This Week
Following a week of non-conference play, the No. 20 Omaha hockey team returns to NCHC action by hosting No. 2 St. Cloud State on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 1-2. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m. from Baxter Arena.
The Teams
Omaha is 6-5-1 this season and 1-3-0-0/0 in the NCHC, good for eighth place. The Mavericks are coming off a home sweep of Northern Michigan last weekend, strengthening their home record to 3-0-1 this season. All time, UNO is 10-16-2 against St. Cloud State including a record of 6-5-1 at home. Last season, the two teams split their only meeting in St. Cloud, Minn.
St. Cloud State is 9-2-0 overall and 4-2-0-0/0 in the NCHC, putting it in second place. The Huskies haven't played since 6-1 and 5-1 wins over Colorado College on Nov. 17-18. St. Cloud State is 1-2-0 on the road this season and also has won the last four games against the Mavericks in Omaha.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks earned their first series sweep of the season last weekend, beating visiting Northern Michigan, 4-3 and 4-1. On Friday, four different players scored goals, and
Evan Weninger made 27 saves in the win.
Tristan Keck scored early for UNO, but NMU got the next two to lead early in the second. The Mavericks used a three-goal burst late in the period to seal the win.
Tyler Vesel,
Zach Jordan and
Luke Nogard all scored, and the Mavericks killed a late penalty in the third to hold on.
On Saturday, Nogard and Jordan again scored as did
David Pope and
Teemu Pulkkinen in the 4-1 victory. Pope and Nogard scored in the first 2:21 of the game, and Pulkkinen and Jordan added their tallies in the second as UNO built a 4-0 lead.
Fredrik Olofsson had two assists. Weninger was sharp in net with 25 saves.
The Coaches
Mike Gabinet is in his first season as head coach of the Mavericks, posting a 6-5-1 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).
Bob Motzko is in his 13th season as the Huskies' head coach. The 1987 graduate of SCSU is 260-185-43 all-time at his alma mater. He is assisted by Mike Gibbons and Garrett Raboin.
Media
Both games can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2.
Dave Ahlers will handle the play by play, Terry Leahy provides analysis and Lester St. James reports. 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. Saturday's game also will be carried on Yurview on Cox Cable (Omaha channel 13/1013) with Donny Baarns as studio host.
Up Next
The Mavericks finish their pre-Christmas schedule on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 8-9 when they host Minnesota Duluth. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m.
