This Week
The No. 18 Omaha hockey team welcomes No. 14 Minnesota Duluth, the two-time defending NCAA Champion, to Omaha for the first time in two years this week. The NCHC rivals will face off on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 6-7. Both games start at 7:07 p.m. from Baxter Arena. These will be the first two of four meetings between the two teams this season.
The Teams
Omaha is 6-4-2 overall and 1-2-1-0/0 in the NCHC, putting it in seventh place. The Mavericks are coming off a bye week. Their last action was a tie and loss to visiting Miami on Nov. 22-23. UNO is 11-21-3 all-time against Minnesota Duluth including a record of 8-9-0 at home. Last season, the Mavericks were 0-4-0 against the Bulldogs with all four meetings on the road. So far, the Mavericks are 3-2-1 on home ice and 4-4-2 in their last 10 games.
Minnesota Duluth is 7-6-1 overall and 4-1-1-0/0 in the NCHC, putting it in second place. The Bulldogs dropped 4-1 and 3-1 decisions to Minnesota State last weekend at home. UMD is 2-3-0 on the road this year including a 1-1-0 conference record after splitting at Miami on Nov. 15-16. The Bulldogs are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks tied and lost to Miami on Nov. 22-23 in their first NCHC series at home this season. On Friday, the Mavericks trailed 3-1 late but got goals from
Zach Jordan and
Kevin Conley in the final minute of regulation to force overtime. The RedHawks earned the extra standings point during the three-on-three OT. Freshman
Nolan Sullivan also scored for UNO, and
Isaiah Saville made 19 saves.
The following night, Miami used a three-goal second period to pull away from the Mavericks for a 4-1 win. Gordie Green had a pair of goals for the RedHawks while
Taylor Ward had UNO's only tally. Freshman
Austin Roden stopped 20 shots for the Mavericks.
The Coaches
Mike Gabinet is in his third season as head coach of the Mavericks, posting a 32-45-7 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 in 2017-18.
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, the dean of NCHC coaches, is now in his 20th season leading Minnesota Duluth. A three-time national champion, Sandelin is a 1986 graduate of North Dakota and has posted a record of 376-317-88 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. Donny Baarns 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 is available on NCHC.tv while live audio and stat links are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next
The Mavericks are back on the road next weekend, visiting St. Cloud State on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 13-14. Friday's game starts at 7:37 p.m., and Saturday's game starts at 6:07 p.m. from the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn.
