Mavericks Poised For WCHA Playoffs
Mar 8, 2012 | General, Hockey
Weekly Release
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This Week
The UNO Mavericks kick off the “second season” this weekend when they visit the St. Cloud State Huskies for a best-of-three playoff series. The two teams will play Friday, March 9 at 7:37 p.m. and Saturday, March 10 at 7:07 p.m. at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn. If a third game is necessary, it will be played on Sunday, March 11 at 7:07 p.m.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 14-16-6 overall. They finished 11-11-5 in the WCHA, putting them in seventh place, just a point behind St. Cloud State. UNO is 4-4-2 all-time against the Huskies but trail the series 1-4-1 at the National Hockey Center. The Mavs are 6-6-3 on the road this year and 6-5-3 in WCHA road games. They are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games, having lost four straight.
St. Cloud State earned sixth place in the WCHA on the last day of the regular season and comes into action this week with a record of 15-16-5 overall and 12-12-4 in the WCHA. The Huskies beat Minnesota Duluth 2-1 and tied the Bulldogs 3-3 to end the regular season. SCSU is 8-6-4 at home this year and 5-4-1 in its last 10 games.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks dropped both games against the Denver Pioneers in their final home weekend of the season last week. On Friday, DU got 26 saves from Juho Olkinuora to blank the Mavericks, 3-0, UNO's first home shutout in more than three years. Shawn Ostrow, Jason Zucker and Drew Shore all scored for the Pioneers and Scott Mayfield had two assists. Ryan Massa made 26 saves in the loss for UNO.
On Saturday, Daniel Doremus scored halfway through overtime to give the Pioneers an improbable 3-2 win. Drew Shore opened the scoring early in the second period, but Jayson Megna scored shorthanded later in the period to make it 1-1 after two. Andrej Sustr scored halfway through the third period to give UNO the 2-1 advantage, but Luke Salazar tied the game for DU on a power play in the final minute of regulation, setting the stage for Doremus' heroics. John Faulkner took the loss for UNO with 26 saves while Sam Brittain made 38 stops as UNO outshot the Pioneers 40-29 for the game.
The Coaches
Dean Blais is in his third year as the head coach of the Mavericks, having led UNO to back-to-back 20-win campaigns. The 1973 graduate of Minnesota has posted a career record of 317-163-45 (.647) and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 55-48-12 (.530). In 2010-11, he was named the WCHA Coach of the Year, the fourth time he's earned the honor. He recently completed his second stint as the head coach of the U.S. World Junior Team at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Blais is a two-time Spencer Penrose Memorial Award winner as the Division I coach of the year. He spent 10 years as head coach at North Dakota where he led UND to national championships in 1997 and 2000. He is assisted by third-year associate head coach Mike Hastings and first-year assistant coach Brian Renfrew who joins the UNO staff after eight seasons at Michigan State.
Bob Motzko is in his seventh season leading St. Cloud State. The 1987 graduate of SCSU is 135-108-33 all-time at his alma mater. He is assisted by Mike Gibbons and Steve Johnson.
Media
Both games also can be heard live on 96.1 The Brew. Dave Ahlers will have the play-by-play while Terry Leahy will provide analysis. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time online at UNO's iHeartRadio channel, “Mavericks Radio.” Streaming audio, video and live stats are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next For the Mavericks
If the Mavericks win this weekend at St. Cloud State, they will advance to the Red Barron WCHA Final Five in St. Paul, Minn. on March 15-17. Their opponent will be determined as a result of play this weekend.
Live Audio
Live Video
Live Stats
This Week
The UNO Mavericks kick off the “second season” this weekend when they visit the St. Cloud State Huskies for a best-of-three playoff series. The two teams will play Friday, March 9 at 7:37 p.m. and Saturday, March 10 at 7:07 p.m. at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn. If a third game is necessary, it will be played on Sunday, March 11 at 7:07 p.m.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 14-16-6 overall. They finished 11-11-5 in the WCHA, putting them in seventh place, just a point behind St. Cloud State. UNO is 4-4-2 all-time against the Huskies but trail the series 1-4-1 at the National Hockey Center. The Mavs are 6-6-3 on the road this year and 6-5-3 in WCHA road games. They are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games, having lost four straight.
St. Cloud State earned sixth place in the WCHA on the last day of the regular season and comes into action this week with a record of 15-16-5 overall and 12-12-4 in the WCHA. The Huskies beat Minnesota Duluth 2-1 and tied the Bulldogs 3-3 to end the regular season. SCSU is 8-6-4 at home this year and 5-4-1 in its last 10 games.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks dropped both games against the Denver Pioneers in their final home weekend of the season last week. On Friday, DU got 26 saves from Juho Olkinuora to blank the Mavericks, 3-0, UNO's first home shutout in more than three years. Shawn Ostrow, Jason Zucker and Drew Shore all scored for the Pioneers and Scott Mayfield had two assists. Ryan Massa made 26 saves in the loss for UNO.
On Saturday, Daniel Doremus scored halfway through overtime to give the Pioneers an improbable 3-2 win. Drew Shore opened the scoring early in the second period, but Jayson Megna scored shorthanded later in the period to make it 1-1 after two. Andrej Sustr scored halfway through the third period to give UNO the 2-1 advantage, but Luke Salazar tied the game for DU on a power play in the final minute of regulation, setting the stage for Doremus' heroics. John Faulkner took the loss for UNO with 26 saves while Sam Brittain made 38 stops as UNO outshot the Pioneers 40-29 for the game.
The Coaches
Dean Blais is in his third year as the head coach of the Mavericks, having led UNO to back-to-back 20-win campaigns. The 1973 graduate of Minnesota has posted a career record of 317-163-45 (.647) and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 55-48-12 (.530). In 2010-11, he was named the WCHA Coach of the Year, the fourth time he's earned the honor. He recently completed his second stint as the head coach of the U.S. World Junior Team at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Blais is a two-time Spencer Penrose Memorial Award winner as the Division I coach of the year. He spent 10 years as head coach at North Dakota where he led UND to national championships in 1997 and 2000. He is assisted by third-year associate head coach Mike Hastings and first-year assistant coach Brian Renfrew who joins the UNO staff after eight seasons at Michigan State.
Bob Motzko is in his seventh season leading St. Cloud State. The 1987 graduate of SCSU is 135-108-33 all-time at his alma mater. He is assisted by Mike Gibbons and Steve Johnson.
Media
Both games also can be heard live on 96.1 The Brew. Dave Ahlers will have the play-by-play while Terry Leahy will provide analysis. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time online at UNO's iHeartRadio channel, “Mavericks Radio.” Streaming audio, video and live stats are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next For the Mavericks
If the Mavericks win this weekend at St. Cloud State, they will advance to the Red Barron WCHA Final Five in St. Paul, Minn. on March 15-17. Their opponent will be determined as a result of play this weekend.
Players Mentioned
Tuesday, September 01
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
