This Week
The Omaha hockey team plays its first home games in nearly a month as it welcomes No. 4/4 Denver on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 17-18. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m. from Baxter Arena. These will be the only meetings of the season between the two schools.
The Teams
Omaha is 9-10-3 overall and 3-6-1-0/0 in the NCHC, putting it in a tie with Colorado College for sixth place. The Mavericks are coming off a win and a loss at then No. 1 North Dakota on Jan. 10-11. UNO is 9-30-3 all-time against the Pioneers including a record of 7-12-1 at home. Last season, the Mavericks went 0-3-1 against DU including a mark of 0-1-1 at home. This season, the Mavericks are 4-5-1 at home and 3-6-1 in their last 10 games.
Denver is 15-4-3 this season and 5-3-2-0/1 in the NCHC, putting it in third place. The Pioneers picked up a pair of wins at home against St. Cloud State last weekend, triumphing by scores of 6-3 and 5-3. Denver is 5-2-2 on the road this year and 7-2-1 in its last 10 games. The Pioneers come to Omaha having won six straight.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks split a pair of games at North Dakota last weekend in the first two meetings of four this season. On Friday, six different players scored goals, and
Isaiah Saville made 26 saves in a 6-3 win for Omaha.
Taylor Ward and
Joey Abate each had a goal and an assist, and
Tristan Keck had two assists. The Mavericks never trailed in the game, getting two goals in each period and winning their first game of 2020.
The next night, the Fighting Hawks jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one period and cruised to a 4-1 win. Ward had Omaha's only goal, an unassisted tally in the second period, while Saville stopped 23 shots.
The Coaches
Mike Gabinet is in his third season as head coach of the Mavericks, posting a 35-51-8 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).
David Carle is in his second season as the head coach at Denver. The 2012 graduate of DU is 39-16-8 at his alma mater. He is assisted by Tavis MacMillan (Alaska Fairbanks, 1994) and Dallas Ferguson (Alaska Fairbanks, 1996).
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.
Streaming video is available on NCHC.tv. Live audio and stat links for both games are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next
The Mavericks head west to take on Colorado College on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 24-25. Friday's game begins at 8:37 p.m. CT, and Saturday's game starts at 5:07 p.m. CT from Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colo.
