Weekly Release
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This Week
The No. 14 Omaha Mavericks play their first home games in a month when they host Michigan Tech on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 1 and 2. Friday's game begins at 7:37 p.m., and Saturday's game starts at 7:07 p.m. It is the second half of the teams' four-game season series.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 15-9-2 overall and 11-5-2 in the WCHA, putting them in a tie with Minnesota for second place, one point behind St. Cloud State. The Mavs are coming off 5-3 and 2-1 wins at Bemidji State last weekend. Omaha leads the all-time series with Michigan Tech, 7-2-1 including a mark of 2-2-0 at home. The Mavericks beat the Huskies 2-1 and 5-3 in Houghton, Mich. in early November. The Mavericks are 8-3-1 at home this season, having won three straight, and are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games.
Michigan Tech returns to action after a bye week. The Huskies last played on Jan. 18 and 19, earning a 4-0 win and a 4-4 tie with Bemidji State. MTU is 7-12-4 overall and 4-10-4 in the WCHA, good for a tie with Bemidji State for 10th place. The Huskies are 2-6-2 on the road this year and 3-4-3 in their last 10 games.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks earned their fifth series sweep of the season, and second on the road, with 5-3 and 2-1 wins at Bemidi State last weekend. In the opener, UNO spotted the Beavers an early lead but got goals from
Jaycob Megna and Matt White to lead 2-1 after one.
James Polk scored at 2:21 of the second before Jordan George answered for the Beavers just 40 seconds later. White restored the two-goal lead before the period was over, but BSU replied with a goal early in the third from Sam Rendle to make it 4-3.
Johnnie Searfoss iced the game for UNO with an empty netter with 6.5 seconds remaining.
John Faulkner made 22 saves.
On Saturday, Bemidji State again struck first, getting a goal from Aaron McLeod at 7:48, but UNO tied it less than three minutes later when
Josh Archibald scored off a pass from
Ryan Walters. The Mavs got the game winer at 1:56 of the second when
Dominic Zombo finished off a nice feed from Searfoss. Faulkner again got the win, turning aside 22 more shots.
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 332-174-47 (.643) and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 70-59-16 (.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.
Mel Pearson is in his second season at Michigan Tech. The 1981 grad of MTU is 23-31-8 during his time in Houghton. He is assisted by Damon Whitten and Bill Muckalt.
Media
Friday's game will be televised statewide on NET-1, Nebraska's Public Television.
Dave Ahlers will call the game, and former Maverick David Brisson will have analysis. Both games also can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. On Friday, Gary Sharp will have the play-by-play while Ahlers returns 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 host North Dakota on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 8 and 9. The Mavs make history on Saturday when the two teams square off at TD Ameritrade Park for the first outdoor game in school history. Friday's game starts at 6:37 pm., and Saturday's game faces off at 4:07 p.m.
