Mavericks Wrap Regular Season at No. 19 UMD
Mar 6, 2014 | Hockey
This Week
The Omaha Mavericks close the regular season on Friday and Saturday, March 7-8 when they visit Minnesota Duluth. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m. from AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minn. This is the second straight season in which the Mavericks have finished the regular season against the Bulldogs.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 15-15-2 overall and 12-8-2-1 in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, putting them in third place. They are coming off their third sweep of the season, beating Colorado College 6-0 and 2-1 in overtime last weekend. The Mavs are 6-6-2 on the road this year. They trail the all-time series with the Bulldogs, 5-10-0 and are 1-5-0 vs. UMD in Duluth. The Mavericks are 6-4-0 in their last 10 games.
Minnesota Duluth is 15-13-4 overall and 10-10-2-2 in the NCHC, putting it in a tie with Western Michigan for fourth place. The Bulldogs are coming off a road sweep over Miami, winning 5-4 and 1-0. UMD is 4-7-3 at home this year and 5-4-1 in its last 10 games.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks closed the home half of the regular season by sweeping Colorado College. On Friday, Austin Ortega scored just 11 seconds into the game and Brock Montpetit tallied shorthanded at 2:15 to put the Mavericks up quickly. Jake Guentzel added another goal at 5:28 to give UNO a 3-0 lead after one. Josh Archibald scored a powerplay goal a little more than six minutes into the second period and got an even strength marker at 4:04 of the third to make it 5-0. James Polk closed the scoring with a powerplay goal at 11:56. Ryan Massa stopped all 20 shots he faced while CC's Josh Thorimbert took the loss with just one save on four shots. Courtney Lockwood made 23 saves in relief.
The next night, Colorado College turned the tables on the Mavericks when Charlie Taft scored just 35 seconds into the game. But the Mavericks would even the game when Jake Guentzel scored a powerplay goal 11:40 of the period. The goalies took over from there as Massa and Thorimbert combined for 43 saves in the last two periods. Michael Young ended the game at 55 seconds of overtime, scoring his first goal of the season. Massa finished with 26 saves while Thorimbert was a tough-luck loser with 35 stops.
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 record of 351-198-51 (.628) in his career as a head coach and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 89-83-18 (.516).
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 .
Scott Sandelin is in his 14th year as head coach at Minnesota Duluth. The 1986 graduate of North Dakota is 246-242-67 all-time at UMD. He is assisted by Derek Plante and Jason Herter.
Media
Both games can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. Dave Ahlers will have the play-by-play, and Terry Leahy will handle the analysis both nights. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show. Streaming audio, video and live stats are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next For the Mavericks
The Mavericks' magic number to clinch home ice for the first round of the NCHC Playoffs is one. If they host, it will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday (if necessary), March 13-15 at the CenturyLink Center. Thursday and Friday's games will begin at 7:37 p.m., with a possible third game on Saturday at 7:07 p.m.
The Omaha Mavericks close the regular season on Friday and Saturday, March 7-8 when they visit Minnesota Duluth. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m. from AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minn. This is the second straight season in which the Mavericks have finished the regular season against the Bulldogs.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 15-15-2 overall and 12-8-2-1 in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, putting them in third place. They are coming off their third sweep of the season, beating Colorado College 6-0 and 2-1 in overtime last weekend. The Mavs are 6-6-2 on the road this year. They trail the all-time series with the Bulldogs, 5-10-0 and are 1-5-0 vs. UMD in Duluth. The Mavericks are 6-4-0 in their last 10 games.
Minnesota Duluth is 15-13-4 overall and 10-10-2-2 in the NCHC, putting it in a tie with Western Michigan for fourth place. The Bulldogs are coming off a road sweep over Miami, winning 5-4 and 1-0. UMD is 4-7-3 at home this year and 5-4-1 in its last 10 games.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks closed the home half of the regular season by sweeping Colorado College. On Friday, Austin Ortega scored just 11 seconds into the game and Brock Montpetit tallied shorthanded at 2:15 to put the Mavericks up quickly. Jake Guentzel added another goal at 5:28 to give UNO a 3-0 lead after one. Josh Archibald scored a powerplay goal a little more than six minutes into the second period and got an even strength marker at 4:04 of the third to make it 5-0. James Polk closed the scoring with a powerplay goal at 11:56. Ryan Massa stopped all 20 shots he faced while CC's Josh Thorimbert took the loss with just one save on four shots. Courtney Lockwood made 23 saves in relief.
The next night, Colorado College turned the tables on the Mavericks when Charlie Taft scored just 35 seconds into the game. But the Mavericks would even the game when Jake Guentzel scored a powerplay goal 11:40 of the period. The goalies took over from there as Massa and Thorimbert combined for 43 saves in the last two periods. Michael Young ended the game at 55 seconds of overtime, scoring his first goal of the season. Massa finished with 26 saves while Thorimbert was a tough-luck loser with 35 stops.
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 record of 351-198-51 (.628) in his career as a head coach and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 89-83-18 (.516).
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 .
Scott Sandelin is in his 14th year as head coach at Minnesota Duluth. The 1986 graduate of North Dakota is 246-242-67 all-time at UMD. He is assisted by Derek Plante and Jason Herter.
Media
Both games can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. Dave Ahlers will have the play-by-play, and Terry Leahy will handle the analysis both nights. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show. Streaming audio, video and live stats are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next For the Mavericks
The Mavericks' magic number to clinch home ice for the first round of the NCHC Playoffs is one. If they host, it will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday (if necessary), March 13-15 at the CenturyLink Center. Thursday and Friday's games will begin at 7:37 p.m., with a possible third game on Saturday at 7:07 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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