Mavericks To Play In Brice Alaska Goal Rush
Oct 13, 2016 | Hockey
OMAHA, Neb. - The Omaha hockey team plays its first NCAA games of the season this weekend when it travels to Fairbanks, Alaska for the Brice Alaska Goal Rush on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 14-15. The Mavericks will play Alaska Anchorage on Friday at 7:07 p.m. CT and then face host Alaska on Saturday at 10:07 p.m. CT.
The Teams
The Mavericks are coming off a season in which they went 18-17-1 and finished in sixth place in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference with a record of 8-15-1-0/0. UNO posted its best first-half record in school history and went 10-0-0 in non-conference play, its first perfect non-conference record. The Mavericks dropped a 3-2 decision in an exhibition game with Alberta at home last Saturday.
Alaska Anchorage is off to an 0-2-0 start following the first weekend of the regular season. The Seawolves lost to visiting Minnesota 6-0 last Friday and then bowed to in-state rival Alaska 4-1 the following night at home.
Alaska is 1-1-0 to open the season. Following their win at Alaska Anchorage on Saturday, the Nanooks fell to Minnesota, 6-3, on Sunday.
The Coaches
Dean Blais is in his eighth 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 391-231-58 (.618) in his career as a head coach and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 129-116-25 (.524).
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 joined by associate head coach Mike Gabinet, a 2004 graduate of Omaha, and assistant coach Leigh Mendelson, a 2015 Omaha graduate and former volunteer assistant coach for the team (2014-16).
Matt Thomas is in his fourth year as the head coach at Alaska Anchorage. The 1998 graduate of RIT is 37-60-11 all-time leading the Seawolves. He is assisted by Louis Mass.
Dallas Ferguson is now in his ninth season at the helm of Alaska. A 1996 graduate of the U of A, Ferguson is 63-132-38 behind the Nanooks' bench. He is assisted by Lance West and Erik Largen.
Media
Both games can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. Dave Ahlers will call the play-by-play, and Terry Leahy provides analysis. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show. Live video, live audio and stats can be found at OMavs.com.
Up Next
The Mavericks return home for the first of three straight series at Baxter Arena. They'll host Vermont of Hockey East on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 21-22. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m. CT.
The Teams
The Mavericks are coming off a season in which they went 18-17-1 and finished in sixth place in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference with a record of 8-15-1-0/0. UNO posted its best first-half record in school history and went 10-0-0 in non-conference play, its first perfect non-conference record. The Mavericks dropped a 3-2 decision in an exhibition game with Alberta at home last Saturday.
Alaska Anchorage is off to an 0-2-0 start following the first weekend of the regular season. The Seawolves lost to visiting Minnesota 6-0 last Friday and then bowed to in-state rival Alaska 4-1 the following night at home.
Alaska is 1-1-0 to open the season. Following their win at Alaska Anchorage on Saturday, the Nanooks fell to Minnesota, 6-3, on Sunday.
The Coaches
Dean Blais is in his eighth 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 391-231-58 (.618) in his career as a head coach and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 129-116-25 (.524).
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 joined by associate head coach Mike Gabinet, a 2004 graduate of Omaha, and assistant coach Leigh Mendelson, a 2015 Omaha graduate and former volunteer assistant coach for the team (2014-16).
Matt Thomas is in his fourth year as the head coach at Alaska Anchorage. The 1998 graduate of RIT is 37-60-11 all-time leading the Seawolves. He is assisted by Louis Mass.
Dallas Ferguson is now in his ninth season at the helm of Alaska. A 1996 graduate of the U of A, Ferguson is 63-132-38 behind the Nanooks' bench. He is assisted by Lance West and Erik Largen.
Media
Both games can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. Dave Ahlers will call the play-by-play, and Terry Leahy provides analysis. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show. Live video, live audio and stats can be found at OMavs.com.
Up Next
The Mavericks return home for the first of three straight series at Baxter Arena. They'll host Vermont of Hockey East on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 21-22. Both games begin at 7:07 p.m. CT.
Tuesday, September 01
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
