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No. 9/10 Mavericks Head West To Take On Denver
Sophomore Kirby Proctor battles with Denver's Jakko Heikkinen during action at Baxter Arena on Jan. 24. The two teams split the series, giving the Mavericks their first win over the Pioneers in six years.
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No. 9/10 Mavericks Head West To Take On Denver

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This Week
The No. 9/10 Omaha hockey team finishes its four-game season series with Denver with two games in the Mile High City this weekend.  The two teams will play Friday and Saturday, Feb. 5-6.  Friday's game starts at 8:07 p.m. CT, and Saturday's game begins at 7:07 p.m. from Magness Arena.  

The Mavericks will be shorthanded for the series as three regulars in the lineup will sit out both games due to COVID-19 protocols.

The Teams
Omaha is 10-5-1 overall and 10-5-1-2-0 (1) in the NCHC, putting it in fourth place.  The Mavericks are coming off a split of a pair of games with No. 3 North Dakota last weekend.  After dropping Friday's opener, 6-2, the Mavericks came back for a 5-4 win on Saturday.  All time, Omaha is 10-31-5 against Denver including a record of 2-18-2 at DU.  UNO is 2-0-0 on the road this season and 7-2-1 in its last 10 games.

Denver is 6-9-1 overall and 6-9-1-0-1 (1) in the conference, good for fifth place.  The Pioneers are coming off a bye week.  They haven't played since splitting a two-game series with the Mavericks at Baxter Arena on Jan. 23-24.  DU is 2-1-0 at home this year and 4-5-1 in its last 10 games.

The Coaches
Mike Gabinet is in his fourth season as head coach of the Mavericks, posting a 50-63-11 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).

David Carle is in his third season leading Denver.  The 2012 graduate of DU is 51-30-12 in his time behind the Pioneers' bench.  He is assisted by Tavis MacMillan (Alaska, 1994) and Dallas Ferguson (Alaska, 1996).

Media
Saturday's game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.  Steve Cangialosi will call the game, and Dave Starman will have analysis.  Shireen Saski reports.

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 on Friday only.  Live audio and stat links are available at OMavs.com.

Up Next
The Mavericks return home to close out their six-game season series with Colorado College on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12-13.  Friday's game begins at 7:07 p.m., and Saturday's game starts at 6:07 p.m. from Baxter Arena.

Briefly
  • Junior Chayse Primeau led the Mavericks in scoring against North Dakota with two goals and two assists for four points.  Junior Tyler Weiss finished the weekend with three assists.
  • Saturday's win over UND was the 50th career win for head coach Mike Gabinet.
  • With their win over North Dakota on Jan. 30, the Mavericks improved to 3-0 in the second game of a two-game series this season.
  • Three Mavericks bring three-game point streaks into this weekend's series at Denver.  Juniors Taylor Ward (3-2-5) and Chayse Primeau (2-3-5); and senior Kevin Conley (2-2-4) all are streaking.
  • Sophomore Brandon Scanlin is tied for third in NCHC defenseman scoring with 12 points (1-11-12).
  • Sophomore goaltender Isaiah Saville has registered single-game career highs in saves in back-to-back weekends.  He had 42 in a 5-2 win over Denver on Jan. 24.  He stopped 43 against North Dakota on Jan. 30.
  • Conley leads the Mavericks with three game-winning goals, a career high.  He is tied for the NCHC lead and is in a multi-player tie for fourth in the NCAA.  He has earned the deciding goal in each of the last two wins.
  • 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.
  • The Mavericks' power play had its best night of the season on Saturday against UND.  The Fighting Hawks came in with the NCHC's second-best penalty killing unit, but the Mavericks had it going, hitting on three of their five power plays.
  • The Mavericks have allowed two goals or fewer in 10 of 16 games this season, posting a record of 8-1-1 in those games.  Saturday's win over UND was their second when allowing more than two goals (2-4-0).
  • Nine of the Mavericks' 10 wins have come when scoring the first goal of the game (9-1-0).
  • Heading into the weekend, Weiss leads the Mavericks and is fourth among all NCHC players with a +9 rating.  Martin Sundberg is part of a three-way tie for fifth at +8, and Jason Smallidge is part of a 12-way tie for eighth at +7.
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