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This Week
The No. 14 UNO Mavericks continue a four-game road trip this weekend when they visit the No. 17 St. Cloud State Huskies. The two teams will square off on Friday, Dec. 7 at 7:37 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 8 at 7:07 p.m. from the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 9-4-1 overall and 5-2-1 in the WCHA, putting them in fourth place, just a point behind St. Cloud State and Minnesota who are tied for second. The Mavs are coming off a 3-2 win and a 3-2 loss at then No. 3 Minnesota last weekend. Saturday's loss ended a seven-game winning streak. All four of UNO's losses have been by one goal. Omaha trails the all-time series with St. Cloud State, 4-6-2, and has posted a mark of 1-6-1 at the National Hockey Center. UNO is 3-1-0 on the road this season.
The Huskies are 8-6-0 this season and 6-4-0 in WCHA play. They returned from the “Last Frontier” with a split against Alaska Anchorage. SCSU came from behind to win 4-3 in overtime on Friday before dropping a 3-1 decision on Saturday. The Huskies are 5-1-0 at home this season.
Last Time Out
Omaha ran its winning streak to seven games, one short of tying the school record, when it beat Minnesota, 3-2, in the opener of last week's series.
Dominic Zombo opened the scoring at 4:17, but the Gophers got a goal from Zach Budish just 1:03 later and another from Christian Isackson at 15:12 to lead 2-1 after one.
Jaycob Megna tied the game with a powerplay marker at 11:51 of the second, and
Josh Archibald delivered the game-winner early in the third. The Mavericks held the Gophers to just 11 shots in the last two periods and 21 for the game.
John Faulkner earned the win with 19 saves.
On Saturday, the Gophers got out to a 3-0 lead on a first-period tally by Erik Haula and second-period goals from Nick Bjugstad and Tom Serratore.
Andrej Sustr replied for UNO later in the second, and
Johnnie Searfoss scored late in the third period, but the Mavericks could not tie it up. Faulkner made 30 saves in his first loss of the season.
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 326-169-46 (.645) and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 64-54-15 (.538).
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.
Bob Motzko is behind the SCSU bench for the eighth season. The 1987 graduate of St. Cloud State is 145-115-34 in his time at his alma mater. He is assisted by Mike Gibbons and Garrett Raboin.
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 and live stats are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next For the Mavericks
The Mavericks return home to finish their pre-Christmas slate with a two-game series against Minnesota State on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 14 and 15. Friday's game begins at 7:37 p.m., and Saturday's game starts at 7:07 p.m. from the CenturyLink Center.
