This Week
The Omaha hockey team concludes the 2018 portion of its schedule by hosting Alaska Anchorage in a rare split series this weekend. The two teams will faceoff on Saturday, Dec. 29 at 7:07 p.m. and again on Monday, Dec. 31 at 12:07 p.m. Both games will be played at Baxter Arena. This is Omaha's final non-conference series of the season.
The Teams
Omaha is 4-10-2 overall and 2-5-1-0/1 in the NCHC, good for seventh place. The Mavericks are winless in their last four after dropping 2-0 and 7-1 decisions at No. 2/1 St. Cloud State on Dec. 7-8. All time, the Mavericks are 6-2-1 against Alaska Anchorage including a mark of 2-0-0 at home. The Mavericks are 3-4-1 at home this year and 4-5-1 in the last 10 games.
Alaska Anchorage is 2-13-1 overall and 1-10-1-0/0 in the WCHA, putting it in 10th place. The Seawolves are coming off a split of a two-game series at Bemidji State on Dec. 14-15, losing 5-1 before prevailing 2-1 in overtime the next night. UAA is 1-9-0 on the road this season and 1-8-1 in its last 10 games. These two games against the Mavericks will conclude a 10-game road trip for the Seawolves.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks fell to St. Cloud State, 2-0 and 7-1, in their final series before the holiday break. On Friday, SCSU got a goal from Jack Poehling 1:38 into the game and added a power play tally from Jimmy Schuldt in the second period, handing the Mavericks their first shutout of the season.
Evan Weninger made a game-high 36 saves.
The next night, the Mavericks again spotted the Huskies an early lead when Blake Lizotte scored unassisted at 1:19.
Zach Jordan tied the game at 5:03 of the second period, burying a pass from
Tyler Weiss. SCSU responded just 35 seconds later with a goal from Robby Jackson. In all, the Huskies would score six unanswered goals to pull away for the sweep. Weninger stopped 30 in the finale.
The Coaches
Mike Gabinet is in his second season as head coach of the Mavericks, posting a 21-27-4 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).
Matt Curley is in his first season as the head coach at Alaska Anchorage. The 2007 graduate of Clarkson is 2-13-1 in his short career at UAA. He is assisted by Mark Phalon (SUNY-Potsdam, 2007) and Omaha native Matt Bruneteau (Lake Superior State, 2014).
Media
Both games 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 both games is available on NCHC.tv, and audio and stat links are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next
The Mavericks are back in NCHC action on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 11 and 12 at Denver. Friday's game begins at 8:37 p.m. CT and can be seen on CBS Sports Network. Saturday's game starts at 8:07 p.m. Both games will be played at DU's Magness Arena.
