No. 7/8 Mavs Host St. Cloud State In Quarterfinal
Mar 12, 2015 | Hockey
This Week
The No. 7/8 Omaha Mavericks begin the NCHC Playoffs this week by hosting St. Cloud State on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, if necessary, March 13-15. Friday's game begins at 7:37 p.m., and both Saturday and Sunday games start at 7:07 p.m. from CenturyLink Center Omaha.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 18-10-6 overall this season and 12-8-4-3 in the NCHC. Their third-place finish matches the best in school history. The Mavericks are coming off a a tie and subsequent shootout loss and a win over Colorado College last weekend. The Mavericks trail the all-time series with St. Cloud State, 8-10-2 but are 6-1-1 all-time vs. SCSU at home. Omaha is 11-5-2 at home this season.
St. Cloud State is 16-17-1 overall and 11-12-1-0 in the NCHC this season, good for a sixth-place finish. The Huskies are coming off a 3-2 loss and a 4-2 win over Denver in action last weekend. SCSU is 6-10-1 on the road this season.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks finished the regular season with a 2-2 tie and a 4-2 win over visiting Colorado College last weekend. On Friday, the Mavericks twice built one-goal leads only to see the Tigers tie it both times. Justin Parizek scored shorthanded in the first and on the power play in the second to account for UNO's two goals. After a scoreless third period and overtime, CC's Cody Bradley got the only goal in the shootout to help the Tigers earn the extra point. Ryan Massa made 22 saves.
On Saturday, the Tigers scored early in the second period to take the game's first lead, but UNO got goals from Parizek and Jake Guentzel just 2:45 apart to take the lead. In the third, CC's Matt Hansen tied the game, but Austin Ortega scored the eventual game winner with 1:55 remaining, and Guentzel added an empty netter to seal it. Kirk Thompson stopped 24 shots for his fifth win of the season.
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 371-211-57 (.625) in his career as a head coach and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 109-96-24 (.528). He coached in his 200th game at UNO on Oct. 31 at Cornell.
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.
Bob Motzko is in his 10th season as head coach at St. Cloud State. The 1987 graduate of SCSU is 200-153-41 all-time at his alma mater. He is assisted by Mike Gibbons and Garrett Raboin.
Media
All post-season 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 ice level this weekend. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show. Streaming video is available through NCHC.tv, while live audio and stats are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next For the Mavericks
If the Mavericks win this series, they will advance to the NCHC Frozen Face-Off which begins with semifinal games on Friday, March 20 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn.
The No. 7/8 Omaha Mavericks begin the NCHC Playoffs this week by hosting St. Cloud State on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, if necessary, March 13-15. Friday's game begins at 7:37 p.m., and both Saturday and Sunday games start at 7:07 p.m. from CenturyLink Center Omaha.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 18-10-6 overall this season and 12-8-4-3 in the NCHC. Their third-place finish matches the best in school history. The Mavericks are coming off a a tie and subsequent shootout loss and a win over Colorado College last weekend. The Mavericks trail the all-time series with St. Cloud State, 8-10-2 but are 6-1-1 all-time vs. SCSU at home. Omaha is 11-5-2 at home this season.
St. Cloud State is 16-17-1 overall and 11-12-1-0 in the NCHC this season, good for a sixth-place finish. The Huskies are coming off a 3-2 loss and a 4-2 win over Denver in action last weekend. SCSU is 6-10-1 on the road this season.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks finished the regular season with a 2-2 tie and a 4-2 win over visiting Colorado College last weekend. On Friday, the Mavericks twice built one-goal leads only to see the Tigers tie it both times. Justin Parizek scored shorthanded in the first and on the power play in the second to account for UNO's two goals. After a scoreless third period and overtime, CC's Cody Bradley got the only goal in the shootout to help the Tigers earn the extra point. Ryan Massa made 22 saves.
On Saturday, the Tigers scored early in the second period to take the game's first lead, but UNO got goals from Parizek and Jake Guentzel just 2:45 apart to take the lead. In the third, CC's Matt Hansen tied the game, but Austin Ortega scored the eventual game winner with 1:55 remaining, and Guentzel added an empty netter to seal it. Kirk Thompson stopped 24 shots for his fifth win of the season.
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 371-211-57 (.625) in his career as a head coach and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 109-96-24 (.528). He coached in his 200th game at UNO on Oct. 31 at Cornell.
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.
Bob Motzko is in his 10th season as head coach at St. Cloud State. The 1987 graduate of SCSU is 200-153-41 all-time at his alma mater. He is assisted by Mike Gibbons and Garrett Raboin.
Media
All post-season 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 ice level this weekend. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show. Streaming video is available through NCHC.tv, while live audio and stats are available at OMavs.com.
Up Next For the Mavericks
If the Mavericks win this series, they will advance to the NCHC Frozen Face-Off which begins with semifinal games on Friday, March 20 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn.
Players Mentioned
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