This Week
The Omaha hockey team wraps up a string of six straight road games this week when it visits No. 14/15 Western Michigan on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 17-18. Both games begin at 6:05 p.m. CT from Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich.
The Teams
Omaha is 4-3-1 this season and 1-1-0-0/0 in the NCHC following a split at Colorado College last weekend. UNO is 3-3-0 on the road this season with two of the three series coming against top-15 teams. All time, UNO is 22-15-6 against Western Michigan including a record of 10-9-4 in Kalamazoo. Last season, the Mavericks were 2-3-0 head-to-head with the Broncos including a 1-2-0 record at Lawson Arena.
Western Michigan is 6-4-1 overall and 3-1-0-0/0 in the NCHC, good for a tie with Colorado College for first place. The Broncos are coming off a split at Minnesota Duluth last weekend, losing 3-0 in the opener before bouncing back for a 5-0 win in the finale. Western Michigan is 5-1-1 at home this season.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks opened NCHC play with a 5-3 win at Colorado College before dropping a 4-0 decision in the rematch last weekend. On Friday,
David Pope had two power play goals and an assist to lead the Mavericks to a 5-3 win.
Tyler Vesel had a goal and an assist and
Jake Randolph and
Mason Morelli had two assists each. The Mavericks erased a 2-0 deficit during a four-goal second period that featured three power play goals. They would finish the night 4-for-6 on the man advantage.
Tristan Keck and
Steven Spinner also scored, and
Evan Weninger made 26 saves.
On Saturday, CC's Alex Leclerc made 41 saves to backstop a 4-0 shutout of the Mavericks. Trailing 3-0 in the third, the Mavericks had a five-minute power play but could not convert. Weninger took the loss with 15 saves and three goals against.
Kris Oldham made three saves on four shots in the third.
The Coaches
Mike Gabinet is in his first season as head coach of the Mavericks, posting a 4-3-1 record. The 2004 graduate of Omaha served as an associate head coach under
Dean Blais last season and was elevated to the head coaches' position following Blais' departure after eight years at the helm.
Gabinet returned to his alma mater after four seasons at NAIT in Edmonton, Alberta, the last as its head coach. That season, he led the Ooks to a 36-0-0 record and the ACAC Championship. He was named the conference Coach of the Year and became the first rookie head coach in Canadian college hockey to guide his team to an undefeated record.
Gabinet, a standout defenseman for the Mavericks from 2000-04, is assisted by
Dave Noel-Bernier (Omaha, 2001) and
Peter Mannino (Denver, 2008).
Andy Murray is in his seventh season as head coach at Western Michigan. The 1970 graduate of Brandon is 109-101-33 in his time in Kalamazoo. He is assisted by Dave Shyiak and Todd Krygier.
Media
Both games can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2.
Dave Ahlers will handle the play by play, and Terry Leahy provides analysis. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show. Live video can be found on NCHC.tv while audio and stat links can be found at OMavs.com.
Up Next
The Mavericks will play their next eight games at home beginning with a non-conference series against Northern Michigan of the WCHA on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 24-25. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m.
