.m., and Sunday's game will feature a 2:07 p.m. start from the CenturyLink Center.
