This Week
The Omaha hockey team returns from a bye week to host No. 16/14 Arizona State on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 23-24. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m. from Baxter Arena.
The Teams
Omaha is 2-7-1 overall and 2-2-0-0/0 in the NCHC, good for sixth place. The Mavericks last played on Nov. 9-10, splitting a series at Western Michigan. All time, the Mavericks are 3-2-1 against the Sun Devils including a mark of 3-0-1 at Baxter Arena. Last month, UNO dropped both ends of a weekend series at ASU, 6-3 and 7-2. The Mavericks are 1-3-0 at home this season.
Arizona State is playing the second of three straight series on the road this week. The Sun Devils are off to a 10-4-0 start, the best in program history. ASU is coming off a split at Harvard last weekend. The Sun Devils lost, 4-1, on Friday before earning a 3-2 overtime win over the Crimson on Saturday. ASU is 4-2-0 on the road this season.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks split their initial NCHC road series of the year, losing at Western Michigan, 7-2, before bouncing back for a 4-2 win in the rematch. In the opener, the Broncos got out to a 6-0 lead before the Mavericks got a power play goal from
Fredrik Olofsson.
Kevin Conley scored less than two minutes later, but WMU added one more late to close the scoring.
Evan Weninger took the loss with four goals against in just over 25 minutes of work.
Matej Tomek allowed three in 34:51 of relief.
The following night, the Mavericks spotted the Broncos an early goal but led 3-1 after the first period on tallies from
Dean Stewart,
Tristan Keck and
Steven Spinner. WMU drew to within one on a goal early in the third period, but
Zach Jordan sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 19:41 of the third. Weninger made 27 saves to pick up the win.
The Coaches
Mike Gabinet is in his second season as head coach of the Mavericks, posting a 19-24-3 record all-time at his alma mater. 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 Omaha 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).
Greg Powers is in his fourth season as head coach at Arizona State. The 1999 graduate of ASU is 33-66-10 during his time in Tempe. He is assisted by Alex Hicks (Wisconsin Eau-Claire, 1992) and Mike Field (AIC, 2008).
Media
Both games also 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 both nights. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show.
Live video of both games is available on NCHC.tv, and audio and stat links are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next
The Mavericks get back into NCHC action next weekend, hosting Colorado College on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 30-Dec. 1. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m. from Baxter Arena.
