This Week
The Omaha hockey team plays its annual exhibition game against a Canadian university when it hosts Manitoba on Sunday, Oct. 7. The teams face off at 5:07 p.m. at Baxter Arena in the first meeting of the two school since the 2008-09 season.
The Teams
Omaha was 17-17-2 overall and finished the regular season 10-13-1-0/0 in the NCHC, good for fifth place. The Mavericks lost a best-of-three NCHC playoff series at North Dakota, 2-0, to end their season. All time, UNO is 11-2-0 against Manitoba with all 13 games being staged in Nebraska. This will be the first meeting between the two schools at Baxter Arena where the Mavericks were 12-4-2 last season.
Manitoba is 1-1-0 this season, having opened its Canada West schedule with a split at Calgary on Sept. 28-29. However, the Bisons have been busy, also playing four exhibition games in the United Kingdom in August and three more exhibition contests against Regina in September. Manitoba is 3-4-0 in exhibition play. This game is part of a two-game exhibition weekend in the U.S. which also puts UM at North Dakota on Oct. 6.
The Coaches
Mike Gabinet is in his second season as head coach of the Mavericks, posting a 17-17-2 record last season. The 2004 graduate of Omaha served as an associate head coach during the 2016-17 season before being elevated to the head coach position last season.
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
Paul Jerrard (Lake Superior State, 1987).
Mike Sirant is in his 23rd season as head coach at Manitoba. The 1983 graduate of UM is 345-304-47 during his time leading the Bisons. He is assisted by Ryan Bonni, Steve Christie and Devin Himpe.
Media
The game can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2.
Dave Ahlers will have 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 of the game can be found on NCHC.tv with audio and stat links available at OMavs.com.
Up Next
The Mavericks open the NCAA schedule with a two-game series at Union of ECAC Hockey on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 12-13. Each game begins at 6 p.m. CT at the Frank L. Messa Rink in Schenectady, N.Y.
