This Week
The Omaha hockey team plays its only series of the season against the defending national champions, No. 5 Minnesota Duluth, on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 25-26. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m. from AMSOIL Arena.
The Teams
Omaha is 7-13-2 overall and 3-8-1-0/1 in the NCHC, good for seventh place. The Mavericks are coming off a pair of one-goal games with North Dakota, losing 4-3 in the opener before prevailing by the same score the next night. All time, the Mavericks are 11-17-3 against Minnesota Duluth including a mark of 3-8-3 in Duluth. The Mavericks are 1-8-1 on the road this year and 3-6-1 in the last 10 games.
Minnesota Duluth is 14-6-2 overall and 7-4-1-0/0 in the NCHC, putting it in second place. The Bulldogs picked up two shutout wins at Miami last weekend, winning 4-0 and 3-0. UMD is 6-2-1 at home this season and 5-4-1 in its last 10 games.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks lost and won by the score of 4-3 in its series with North Dakota last weekend at Baxter Arena. On Friday, UND scored the game winner with 1:50 remaining in the third to win. The Mavericks had battled back from a 3-1 deficit, getting goals from
Ryan Galt and
Tyler Weiss to knot the game.
Zach Jordan also scored for Omaha which got 33 saves from
Evan Weninger.
The next night, the Mavericks took the first lead of the night when
Riley Alferd scored at 14:51 of the first. But the Fighting Hawks scored three straight to lead 3-1 just 1:42 into the second period. The Mavericks again battled back, narrowing the gap to 3-2 after two on a goal by
Jason Smallidge. In the third,
Lukas Buchta and
Taylor Ward scored goals 1:20 apart, and the Mavericks held off UND for the split. Weninger made 31 saves in the win.
The Coaches
Mike Gabinet is in his second season as head coach of the Mavericks, posting a 24-30-4 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).
Scott Sandelin is in his 19th season at the helm of Minnesota Duluth. The 1986 graduate of North Dakota is 354-306-87 during his time on the shores of Lake Superior. He is assisted by Jason Herter (North Dakota, 2005) and Adam Krause (Minnesota Duluth, 2015).
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. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show.
Saturday's game will be available on Fox Sports North Plus.
Live video is available on NCHC.tv, and audio and stat links are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next
The Mavericks return home to host Western Michigan on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 1 and 2. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m. from Baxter Arena.
