This Week
The Omaha hockey team hosts its final home weekend of the regular season this week, welcoming No. 6 Denver on Friday and Saturday, March 1-2. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m. from Baxter Arena. Saturday's game will mark Senior Night festivities with the recognition of the Mavericks' nine graduating seniors prior to the game.
The Teams
Omaha is 9-19-2 overall and 5-14-1-0/1 in the NCHC, putting it in eighth place. The Mavericks lost to No. 1 St. Cloud State last weekend at home, 4-1 and 5-0. All time, the Mavericks are 9-29-2 against Denver including a mark of 7-11-0 in Omaha. The Mavericks are 7-8-1 at home this year, 3-7-0 in the last 10 games and winless in their last 14 games against the Pioneers.
Denver is 18-8-4 overall and 10-8-2-1/1 in the NCHC, putting it in fourth place. The Pioneers are coming off a 1-0 win at Colorado College on Tuesday, a game originally postponed due to snow on Jan. 18. That game came on the heels of a split at home with Miami last weekend. The RedHawks won, 3-1, in the opener before DU bounced back for a 5-2 win on Saturday. The Pioneers are 8-6-0 in road games this season and 4-4-2 in their last 10 games. They are 4-0-0 all-time at Baxter Arena.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks dropped both ends of a home series with No. 1 St. Cloud State last weekend. On Friday, the Huskies built a 4-0 lead by scoring two goals in both the first and second periods. Senior
Mason Morelli got the Mavericks on the scoreboard at 9:01 of the third period, scoring from
Taylor Ward and
Fredrik Olofsson. But the Mavericks could get no closer.
Evan Weninger made 27 saves.
On Saturday, the Huskies again got out to an early lead with two goals in the first 6:42 of the first period. They added one goal in the second and two early in the third to put the game away. SCSU's 5-0 win marked the second time this season it had shutout the Mavericks. Weninger made 19 saves and allowed five goals in 45:39 of work.
Alex Blankenburg made seven saves in 14:21 of relief.
The Coaches
Mike Gabinet is in his second season as head coach of the Mavericks, posting a 26-36-4 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).
David Carle is in his first season as the head coach at Denver. The 2012 graduate of Denver and the youngest Division I head coach is 18-8-4 at his alma mater. He is assisted by Tavis MacMillan (Alaska, 1994) and Dallas Ferguson (Alaska, 1996).
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 is available on NCHC.tv, and audio and stat links are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next
The Mavericks will finish the regular season at North Dakota on Friday and Saturday, March 8-9. Friday's game begins at 7:37 p.m., and Saturday's game starts at 7:07 p.m. from Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D. Both games can be seen live in Omaha on Cox YurView (Channel 1013).
