Weekly Release
Live Audio
Live Video
Live Stats
This Week
The No. 14/15 Mavericks step outside of conference play this week to host Alabama-Huntsville on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 23 and 24. Friday's game begins at 7:37 p.m., and Saturday's contest starts at 7:07 p.m. at CenturyLink Center Omaha. It's the third straight year the two schools have met.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 6-3-1 overall and 4-1-1 in the WCHA, putting them in third place. They are coming off a sweep of Minnesota Duluth two weeks ago. The Mavs won 3-2 and 6-3. UNO leads the all-time series with Alabama-Huntsville, 8-2-2 including a mark of 6-1-1 in Omaha.
The Chargers split a pair of games at Lake Superior State last weekend, earning their first win of the year, 2-1 on Friday before losing 4-0 on Saturday. UAH is 1-10-1 on the season. This trip to Omaha marks their sixth consecutive weekend on the road.
Last Time Out
Omaha ran its winning streak to four games with a sweep of visiting Minnesota Duluth on Nov. 10 and 11. On Saturday,
Michael Young scored a powerplay goal at 12:12 of the third period, and the Mavs hung on for a 3-2 win. UNO got out to a quick lead when
Josh Archibald scored just 38 seconds into the game, and
Ryan Walters tallied on the power play at 5:35. But UMD battled back with powerplay goals from Mike Seidel (5-on-3) and Tony Cameranesi to knot the game at 2-2 after one.
John Faulkner made 30 saves to earn the win while Matt McNeely had 22 saves in the Bulldogs' net.
The next afternoon, UMD got out to a 1-0 lead on a goal by Seidel at 3:13 before
Dominic Zombo and Matt White each scored to put UNO ahead. UMD's Joe Basaraba evened the score with a last-minute goal in the first, but the Mavericks got quick strikes from
Andrej Sustr and Zombo again late in the second to lead 4-2 at the break. The Bulldogs cut the lead to one with an early powerplay goal in the third before Walters and
Brent Gwidt scored to help UNO pull away. Faulkner stopped 31 for the win while McNeely had 22 more saves.
The Coaches
Dean Blais is in his fourth year as the head coach of the Mavericks, having led UNO to two 20-win campaigns in that time. The 1973 graduate of Minnesota has posted a career record of 323-168-46 (.644) and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 61-53-15 (.531).
Blais is a two-time Spencer Penrose Memorial Award winner as the Division I coach of the year and a four-time winner of the WCHA's Coach of the Year Award. He spent 10 years as head coach at North Dakota where he led UND to national championships in 1997 and 2000.
He is assisted by first-year assistant coaches
Steve Johnson and Troy Jutting who both have extensive coaching experience in the WCHA, Johnson as an assistant at St. Cloud State and Jutting as the head coach and an assistant at Minnesota State.
Kurt Kleinendorst is in his first season as head coach at Alabama-Huntsville. The long-time professional coach and 1983 graduate of Providence College is 1-10-1 so far at UAH. He is assisted by Bruce Garber and Gavin Morgan.
Media
Both games of this weekend's series can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2, the home of Maverick hockey on the radio.
Dave Ahlers will have the play-by-play, and Terry Leahy will provide analysis. Coverage begins with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show 30 minutes before game time. Streaming audio, video through America One and live stats are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next For the Mavericks
The Mavericks return to WCHA play next weekend with the first of two straight road trips. They'll visit Minnesota for games on Friday, Nov. 30 and Saturday, Dec. 1. Both games start at 7:07 p.m. from Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis.
