Mavericks Host Minnesota State For Season Opener
Oct 9, 2014 | Hockey
OMAHA, Neb. - The Omaha Mavericks will renew a long-standing rivalry this week when they host No. 11/13 Minnesota State 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. from the CenturyLink Center.
The Teams
The Mavericks were 17-18-2 overall last season and finished 13-9-2-1 in the NCHC, putting them in third place. They finished the season with a 2-1 best-of-three playoff series loss to Denver on March 13-15. Omaha trails the all-time series with Minnesota State, 13-17-5, but the series is tied 7-7-3 all-time in Omaha. The Mavericks were 10-11-0 at home last season.
Minnesota State was 26-14-1 overall and finished 20-7-1 in the WCHA, putting it in second place. MSU went on to win the Broadmoor Trophy but lost to UMass-Lowell, 2-1, in the NCAA Northeast Regional Semifinal. Minnesota State was 8-10-0 on the road last year.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks lost 4-0 to the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in an exhibition game on Monday night. It was UNO's first exhibition loss in 11 years and just its third all-time. NAIT scored a powerplay goal in the first period and then added three goals in a span of 3:22 of the third to put the game away. Ryan Massa made nine saves on 10 shots in the first period and took the loss. Kirk Thompson stopped all eight shots he faced in the second period while freshman Brock Crossthwaite turned aside 14 of 17 in the third.
Minnesota State faired far better in its exhibition game, beating Trinity Western, 12-1, on Oct. 5. The purple Mavericks outshot the Spartans 53-5 while building a 5-1 lead after one period and a 10-1 advantage through two. Bryce Gervais had two goals and two assists, Brett Stern notched two goals and an assist, Michael Huntebrinker had a pair of goals and J-P Lafontaine had a goal and two assists. Seventeen of 24 players including goalie Stephon Williams registered at least a point. Cole Huggins, who started in goal, earned the win with two saves on three shots.
The Coaches
Dean Blais is in his sixth 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 record of 353-201-51 (.626) in his career as a head coach and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 91-86-18 (.513).
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.
Former Maverick associate head coach Mike Hastings is in his third season as head coach at Minnesota State. The 1993 graduate of St. Cloud State is 50-28-4 all-time at MSU and has led the Mavericks to back-to-back NCAA playoff berths. He is assisted by Darren Blue and Todd Knott.
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 make their first road trip of the season next weekend when they open the NCHC schedule at Western Michigan on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 17-18. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m. ET from Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich.
The Teams
The Mavericks were 17-18-2 overall last season and finished 13-9-2-1 in the NCHC, putting them in third place. They finished the season with a 2-1 best-of-three playoff series loss to Denver on March 13-15. Omaha trails the all-time series with Minnesota State, 13-17-5, but the series is tied 7-7-3 all-time in Omaha. The Mavericks were 10-11-0 at home last season.
Minnesota State was 26-14-1 overall and finished 20-7-1 in the WCHA, putting it in second place. MSU went on to win the Broadmoor Trophy but lost to UMass-Lowell, 2-1, in the NCAA Northeast Regional Semifinal. Minnesota State was 8-10-0 on the road last year.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks lost 4-0 to the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in an exhibition game on Monday night. It was UNO's first exhibition loss in 11 years and just its third all-time. NAIT scored a powerplay goal in the first period and then added three goals in a span of 3:22 of the third to put the game away. Ryan Massa made nine saves on 10 shots in the first period and took the loss. Kirk Thompson stopped all eight shots he faced in the second period while freshman Brock Crossthwaite turned aside 14 of 17 in the third.
Minnesota State faired far better in its exhibition game, beating Trinity Western, 12-1, on Oct. 5. The purple Mavericks outshot the Spartans 53-5 while building a 5-1 lead after one period and a 10-1 advantage through two. Bryce Gervais had two goals and two assists, Brett Stern notched two goals and an assist, Michael Huntebrinker had a pair of goals and J-P Lafontaine had a goal and two assists. Seventeen of 24 players including goalie Stephon Williams registered at least a point. Cole Huggins, who started in goal, earned the win with two saves on three shots.
The Coaches
Dean Blais is in his sixth 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 record of 353-201-51 (.626) in his career as a head coach and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 91-86-18 (.513).
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.
Former Maverick associate head coach Mike Hastings is in his third season as head coach at Minnesota State. The 1993 graduate of St. Cloud State is 50-28-4 all-time at MSU and has led the Mavericks to back-to-back NCAA playoff berths. He is assisted by Darren Blue and Todd Knott.
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 make their first road trip of the season next weekend when they open the NCHC schedule at Western Michigan on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 17-18. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m. ET from Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Players Mentioned
Wednesday, August 26
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
