This Week
The No. 12 Omaha hockey team finishes the regular season this weekend, playing its fourth consecutive game against No. 1 North Dakota on Friday, March 5. Game time is 7:37 p.m. from Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
The Teams
Omaha is 13-9-1 overall and 13-9-1-3-0 (1) in the NCHC. The Mavericks are locked into fourth place in the NCHC standings and will face Denver in the first round of the conference playoffs next week. UNO is in the middle of its longest losing streak of the season, having dropped the last three games to UND including a 4-2 setback at Baxter Arena on Feb. 26. All time, Omaha is 14-28-1 against North Dakota including a 7-14-1 mark at Engelstad Arena. The Mavericks are 3-3-0 on the road this year and 5-5-0 in their last 10 games.
North Dakota is 18-4-1 overall and 18-4-1-2-0 (0) in the conference. The Fighting Hawks clinched the Penrose Cup as NCHC regular season champions two weeks ago and will face Miami in the first round of the NCHC Playoffs. UND has won five straight, is 6-0-0 at home this year and 9-1-0 in its last 10 games.
The Coaches
Mike Gabinet is in his fourth season as head coach of the Mavericks, posting a 53-67-11 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 134-61-24 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.
Dave Ahlers 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 will face Denver in the first round of the NCHC Playoffs on Saturday, March 13. The single elimination contest will be held at UND's Ralph Engelstad Arena which will be hosting the entirety of the playoffs including the 2021 Frozen Faceoff. Game time for the UNO/DU contest will be either 2:30 or 7:30 p.m.
Briefly
- Freshman Brock Bremer and sophomore Jack Randl had the Mavericks' goals last Friday against UND. For Randl, the goal snapped a 13-game goal-scoring drought
- Sophomore Joey Abate is second in the nation and first in the NCHC with 59 penalty minutes this season.
- Ten of the Mavericks' 13 wins have come when scoring the first goal of the game. They have lost just once when scoring first this season.
- The Mavericks are 7-1-0 in one-goal games this season.
- Omaha has won an NCHC-best three overtime games this season.
- The Mavericks gave up three power play goals to the Fighting Hawks in last Friday's loss. It marked the second time in the last three games they have allowed three power play goals in a game.
- The Mavericks have allowed 13 power play goals this season. Eight have come against North Dakota including seven in the last three games.
- Omaha has given up an NCHC-high five shorthanded goals this season. Two have been scored into an empty net including one in the 4-2 loss to UND on Feb. 26.
