This Week
The No. 15 Omaha hockey team travels to Colorado to face No. 5 Denver on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 19-20. Both games begin at 8:05 p.m. CT from Magness Arena in Denver. These will be the only regular-season meetings of the two teams.
The Teams
Omaha is 12-9-1 this season and 5-7-0-0/0 in the NCHC, tying it with Minnesota Duluth for fifth place. The Mavericks picked up their first conference sweep last weekend, beating Miami at home. The Mavericks are 4-6-0 on the road this season including a mark of 2-4-0 in conference games. All time, UNO is 9-25-2 against Denver including a record of 2-14-2 at DU. The Mavericks were 0-4-0 against the Pioneers last season and have lost 10 straight head-to-head. They are 6-4-0 in their last 10 games.
Denver, the defending national champion, is 12-6-4 overall and 6-4-2-1/0 in conference play, good for a tie with Western Michigan for third place. The Pioneers last played on Jan. 5-6, splitting a pair of games at Miami. DU is 6-3-2 at home this season including a mark of 3-1-1 in conference games. The Pioneers are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games.
Last Time Out
Omaha swept a pair of games from visiting Miami, winning 11-7 and 4-3. On Friday, the Mavericks had four goals in the first and third periods on their way to setting a school record for goals in a game. Ten different players scored goals for the Mavericks, led by two from
Jake Randolph.
David Pope led all scorers with a goal and four assists for five points.
Grant Gallo,
Tristan Keck,
Joel Messner,
Zach Jordan,
Tyler Vesel,
Teemu Pulkkinen,
Luke Nogard and goaltender
Evan Weninger all picked up goals. Weninger also made 19 saves in the win.
On Saturday, the Mavericks rode a four-goal outburst in the second period to a 4-3 win. Jordan, Randolph, Gallo and Vesel all picked up goals in the middle frame, but the RedHawks rallied for three in the third. In spite of the goals against, Weninger was sharp in the final period, making 13 saves including several tough stops late. He finished with 28 saves.
The Coaches
Mike Gabinet is in his first season as head coach of the Mavericks, posting a 12-9-1 record. The 2004 graduate of Omaha served as an associate head coach under
Dean Blais last season and was elevated to the head coach 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).
Jim Montgomery is in his fifth season as head coach at Denver. The 1993 graduate of Maine is 114-53-4 all-time in the Mile High City. He is assisted by David Carle and Tavis MacMillan.
Media
Both games can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2.
Dave Ahlers will have the play-by-play, and Terry Leahy provides analysis both nights. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show. Friday's game is available on Altitude2, and Saturday's game can be seen on Altitude.
Live video of the games can be found on NCHC.tv with audio and stat links at OMavs.com.
Up Next
The Mavericks return home to host Western Michigan on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 26-27. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m. from Baxter Arena.
