No. 6 Mavs Host Exhibition vs. Trinity Western
Dec 31, 2015 | Hockey
This Week
The No. 6 Omaha Mavericks take to the ice for an exhibition game against Canadian university Trinity Western on Saturday, Jan. 2 at 7:07 p.m. at Baxter Arena. It is the Mavericks' only game of the week and their only exhibition contest of the season.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 14-3-1 overall and 4-3-1-0/0 in the NCHC, putting them in fourth place in the conference standings. Omaha finished its non-conference schedule 10-0-0 following a pair of wins against Arizona State on Dec. 19-20. The Mavericks are 8-0-0 at Baxter Arena this season.
Trinity Western makes its only appearance against NCAA competition this week, playing at Wisconsin on Jan. 1 before visiting Omaha. The Spartans are 7-3-0 this season, all of it against competition from its own conference, the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League. Trinity Western hasn't played since a 4-2 win over Selkirk on Dec. 4.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks finished the 2015 calendar with 3-1 and 6-0 wins over Arizona State on Dec. 19-20. On Saturday, Austin Ortega had a pair of goals and an assist to lead the Mavericks in the first-ever meeting of the two schools. Luc Snuggerud scored a powerplay goal at 11:17 of the first period, only to see ASU tie it 58 seconds later on a tally by Jordan Masters. Ortega gave the Mavericks the lead back at 18:05 of the first with his first goal of the night. After a scoreless second period, Ortega again scored midway through the third. Evan Weninger stopped 18 shots to get the win.
On Sunday, Ortega had two more goals, and Justin Parizek also notched a pair as the Mavericks blanked ASU. Tyler Vesel opened the scoring late in the first period, and Parizek scored his first of the game early in the second to make it 2-0. Ortega added his first of the night at 16:17 of the period, and Parizek fired home a pass from Jake Randolph with 15 seconds to go in the stanza to get UNO out to a 4-0 lead. Ortega and Steven Spinner scored 1:13 apart late in third for the final margin. Kirk Thompson made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season.
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 387-217-58 (.628) in his career as a head coach and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 125-102-25 (.546).
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.
Barrett Kropf is in his third season as the head coach at Trinity Western. The 1998 graduate of Briercrest is 34-24-0 in his time leading the Spartans. He is assisted by Chris Wiens, Chris Trendall, Thomas Koshman, Tim Zwiers and Cole Hergott.
Media
The game can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. Dave Ahlers will have the play-by-play, Terry Leahy will provide analysis, and Lester St. James will report. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show. Live video is available at NCHC.tv. while live audio and stats can be found at OMavs.com.
Up Next For The Mavericks
The Mavericks resume NCHC play on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 8-9 when they host the Denver Pioneers. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m. from Baxter Arena. It is one of five conference series at home for Omaha in the second semester.
The No. 6 Omaha Mavericks take to the ice for an exhibition game against Canadian university Trinity Western on Saturday, Jan. 2 at 7:07 p.m. at Baxter Arena. It is the Mavericks' only game of the week and their only exhibition contest of the season.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 14-3-1 overall and 4-3-1-0/0 in the NCHC, putting them in fourth place in the conference standings. Omaha finished its non-conference schedule 10-0-0 following a pair of wins against Arizona State on Dec. 19-20. The Mavericks are 8-0-0 at Baxter Arena this season.
Trinity Western makes its only appearance against NCAA competition this week, playing at Wisconsin on Jan. 1 before visiting Omaha. The Spartans are 7-3-0 this season, all of it against competition from its own conference, the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League. Trinity Western hasn't played since a 4-2 win over Selkirk on Dec. 4.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks finished the 2015 calendar with 3-1 and 6-0 wins over Arizona State on Dec. 19-20. On Saturday, Austin Ortega had a pair of goals and an assist to lead the Mavericks in the first-ever meeting of the two schools. Luc Snuggerud scored a powerplay goal at 11:17 of the first period, only to see ASU tie it 58 seconds later on a tally by Jordan Masters. Ortega gave the Mavericks the lead back at 18:05 of the first with his first goal of the night. After a scoreless second period, Ortega again scored midway through the third. Evan Weninger stopped 18 shots to get the win.
On Sunday, Ortega had two more goals, and Justin Parizek also notched a pair as the Mavericks blanked ASU. Tyler Vesel opened the scoring late in the first period, and Parizek scored his first of the game early in the second to make it 2-0. Ortega added his first of the night at 16:17 of the period, and Parizek fired home a pass from Jake Randolph with 15 seconds to go in the stanza to get UNO out to a 4-0 lead. Ortega and Steven Spinner scored 1:13 apart late in third for the final margin. Kirk Thompson made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season.
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 387-217-58 (.628) in his career as a head coach and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 125-102-25 (.546).
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.
Barrett Kropf is in his third season as the head coach at Trinity Western. The 1998 graduate of Briercrest is 34-24-0 in his time leading the Spartans. He is assisted by Chris Wiens, Chris Trendall, Thomas Koshman, Tim Zwiers and Cole Hergott.
Media
The game can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. Dave Ahlers will have the play-by-play, Terry Leahy will provide analysis, and Lester St. James will report. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show. Live video is available at NCHC.tv. while live audio and stats can be found at OMavs.com.
Up Next For The Mavericks
The Mavericks resume NCHC play on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 8-9 when they host the Denver Pioneers. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m. from Baxter Arena. It is one of five conference series at home for Omaha in the second semester.
Players Mentioned
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