Blais and Walters Make Rounds of NCHC Media Day
Sep 19, 2013 | Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Head coach Dean Blais and senior forward Ryan Walters met with reporters from throughout the Midwest as part of the first annual media day for the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.
The event was held at the Target Center, the home of the NCHC's postseason tournament beginning in March of 2014.
Both were asked about the preseason media poll released earlier in the day. The Mavericks are picked to finish last in the eight-team league, but they were separated by just two points from sixth-place Minnesota Duluth and seventh-place Colorado College.
Walters and Blais were circumspect about the ranking.
“[Polls are] people's opinions, and it's difficult for us to swallow since we're in last place,” said Walters. “But with the guys that we have coming in and the depth that we have, we're going to try to prove some people wrong this year.”
“The media obviously thinks we're there for a reason,” said Blais. “We don't have the history of some of the programs. But we've got 14 forwards, and we've got three lines that can score. We're as deep as we've ever been.”
The Mavericks are coming off a season in which they finished 19-18-2 overall and 14-12-2, good for seventh place in the WCHA.
Walters will be expected to lead the Mavericks' offense again following his All-American season last year when he led UNO with 52 points and was a top 10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. Still, he is hardly alone as Josh Archibald (36 points) and Dominic Zombo (35) return to form one of the most potent lines in college hockey.
The Mavericks also boast a strong incoming class led by 2013 USHL Rookie of the Year Jake Guentzel and sharpshooting winger Austin Ortega who helped the Fargo Force to a runner-up finish in the Clark Cup Finals last season.
UNO begins its season on Monday, Oct. 7 when they host the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in an exhibition game. They'll begin regular season play later that week when they host Bentley of Atlantic Hockey on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 11-12.
The event was held at the Target Center, the home of the NCHC's postseason tournament beginning in March of 2014.
Both were asked about the preseason media poll released earlier in the day. The Mavericks are picked to finish last in the eight-team league, but they were separated by just two points from sixth-place Minnesota Duluth and seventh-place Colorado College.
Walters and Blais were circumspect about the ranking.
“[Polls are] people's opinions, and it's difficult for us to swallow since we're in last place,” said Walters. “But with the guys that we have coming in and the depth that we have, we're going to try to prove some people wrong this year.”
“The media obviously thinks we're there for a reason,” said Blais. “We don't have the history of some of the programs. But we've got 14 forwards, and we've got three lines that can score. We're as deep as we've ever been.”
The Mavericks are coming off a season in which they finished 19-18-2 overall and 14-12-2, good for seventh place in the WCHA.
Walters will be expected to lead the Mavericks' offense again following his All-American season last year when he led UNO with 52 points and was a top 10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. Still, he is hardly alone as Josh Archibald (36 points) and Dominic Zombo (35) return to form one of the most potent lines in college hockey.
The Mavericks also boast a strong incoming class led by 2013 USHL Rookie of the Year Jake Guentzel and sharpshooting winger Austin Ortega who helped the Fargo Force to a runner-up finish in the Clark Cup Finals last season.
UNO begins its season on Monday, Oct. 7 when they host the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in an exhibition game. They'll begin regular season play later that week when they host Bentley of Atlantic Hockey on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 11-12.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Hockey
F
/ Hockey
F
/ Hockey
F
/ Hockey
F
/ HockeyWednesday, August 26
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
