This Week
The No. 13 Omaha hockey team is at Baxter Arena for the first of its final two home series of the regular season, welcoming No. 9/10 North Dakota on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 16-17. Friday's game begins at 6:37 p.m. and features free t-shirts for all in attendance as part of UNO's "White Out" promotion. Saturday's game starts at 7:07 p.m.
The Teams
Omaha is 14-13-1 this season and 7-11-0-0/0 in the NCHC, putting it in seventh place. The Mavericks last played on Feb. 2-3, losing 5-3 and 6-2 at St. Cloud State. The Mavericks are 10-3-1 at home this season including a mark of 5-3-0 in conference games. All time, UNO is 9-16-1 against the Fighting Hawks including a record of 3-9-0 in Omaha and 0-4-0 at Baxter Arena. The Mavericks split with UND in Grand Forks in January, winning 4-1 and losing 7-0. UNO is 5-5-0 in its last 10 games.
North Dakota is 13-9-8 overall and 7-7-4-0/2 in the conference, tying it with Western Michigan for third place. The Fighting Hawks split with Colorado College last weekend at home, losing 4-2 before coming back for a 5-1 victory. UND is 5-5-3 on the road this year including a mark of 2-5-1 in conference games. The Fighting Hawks are 3-4-3 in their last 10 games.
Last Time Out
Omaha dropped both games of a series at St. Cloud State on Feb. 2-3. On Friday,
David Pope registered his first career hat trick, but it wasn't enough as the Mavericks fell, 5-3.
Joel Messner assisted on all three goals, and
Tyler Vesel also had two helpers.
Evan Weninger made 37 saves.
On Saturday, the Mavericks got behind 3-0 before trimming the Huskies' advantage to 3-2 on goals by
Riley Alferd and
Zach Jordan early in the second period. SCSU responded with two goals later in the period and added another goal in the third to pull away.
Lukas Buchta had two assists to lead the team in scoring, and Weninger made 35 saves.
The Coaches
Mike Gabinet is in his first season as head coach of the Mavericks, posting a 14-13-1 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).
Brad Berry is in his third season leading North Dakota. The 2002 graduate of UND is 68-31-15 at his alma mater. He is assisted by Dane Jackson and Matt Shaw.
Media
Friday's game will be aired nationally on CBS Sports Network. Ben Holden will call the action, Dave Starman will have analysis and Shireen Saski reports.
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. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show.
Saturday's game also will be shown on YurView (Cox Channel 13/1013) in Omaha and in select Cox cities. Ahlers, Leahy and St. James provide the in-game coverage with Jon Shriner as studio host.
Live video of Saturday's game can be found on NCHC.tv with audio and stat links for both games at OMavs.com.
Up Next
The Mavericks will conclude their home schedule by hosting Colorado College on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 23-24. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m. from Baxter Arena.
