Hockey's Here! Mavericks Host Alberta In Exhibition
Oct 7, 2016 | Hockey
OMAHA, Neb. - The Omaha hockey team sees its first action of the 2016-17 season when it hosts Alberta in an exhibition game on Saturday, Oct. 8. The game begins at 7:07 p.m. from UNO's Baxter Arena. The game will mark the beginning of the 20th season of Maverick hockey and the first meeting between the two schools.
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 are 17-3-0 all-time against Canadian universities in exhibition play.
The Golden Bears are 5-3-0 so far this season and are coming off 3-2 and 2-1 overtime wins over Calgary on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.
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).
Serge Lajoie is in his second season as head coach at Alberta. A 1993 graduate of the U of A, Lajoie is assisted by Dan Kordic, Lee Zalasky and Dave Rathjen.
Media
The game can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. Dave Ahlers will call the play-by-play, and Terry Leahy provides analysis. Lester St. James reports from ice level. 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
The Mavericks head north for the Brice Alaska Goal Rush hosted by Alaska on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 14-15. They will play Alaska Anchorage on Friday at 4:07 p.m. AT and then take on the host Nanooks on Saturday at 7:07 p.m. AT from the Carlson Center in Fairbanks.
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 are 17-3-0 all-time against Canadian universities in exhibition play.
The Golden Bears are 5-3-0 so far this season and are coming off 3-2 and 2-1 overtime wins over Calgary on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.
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).
Serge Lajoie is in his second season as head coach at Alberta. A 1993 graduate of the U of A, Lajoie is assisted by Dan Kordic, Lee Zalasky and Dave Rathjen.
Media
The game can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. Dave Ahlers will call the play-by-play, and Terry Leahy provides analysis. Lester St. James reports from ice level. 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
The Mavericks head north for the Brice Alaska Goal Rush hosted by Alaska on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 14-15. They will play Alaska Anchorage on Friday at 4:07 p.m. AT and then take on the host Nanooks on Saturday at 7:07 p.m. AT from the Carlson Center in Fairbanks.
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