No. 14 Mavericks Host U.S. Under-18 Team
Feb 20, 2013 | General, Hockey
Weekly Release
Live Audio
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This Week
The No. 14 Omaha Mavericks take a week off from WCHA play to host the U.S. National Under-18 team in an exhibition game on Thursday, Feb. 21.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 18-12-2 overall and 14-8-2 in the WCHA, putting them in second place, one point behind St. Cloud State which has two games in hand. The Mavs earned their sixth series sweep of the season last weekend, beating Alaska Anchorage 3-0 and 6-5 in Anchorage. The Mavericks are 9-6-1 at home this season and 5-4-1 in their last 10 games.
The meeting with UNO is the middle game of three games in three nights for the U.S. Team which will play at Chicago of the United States Hockey League on Wednesday and at Lincoln of the USHL on Friday. The Under-18 squad is 15-24-4-0 to begin the week including a record of 5-6-4 against Division I college teams.The U.S. has gone 7-3-0 in its last 10 games.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks swept Alaska Anchorage in a WCHA series for the second year in a row last weekend. On Friday, Dayn Belfour made 10 saves as the Mavs blanked the Seawolves, 3-0. Ryan Walters scored midway through the first period to give UNO the only goal it would need. Following a scoreless second, Brent Gwidt scored from his stomach at 9:25 of the third to give the Mavs some breathing room. Matt White added the final marker off a breakaway late in the period.
Offense was on display on Saturday as the two teams combined for 11 goals. UAA took a 2-0 lead on a goal by Blake Tatchell in the first period and a powerplay tally by Blake Leask just 33 seconds into the second period. James Polk countered for UNO to make it 2-1 before Derek Docken replied for the Seawolves on another power play at 5:37. The Mavericks erased the two-goal lead in a minute, getting goals from Gwidt and Walters to make it 3-3. Before the period was over, Leask had scored on yet another power play to put UAA up 4-3. Johnnie Searfoss retied the game when he scored at 1:09 of the third, but Matt Bailey found the twine on the power play at 6:11 to give UAA its third lead of the game. The Mavericks finally cashed in on their own power play when Josh Archibald scored at 16:33 of the third to knot the game at 5-5. Searfoss then came through with 31.2 seconds remaining in overtime to deliver the win. John Faulkner, in relief of Belfour, earned the win with 14 saves.
The Coaches
Dean Blais is in his fourth 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 335-177-47 (.641) and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 73-62-16 (.536).
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 first-year assistant coaches Steve Johnson and Troy Jutting who both have extensive coaching experience in the WCHA, Johnson as an assistant at St. Cloud State and Jutting as the head coach and an assistant at Minnesota State.
Don Granato is in his second season as the head coach of the U.S. National Under-18 Team. The 1991 graduate of Wisconsin is assisted by former Maverick player and assistant coach Nick Fohr ('02) and Josh Brown.
Media
The game can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. Dave Ahlers will have the play-by-play, and Terry Leahy will have analysis. 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 will host their final home series of the regular season on March 1-2 when they welcome Wisconsin. Friday's game begins at 6:37 p.m., and Saturday's contest starts at 7:07 p.m.
Live Audio
Live Video
Live Stats
This Week
The No. 14 Omaha Mavericks take a week off from WCHA play to host the U.S. National Under-18 team in an exhibition game on Thursday, Feb. 21.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 18-12-2 overall and 14-8-2 in the WCHA, putting them in second place, one point behind St. Cloud State which has two games in hand. The Mavs earned their sixth series sweep of the season last weekend, beating Alaska Anchorage 3-0 and 6-5 in Anchorage. The Mavericks are 9-6-1 at home this season and 5-4-1 in their last 10 games.
The meeting with UNO is the middle game of three games in three nights for the U.S. Team which will play at Chicago of the United States Hockey League on Wednesday and at Lincoln of the USHL on Friday. The Under-18 squad is 15-24-4-0 to begin the week including a record of 5-6-4 against Division I college teams.The U.S. has gone 7-3-0 in its last 10 games.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks swept Alaska Anchorage in a WCHA series for the second year in a row last weekend. On Friday, Dayn Belfour made 10 saves as the Mavs blanked the Seawolves, 3-0. Ryan Walters scored midway through the first period to give UNO the only goal it would need. Following a scoreless second, Brent Gwidt scored from his stomach at 9:25 of the third to give the Mavs some breathing room. Matt White added the final marker off a breakaway late in the period.
Offense was on display on Saturday as the two teams combined for 11 goals. UAA took a 2-0 lead on a goal by Blake Tatchell in the first period and a powerplay tally by Blake Leask just 33 seconds into the second period. James Polk countered for UNO to make it 2-1 before Derek Docken replied for the Seawolves on another power play at 5:37. The Mavericks erased the two-goal lead in a minute, getting goals from Gwidt and Walters to make it 3-3. Before the period was over, Leask had scored on yet another power play to put UAA up 4-3. Johnnie Searfoss retied the game when he scored at 1:09 of the third, but Matt Bailey found the twine on the power play at 6:11 to give UAA its third lead of the game. The Mavericks finally cashed in on their own power play when Josh Archibald scored at 16:33 of the third to knot the game at 5-5. Searfoss then came through with 31.2 seconds remaining in overtime to deliver the win. John Faulkner, in relief of Belfour, earned the win with 14 saves.
The Coaches
Dean Blais is in his fourth 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 335-177-47 (.641) and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 73-62-16 (.536).
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 first-year assistant coaches Steve Johnson and Troy Jutting who both have extensive coaching experience in the WCHA, Johnson as an assistant at St. Cloud State and Jutting as the head coach and an assistant at Minnesota State.
Don Granato is in his second season as the head coach of the U.S. National Under-18 Team. The 1991 graduate of Wisconsin is assisted by former Maverick player and assistant coach Nick Fohr ('02) and Josh Brown.
Media
The game can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. Dave Ahlers will have the play-by-play, and Terry Leahy will have analysis. 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 will host their final home series of the regular season on March 1-2 when they welcome Wisconsin. Friday's game begins at 6:37 p.m., and Saturday's contest starts at 7:07 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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