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This Week
The No. 15/16 Omaha Mavericks return to WCHA play this weekend, hosting Colorado College on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 4-5. Friday's game begins at 6:37 p.m. while Saturday's game starts at 7:07 p.m.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 11-8-1 overall and 7-4-1 in the WCHA, putting them in a tie with Minnesota for fifth place, just three points behind league-leading St. Cloud State. The Mavs suffered their first sweep of the season, losing 5-4 and 3-1 at No. 5 Quinnipiac of ECAC Hockey on Dec. 29 and 30. Omaha and Colorado College are tied 3-3-1 in the all-time series. Last year, the Tigers made their first-ever apprance in Omaha with UNO winning the first night, 7-5, and the Tigers responding with a 5-2 win the next night. The Mavericks are 6-3-1 at home this season.
Colorado College comes to Omaha having not played since Dec. 14 and 15 when it was swept at St. Cloud State. The Tigers are 8-10-2 overall and 5-6-1 in the WCHA, putting them in a tie with Bemidji State for eighth place. CC is 3-5-0 away from Colorado Springs World Arena this season.
Last Time Out
UNO closed 2012 with a pair of losses at No. 5 Quinipiac last weekend. In Saturday's opener, QU's Jordan Samuels-Thomas scored his second goal of the game early in the third period, and the Bobcats held on for a 5-4 win. Matt White,
Brian O'Rourke and
Ryan Walters each had goals for the Mavericks while
Johnnie Searfoss had a goal and an assist. Anthony Stolarz made 25 saves in the loss.
The next afternoon,
Ryan Walters opened the scoring with a powerplay goal at 5:25 of the first, but the Bobcats scored three unanswered goals in a 3-1 win. Clay Harvey and Connor Jones scored goals in the first, and Ben Arnt added another in the second.
John Faulkner stopped a season-high 34 shots as the Mavericks were outshot 37-29, the most shots they've given up this 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 328-173-46 (.642) and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 66-58-15 (.529).
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.
Scott Owens is in his 14th season as the head coach of Colorado College. The 1979 graduate of CC is 307-195 and 45 all-time at his alma mater. He is assisted by Joe Bonnett and Eric Rud..
Media
Friday's game will be televised live nationwide on the NBC Sports Network. Foster Hewitt Memorial Award winner Mike “Doc” Emrick will have the play-by-play while Pierre McGuire will provide analysis. Both games of this weekend's series can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. 1620 The Zone personality Gary Sharp will have the play-by-play on Friday while
Dave Ahlers will have the call on Saturday. Terry Leahy will have analysis for both games. 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 are back on the road next weekend against the WCHA's other Colorado-based team. They'll visit Denver on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 11 and 12. Friday's game begins at 9:07 p.m. CT and will be seen nationally on NBC Sports Network. Saturday's game is an 8:07 p.m. CT start.
