This Week
The No. 9/10 Omaha hockey team will play its last four games of the regular season against No. 1/2 North Dakota beginning this weekend when it travels to Grand Forks, N.D. for games on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 19-20. Friday's game starts at 7:37 p.m., and Saturday's game begins at 6:07 p.m. from Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The Teams
Omaha is 13-6-1 overall and 13-6-1-3-0 (1) in the NCHC, putting it in fourth place. The Mavericks have won three straight games following a sweep of visiting Colorado College last weekend. All time, Omaha is 14-25-1 against North Dakota including a 7-12-1 mark at Engelstad Arena. The Mavericks are 3-1-0 on the road this year and 7-3-0 in their last 10 games.
North Dakota is 15-4-1 overall and 15-4-1-2-0 (0) in the conference, good for first place. The Fighting Hawks are coming off a sweep of Denver last weekend, winning 3-0 and 5-2. UND is 4-0-0 at home this year and 8-2-0 in its last 10 games.
The Coaches
Mike Gabinet is in his fourth season as head coach of the Mavericks, posting a 53-64-11 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).
Brad Berry is in his sixth season as head coach at North Dakota. The 2002 graduate of UND is 131-61-24 during his tenure in Grand Forks. He is assisted by Dane Jackson (North Dakota, 1992) and Karl Goehring (North Dakota, 2000).
Media
All Omaha games can be heard live on 1180 The Zone. 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. Live audio and stat links are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next
The Mavericks return home to host North Dakota for a single game on Friday, Feb. 26 at 7:07 p.m.
Briefly
- Freshman Brock Bremer led the Mavericks in scoring against Colorado College with three goals and two assists for five points, all of them coming in the 7-1 victory.
- Bremer earned his first career hat trick and became the second Maverick this season to tie the school record by registering a five-point game. Jason Smallidge (1-4-5) did so against Western Michigan on Dec. 3.
- With points in both games, junior Chayse Primeau has points in seven straight games (4-6-10), a team season high.
- Sophomore defenseman Kirby Proctor scored the game winner in Saturday's 3-2 come-from-behind victory. All of Proctor's four career goals are game winners including three this season. That ties him with Kevin Conley for the team lead.
- The Mavericks swept the season series with the Tigers, 6-0-0. Three of the games finished 3-2 with one decided in overtime.
- With Saturday's win, the Mavericks improved to 3-5-1 when allowing the first goal of the game.
- The Mavericks improved to 7-1-0 in one-goal games by virtue of Saturday's win.
- Omaha has won an NCHC-best three overtime games this season.
- With their win over Colorado College on Feb. 13, the Mavericks improved to 5-0-0 in the second game of a two-game series this season.
- The Mavericks sweep of Colorado College on Feb. 12-13 was their first at home since opening the 2019-20 season with a pair of wins against Alabama Huntsville on Oct. 11-12.
- It took a while, but North Dakota's Shane Pinto became the first opponent to score an extra attacker goal on the Mavericks in more than three years. His second goal of the game on Jan. 30 was the first extra-attacker goal allowed by Omaha since Phil Knies of Miami scored on Jan. 13, 2018.
- Ten of the Mavericks' 13 wins have come when scoring the first goal of the game (10-1-0).
