This Week
The No. 17 Omaha hockey team will conclude the NCHC Pod at Baxter Arena with three games beginning with a rematch with No. 3 Minnesota Duluth on Wednesday, Dec. 16 at 3:35 p.m. UNO is the designated away team for this contest.
The Mavericks also will take on Western Michigan on Friday, Dec. 18 and play the final game of the pod on Monday, Dec. 21 against Colorado College.
The Teams
Omaha is 4-3-0 overall and 4-3-0-1-0 0 in the NCHC, putting it in fourth place. The Mavericks are coming off a 2-0 win over St. Cloud State on Sunday to split their pod series. The Mavericks opened the Pod with a 5-3 loss to Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 1. That put their all-time record against the Bulldogs at 11-26-3, including a mark of 3-6-0 at Baxter Arena.
Minnesota Duluth has put up a record of 5-1-1 overall and 5-1-1-0-0 (1) in the NCHC, good for first place. The Bulldogs are coming off their first loss of the season, a 4-1 setback to Colorado College on Sunday. UMD comes into its game with the Mavericks having won 10 straight head-to-head.
The Coaches
Mike Gabinet is in his fourth season as head coach of the Mavericks, posting a 44-61-10 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).
The longest-serving head coach in the NCHC, Scott Sandelin is in his 21st season behind the bench for Minnesota Duluth. The 1986 graduate of North Dakota is 396-322-90 in his career. He is assisted by Derek Plante (Minnesota Duluth, 2020) and Adam Krause (Minnesota Duluth, 2015).
Media
All Omaha 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 with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show.
Streaming video is available on NCHC.tv. Midco Sports Network will produce all 38 games in the pod for digital distribution. Alex Heinert of Midco Sports and Dave Starman of CBS Sports Network will have the call of the game.
Live audio and stat links are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next
The Mavericks will play Western Michigan for the second time in the pod on Friday, Dec. 18 at 3:35 p.m. Omaha is the designated home team for this contest.
