Mavericks Open Regular Season with Bentley at Home
Oct 9, 2013 | Hockey
This Week
The Omaha Mavericks begin their 17th season of hockey by hosting Bentley of Atlantic Hockey in a non-conference series on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 11-12 at the CenturyLink Center. Friday's game begins at 7:37 p.m., and Saturday's game faces off at 7:07 p.m.
The Teams
The Mavericks posted a record of 19-18-2 during the 2012-13 season, and they finished 14-12-2 in their final season in the WCHA, good for seventh place. The Mavs were eliminated from the WCHA playoffs in the first round, losing a best-of-three series at Minnesota State, 2-1.
Bentley was 12-20-3 overall last season and 10-14-3 in Atlantic Hockey, putting the Falcons in 10th place. They lost a best-of-three first-round playoff series to Canisius, 2-0, to end their season.
This will be the first meeting between the two schools since the Mavericks swept a pair of games at home during the 2006-07 season. They won 5-2 in the opener of Dec. 8 and came back two days later with a 7-2 victory.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks are coming off a 6-1 exhibition win over the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology on Monday, Oct. 7. Johnnie Searfoss had a hat trick, and Ryan Walters, Brock Montpetit and Matt Youso all had two assists. Dominic Zombo, Brian O'Rourke and Justin Parizek also had goals for the Mavs. Zombo tallied late in the first period, and Searfoss and O'Rourke scored less than three-and-a-half minute apart in the second period to make it 3-0. The Mavs blew the game open in early in the third with goals from Searfoss, Parizek and Searfoss again(shorthanded) in a span of 2:58. Richard Sabourin broke up UNO's shutout bid with a tally at 5:36 to complete the scoring.
Ryan Massa started for UNO in goal and made six saves in the first period. Kirk Thompson stopped 12 shots in the second to earn the win while Reed Peters gave up the only goal on six shots in the third.
This will be the first game, regular season or exhibition, for Bentley this year.
The Coaches
Dean Blais is in his fifth year as the head coach of the Mavericks, having led UNO to two 20-win campaigns in that time. The 1973 graduate of Minnesota has posted a career record of 336-183-47 (.635) in 14 years as a head coach and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 74-68-16 (.519).
Blais is a two-time Spencer Penrose Memorial Award winner as the Division I coach of the year and a four-time winner of the WCHA's Coach of the Year Award. 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 coaches Troy Jutting and Alex Todd who both have extensive head coaching experience, Jutting at Minnesota State and Todd at Castleton (Vt.) State .
Ryan Soderquist is in his 12th season as head coach of the Falcons. The 2000 graduate of Bentley is 137-208-45 at his alma mater. He is assisted by Ben Murphy and Matt Curley.
Media
Both games can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. Dave Ahlers will have the play-by-play, Terry Leahy will provide analysis and Lester St. James will report from ice level. Coverage begins with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show 30 minutes before game time. Streaming audio, video and live stats are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next For the Mavericks
The Mavericks make their first road trip of the young season next weekend when they visit Northern Michigan for games on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 18-19. Game time is 7:07 p.m. ET both nights from the Berry Events Center in Marquette, Mich.
The Omaha Mavericks begin their 17th season of hockey by hosting Bentley of Atlantic Hockey in a non-conference series on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 11-12 at the CenturyLink Center. Friday's game begins at 7:37 p.m., and Saturday's game faces off at 7:07 p.m.
The Teams
The Mavericks posted a record of 19-18-2 during the 2012-13 season, and they finished 14-12-2 in their final season in the WCHA, good for seventh place. The Mavs were eliminated from the WCHA playoffs in the first round, losing a best-of-three series at Minnesota State, 2-1.
Bentley was 12-20-3 overall last season and 10-14-3 in Atlantic Hockey, putting the Falcons in 10th place. They lost a best-of-three first-round playoff series to Canisius, 2-0, to end their season.
This will be the first meeting between the two schools since the Mavericks swept a pair of games at home during the 2006-07 season. They won 5-2 in the opener of Dec. 8 and came back two days later with a 7-2 victory.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks are coming off a 6-1 exhibition win over the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology on Monday, Oct. 7. Johnnie Searfoss had a hat trick, and Ryan Walters, Brock Montpetit and Matt Youso all had two assists. Dominic Zombo, Brian O'Rourke and Justin Parizek also had goals for the Mavs. Zombo tallied late in the first period, and Searfoss and O'Rourke scored less than three-and-a-half minute apart in the second period to make it 3-0. The Mavs blew the game open in early in the third with goals from Searfoss, Parizek and Searfoss again(shorthanded) in a span of 2:58. Richard Sabourin broke up UNO's shutout bid with a tally at 5:36 to complete the scoring.
Ryan Massa started for UNO in goal and made six saves in the first period. Kirk Thompson stopped 12 shots in the second to earn the win while Reed Peters gave up the only goal on six shots in the third.
This will be the first game, regular season or exhibition, for Bentley this year.
The Coaches
Dean Blais is in his fifth year as the head coach of the Mavericks, having led UNO to two 20-win campaigns in that time. The 1973 graduate of Minnesota has posted a career record of 336-183-47 (.635) in 14 years as a head coach and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 74-68-16 (.519).
Blais is a two-time Spencer Penrose Memorial Award winner as the Division I coach of the year and a four-time winner of the WCHA's Coach of the Year Award. 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 coaches Troy Jutting and Alex Todd who both have extensive head coaching experience, Jutting at Minnesota State and Todd at Castleton (Vt.) State .
Ryan Soderquist is in his 12th season as head coach of the Falcons. The 2000 graduate of Bentley is 137-208-45 at his alma mater. He is assisted by Ben Murphy and Matt Curley.
Media
Both games can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. Dave Ahlers will have the play-by-play, Terry Leahy will provide analysis and Lester St. James will report from ice level. Coverage begins with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show 30 minutes before game time. Streaming audio, video and live stats are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next For the Mavericks
The Mavericks make their first road trip of the young season next weekend when they visit Northern Michigan for games on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 18-19. Game time is 7:07 p.m. ET both nights from the Berry Events Center in Marquette, Mich.
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