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This Week
The No. 13/15 Omaha Mavericks play their final home games of the regular season when they welcome No. 16 Wisconsin on Friday and Saturday, March 1-2. Saturday's game will feature Senior Night recognition of UNO's three seniors,
Bryce Aneloski,
John Faulkner and
Brent Gwidt.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 18-12-2 overall and 14-8-2 in the WCHA, putting them in a tie with North Dakota for third place, one point behind second-place Minnesota. The Mavs dropped an exhibition game to the U.S. National Under-18 Team, 3-2, last Saturday night. The Mavericks are 3-6-0 all-time against Wisconsin including a record of 2-2-0 vs. the Badgers at home. UNO is 9-6-1 at home this season and 5-4-1 in its last 10 games.
Wisconsin is 14-11-7 overall and 10-7-7 in the WCHA, putting it in a tie with Denver for sixth place. The Badgers are coming off a 5-0 win and a 3-2 overtime loss to Penn State on Sunday and Monday. UW is 6-2-4 on the road this year and 5-3-2 in its last 10 games.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks fell to the U.S. National Under-18 Team, 3-2, on Saturday, Feb. 23 in their only game last week. UNO opened the scoring at 11:43 when
Zahn Raubenheimer steered home a centering pass from
Ryan Walters. Team USA tied the game when Dawson Cook potted the rebound of a shot by J.T. Compher for a shorthanded goal at 14:07. The Mavs retook the lead with 1:10 to go in the first when
Dominic Zombo backhanded the puck past goalie Thatcher Demko. After a scoreless second period, Team USA tied the game at 8:16 when Keaton Thompson fired a slapshot just under the crossbar. Just 1:29 later, Evan Allen scored the game-winner, cleaning up the rebound of a shot by Tyler Kelleher.
Ryan Massa played two periods in his first action of the season, allowing one goal on 29 shots.
John Faulkner played the third and surrendered two goals on 16 shots. Walters and Nick Seeler finished with two assists each.
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 335-177-47 (.641) and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 73-62-16 (.536).
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.
Mike Eaves is in his 11th season guiding Wisconsin. The 1977 graduate of UW is 223-167-51 all-time behind the Badger bench. He is assisted by Gary Shuchuk and Matt Walsh.
Media
Friday's game will be seen nationwide on the NBC Sports Network. Dan Parkhurst will have the play-by-play, and Ken Hodge will provide color commentary. Both games also can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2.
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 finish the regular season on the road when they visit Minnesota Duluth for games on Friday and Saturday, March 8-9. Both games will face off at 7:07 p.m. from AMSOIL Arena. They will be the third and fourth meetings of the year between the two schools.
