Mavericks Welcome NAIT For Exhibition Opener
Oct 3, 2014 | Hockey
OMAHA, Neb. - For the second straight year, the Omaha Mavericks will open the season with an exhibition game against the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. The two teams will square off on Monday, Oct. 6 at 7:07 p.m. at the CenturyLink Center. The Mavericks have opened with an exhibition game against a Canadian university in all but one year of the program.
The Teams
The Mavericks were 17-18-1 last season and 13-9-2-1 in the inaugural season of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, good for third place. The Mavs were chosen to finish last in the NCHC preseason poll but instead hosted a playoff series for the first time since 2010-11. They lost to Denver 2-1 in a best-of-three series to conclude their season.
NAIT has already played two games in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference, going 2-0-0. Last season, the Ooks were 27-4-1-0 to finish first in the ACAC before losing to the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, 2-0, in the finals of the ACAC playoffs. The Ooks are led by fourth-year head coach Serge Lajoie. Former Maverick captain Mike Gabinet (2000-04) is an assistant for NAIT.
Notes
• The Mavericks played NAIT for the first time ever last year, earning a 6-1 win on Oct. 7. Graduated senior Johnnie Searfoss had a hat trick while Dominic Zombo, Brian O'Rourke and Justin Parizek also scored. All three UNO goalies played in the game with Ryan Massa earning the win with six first-period saves.
• Omaha is 16-2-0 all-time in exhibition games against Canadian universities and has won 10 straight exhibition openers.
• Zombo and Jake Guentzel are the Mavericks' leading returning scorers with 34 points apiece last year. Zombo finished with a career-best 17 goals which ranked second on the team to All-American Josh Archibald who finished with a school record 29. Guentzel fell one point shy of tying the school record for points by a freshman, but he did set the school's freshman assist record at 27.
• Massa posted a team-best and career-best 11 wins last year in the UNO goal while posting a team-best 2.74 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage. He also earned UNO's only shutout last season.
• The Mavericks lost 10 players from last season's team including graduated seniors Brock Montpetit, Zahn Raubenheimer, Searfoss, Alex Simonson, Ryan Walters and Michael Young. Archibald and Jaycob Megna, both juniors, signed professional contracts following last season. Sophomore defenseman Nick Seeler left the team in late summer, and freshman goalie Reed Peters also did not return.
• The Mavericks have 12 newcomers on their roster this year including 11 freshmen, the most since the first year of the program. Also, senior Kyle Mountain joined the Mavericks after two seasons at Vermont.
• Omaha did not appear in the preseason top 20 poll put out by the website, USCHO.com, but it did receive votes in the polling. It did not receive votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Top 15 poll.
• The Mavericks were chosen sixth in the NCHC preseason poll, receiving 73 points. North Dakota was chosen first followed by Miami and St. Cloud State. UND also had 12 first-place votes, the most of any team.
• After early-season struggles in 2013-14, the Mavericks finished as the NCHC's third-best power play and fifth-best penalty kill. Thanks to a strong finish, UNO was second on the power play in conference games (21.9 percent) and first on the penalty kill (89 percent).
Media
All games can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. Dave Ahlers will have the play-by-play, Terry Leahy will handle the analysis and Lester St. James will report from rinkside. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show. Streaming video is available through the NCHC Digital Network, NCHC.tv, while live audio and live stats are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next For the Mavericks
The Mavericks begin NCAA play this weekend when they host No. 13 Minnesota State for games on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 10-11. Friday's game begins at 7:37 p.m., and Saturday's game starts at 7:07 p.m.
The Teams
The Mavericks were 17-18-1 last season and 13-9-2-1 in the inaugural season of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, good for third place. The Mavs were chosen to finish last in the NCHC preseason poll but instead hosted a playoff series for the first time since 2010-11. They lost to Denver 2-1 in a best-of-three series to conclude their season.
NAIT has already played two games in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference, going 2-0-0. Last season, the Ooks were 27-4-1-0 to finish first in the ACAC before losing to the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, 2-0, in the finals of the ACAC playoffs. The Ooks are led by fourth-year head coach Serge Lajoie. Former Maverick captain Mike Gabinet (2000-04) is an assistant for NAIT.
Notes
• The Mavericks played NAIT for the first time ever last year, earning a 6-1 win on Oct. 7. Graduated senior Johnnie Searfoss had a hat trick while Dominic Zombo, Brian O'Rourke and Justin Parizek also scored. All three UNO goalies played in the game with Ryan Massa earning the win with six first-period saves.
• Omaha is 16-2-0 all-time in exhibition games against Canadian universities and has won 10 straight exhibition openers.
• Zombo and Jake Guentzel are the Mavericks' leading returning scorers with 34 points apiece last year. Zombo finished with a career-best 17 goals which ranked second on the team to All-American Josh Archibald who finished with a school record 29. Guentzel fell one point shy of tying the school record for points by a freshman, but he did set the school's freshman assist record at 27.
• Massa posted a team-best and career-best 11 wins last year in the UNO goal while posting a team-best 2.74 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage. He also earned UNO's only shutout last season.
• The Mavericks lost 10 players from last season's team including graduated seniors Brock Montpetit, Zahn Raubenheimer, Searfoss, Alex Simonson, Ryan Walters and Michael Young. Archibald and Jaycob Megna, both juniors, signed professional contracts following last season. Sophomore defenseman Nick Seeler left the team in late summer, and freshman goalie Reed Peters also did not return.
• The Mavericks have 12 newcomers on their roster this year including 11 freshmen, the most since the first year of the program. Also, senior Kyle Mountain joined the Mavericks after two seasons at Vermont.
• Omaha did not appear in the preseason top 20 poll put out by the website, USCHO.com, but it did receive votes in the polling. It did not receive votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Top 15 poll.
• The Mavericks were chosen sixth in the NCHC preseason poll, receiving 73 points. North Dakota was chosen first followed by Miami and St. Cloud State. UND also had 12 first-place votes, the most of any team.
• After early-season struggles in 2013-14, the Mavericks finished as the NCHC's third-best power play and fifth-best penalty kill. Thanks to a strong finish, UNO was second on the power play in conference games (21.9 percent) and first on the penalty kill (89 percent).
Media
All games can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. Dave Ahlers will have the play-by-play, Terry Leahy will handle the analysis and Lester St. James will report from rinkside. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show. Streaming video is available through the NCHC Digital Network, NCHC.tv, while live audio and live stats are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next For the Mavericks
The Mavericks begin NCAA play this weekend when they host No. 13 Minnesota State for games on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 10-11. Friday's game begins at 7:37 p.m., and Saturday's game starts at 7:07 p.m.
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