This Week
The No. 10/9 Omaha hockey team plays host to Long Island for the first time this weekend as it continues its 10-game season-opening homestand. The teams meet on Friday and Saturday at 7:07 p.m.
The Teams
Omaha is off to a 5-1 start in its 25th season of Division I hockey, winning five consecutive games after dropping its opener to Lake Superior State in overtime. The Mavericks swept a series with Alaska two weekends ago, posting 3-2 (OT) and 5-1 victories over the Nanooks in the first of two meetings this season.
Long Island, in its second season of D-I hockey, picked up its first two wins of the season last weekend, although they came against lower-level opponents. The Sharks outscored Assumption College (7-0) and Post University (6-1) by a combined 13-1 count after opening the year with three straight D-I road defeats.
The Coaches
Mike Gabinet is in his fifth season as head coach of the Maverick and has posted a 59-70-11 record at his alma mater. The 2004 Omaha graduate 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 the North Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton, Alberta, the last as its head coach. That season, he led the Ooks to a 36-0-0 record and the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference 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).
Brett Riley (Hobart, 2014) is in his second season as the head coach of the LIU Sharks. The third-generation college hockey coach was an assistant at Colgate for a season prior to starting the program at Long Island.
Media
Both games can be heard live on 1180 The Zone. Casey Roehl will have the play-by-play while Terry Leahy provides analysis. Coverage begins with the FNBO Pre-Game Show.
Live video is available on NCHC.tv while audio and stat links are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next
The Mavericks wrap up their 10-game season-opening homestand next weekend when they open National Collegiate Hockey Conference play against Miami at Baxter Arena. Games are set for 7:07 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 5-6.
Series History: Omaha vs. Long Island
The Mavericks and Sharks will meet for the first time this weekend as Long Island University is in only its second year of Division I hockey. Omaha is scheduled to make a return trip to LIU for a series next season.
