No. 10/11 Mavericks Open at No. 6/9 Minnesota State
Oct 8, 2015 | Hockey
OMAHA, Neb. - The No. 10/11 Omaha Mavericks open the 2015-16 season on the road this week, visiting No. 6/9 Minnesota State on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9-10. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m. from the Verizon Wireless Center in Mankato, Minn. The two teams opened the season against one another last year, splitting a pair of games in Omaha.
The Teams
The Mavericks are coming off a history-making season in 2014-15. They finished 20-13-6 overall on their way to making the first Frozen Four appearance in school history. They finished 12-8-4-3 in the NCHC, their third-place finish matching the best in school history. The Mavericks were 11-7-2 at home last season and 7-5-4 on the road. They were 2-1-0 in neutral-site games. All time, UNO is 14-18-5 against Minnesota State and 6-10-2 in Mankato, Minn.
Minnesota State is coming off an historic season as well. The purple Mavericks went 29-8-3, their highest win total in school history. They won the WCHA regular season title with a mark of 21-4-3 and also won the Broadmoor Cup as playoff champions. MSU went into the NCAA playoffs ranked No. 1 but was upset by RIT in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regional. The Mavericks are coming off a 3-2 loss to Alberta in an exhibition game at home on Sunday.
Last Meeting
UNO and Minnesota State opened the 2014-15 season against one another in Omaha last October. UNO picked up a 5-3 win in the Friday opener. After spotting their visitors a 1-0 lead just 44 seconds into the game, Luc Snuggerud and Jake Guentzel scored first-period goals to put Omaha up, 2-1, after one. Austin Ortega stretched the lead to 3-1 early in the second before Casey Nelson scored late in the second and Brad McClure tallied early in the third to tie it. But Ortega would score again just over a minute later and Dominic Zombo added an empty netter for the final.
MSU came back with a 4-2 win the following night. Jake Randolph and Guentzel scored in the first, but Minnesota State got four in the second period from four different players and squelched any shot at a UNO comeback by allowing only three shots on goal in the third period.
The Coaches
Dean Blais is in his seventh year as the head coach of the Mavericks, having led UNO to three 20-win campaigns in that time. The 1973 graduate of Minnesota has posted a record of 373-214-57 (.623) in his career as a head coach and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 111-99-24 (.527).
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.
Mike Hastings is in his fourth year as head coach at Minnesota State. The 2015 Spencer Penrose Award winner and former UNO associate head coach is 79-36-7 in Mankato, leading MSU to the best three-year record in the country. He is assisted by Darren Blue and Todd Knott.
Media
All games can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. Gary Sharp, filling in for Dave Ahlers, will have the play-by-play, and Terry Leahy will provide analysis. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show. Live audio and stats are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next For The Mavericks
Omaha will play Vermont of Hockey East in the first-ever meetings between the two schools next Friday and Saturday, Oct. 16-17. Both games begin at 7:05 p.m. ET from Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington, Vt.
The Teams
The Mavericks are coming off a history-making season in 2014-15. They finished 20-13-6 overall on their way to making the first Frozen Four appearance in school history. They finished 12-8-4-3 in the NCHC, their third-place finish matching the best in school history. The Mavericks were 11-7-2 at home last season and 7-5-4 on the road. They were 2-1-0 in neutral-site games. All time, UNO is 14-18-5 against Minnesota State and 6-10-2 in Mankato, Minn.
Minnesota State is coming off an historic season as well. The purple Mavericks went 29-8-3, their highest win total in school history. They won the WCHA regular season title with a mark of 21-4-3 and also won the Broadmoor Cup as playoff champions. MSU went into the NCAA playoffs ranked No. 1 but was upset by RIT in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regional. The Mavericks are coming off a 3-2 loss to Alberta in an exhibition game at home on Sunday.
Last Meeting
UNO and Minnesota State opened the 2014-15 season against one another in Omaha last October. UNO picked up a 5-3 win in the Friday opener. After spotting their visitors a 1-0 lead just 44 seconds into the game, Luc Snuggerud and Jake Guentzel scored first-period goals to put Omaha up, 2-1, after one. Austin Ortega stretched the lead to 3-1 early in the second before Casey Nelson scored late in the second and Brad McClure tallied early in the third to tie it. But Ortega would score again just over a minute later and Dominic Zombo added an empty netter for the final.
MSU came back with a 4-2 win the following night. Jake Randolph and Guentzel scored in the first, but Minnesota State got four in the second period from four different players and squelched any shot at a UNO comeback by allowing only three shots on goal in the third period.
The Coaches
Dean Blais is in his seventh year as the head coach of the Mavericks, having led UNO to three 20-win campaigns in that time. The 1973 graduate of Minnesota has posted a record of 373-214-57 (.623) in his career as a head coach and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 111-99-24 (.527).
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.
Mike Hastings is in his fourth year as head coach at Minnesota State. The 2015 Spencer Penrose Award winner and former UNO associate head coach is 79-36-7 in Mankato, leading MSU to the best three-year record in the country. He is assisted by Darren Blue and Todd Knott.
Media
All games can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. Gary Sharp, filling in for Dave Ahlers, will have the play-by-play, and Terry Leahy will provide analysis. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show. Live audio and stats are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next For The Mavericks
Omaha will play Vermont of Hockey East in the first-ever meetings between the two schools next Friday and Saturday, Oct. 16-17. Both games begin at 7:05 p.m. ET from Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington, Vt.
Players Mentioned
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