This Week
The Omaha hockey team makes its first road trip of the season, visiting No. 12/13 Ohio State of the Big Ten on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 18-19. Friday's game begins at 6 p.m. CT, and Saturday's game starts at 4 p.m. CT from Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
The Teams
Omaha is 2-0-0 following a season-opening sweep of Alabama Huntsville last weekend at home. Last season, the Mavericks were just 2-15-1 on the road including a mark of 0-3-1 in non-conference road games. UNO is 17-13-5 all-time against Ohio State including a record of 6-10-2 in Columbus, Ohio. The Mavericks have won five straight against the Buckeyes.
Ohio State began the season 1-0-1 last weekend, winning the Icebreaker tournament held in Toledo, Ohio. The Buckeyes tied Western Michigan, 2-2, before winning a shootout to advance to the championship game where they beat RIT, 3-1. OSU was 20-11-5 last year and won the Big Ten regular season with a mark of 13-7-4-3/0 before bowing in the conference semifinals to Penn State and to Denver in the NCAA Regional.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks swept a two-game home series from Alabama Huntsville last weekend in their season opener. On Friday, six different players scored goals and the team tied a school record with five power play goals in a 6-1 win over the Chargers.
Josh Boyer,
Teemu Pulkkinen,
Zach Jordan,
Chayse Primeau,
Tristan Keck and
Jason Smallidge all scored, and
Isaiah Saville won his collegiate debut with 14 saves.
The following night, Jordan had two goals and an assist to lead the Mavericks to a 5-0 win.
Joey Abate,
Ryan Jones and Primeau also scored, and
Austin Roden debuted with an 18-save shutout.
The Coaches
Mike Gabinet is in his third season as head coach of the Mavericks, posting a 28-41-5 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).
Steve Rohlik is in his seventh season as the head coach of Ohio State. The 1990 graduate of Wisconsin and one-time assistant in Omaha is 114-84-29 in his time at OSU. He is assisted by Steve Miller (St. Mary's, 1988) and J.B. Bittner (Ohio State, 2005).
Media
Both games can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. Donny Baarns 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.
Live video is available on BTN+ ($) while audio and stat links are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next
The Mavericks will have a week off after their trip to Ohio State. Their next series will be at Alaska Anchorage of the WCHA on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 31-Nov. 1. Both games will begin at 10:07 p.m. CT.
