No. 11/12 Mavericks Host No. 3/3 St. Cloud State
Feb 18, 2016 | Hockey
This Week
The No. 11/12 Omaha Mavericks continue their six-game home stand by hosting No. 3/3 St. Cloud State on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 19-20. The two games mark the conclusion of the four-game season series between the two teams. Both games start at 7:07 p.m. from Baxter Arena.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 18-9-1 overall and 8-9-1-0/0 in the NCHC, putting them in a tie with Minnesota Duluth for fourth place. Omaha is coming off a sweep of visiting Western Michigan last weekend. The Mavericks trail the all-time series with St. Cloud State, 9-13-2, but they lead 6-3-1 in games played in Omaha. The Mavericks are 10-4-0 at home and are 4-6-0 in the last 10 games.
St. Cloud State is coming off a bye week. The Huskies are 23-6-1 overall and 13-4-1-1/0 in the conference, putting them in a tie with North Dakota for first place. SCSU split its last series, winning 5-1 and losing 3-2 at Miami on Feb. 5-6. The Huskies are 9-3-1 on the road this season and 7-2-1 in their last 10 games.
Omaha and St. Cloud State split a two-game series in St. Cloud, Minn. back in December. SCSU won 4-1 to open play on Dec. 4, and the Mavericks responded with a 7-2 win the following night.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks snapped a four-game home losing streak last weekend, beating Western Michigan 2-1 and 6-3 for their first sweep since December. On Friday, Tyler Vesel opened the scoring with a shorthanded breakaway goal at 6:44 of the first. The Mavericks doubled their lead when Austin Ortega scored a 4-on-3 power play goal at 13:53 of the second. It stood up as the game winner after WMU's Scott Moldenhauer scored late in the middle period. Evan Weninger made 28 saves in the win.
On Saturday, the Mavericks got four points from Justin Parizek and two goals each from Jake Guentzel and Vesel in a 6-3 win. Omaha twice answered goals from the Broncos in the first period, getting tallies from Parizek (shorthanded) and Vesel to make it 2-2. UNO then erupted for three goals in the first 4:55 of the second as Guentzel, Vesel and Mason Morelli all scored. Guentzel added his second at 5:15 of the third before WMU got one back from Michael Rebry, his second of the game, to complete the scoring. Weninger again got the win, making 31 saves.
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 391-223-58 (.625) in his career as a head coach and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 129-108-25 (.540).
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 11th season leading St. Cloud State. The 1987 graduate of SCSU is 227-161-42 in his time at his alma mater. He is assisted by Mike Gibbons and Garrett Raboin.
Media
Both games can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. Dave Ahlers will call the play-by-play, Terry Leahy provides analysis, and 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 For The Mavericks
The Mavericks play their final home games of the regular season on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 26-27 when they host North Dakota. Game time is 7:07 p.m. each night from Baxter Arena.
The No. 11/12 Omaha Mavericks continue their six-game home stand by hosting No. 3/3 St. Cloud State on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 19-20. The two games mark the conclusion of the four-game season series between the two teams. Both games start at 7:07 p.m. from Baxter Arena.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 18-9-1 overall and 8-9-1-0/0 in the NCHC, putting them in a tie with Minnesota Duluth for fourth place. Omaha is coming off a sweep of visiting Western Michigan last weekend. The Mavericks trail the all-time series with St. Cloud State, 9-13-2, but they lead 6-3-1 in games played in Omaha. The Mavericks are 10-4-0 at home and are 4-6-0 in the last 10 games.
St. Cloud State is coming off a bye week. The Huskies are 23-6-1 overall and 13-4-1-1/0 in the conference, putting them in a tie with North Dakota for first place. SCSU split its last series, winning 5-1 and losing 3-2 at Miami on Feb. 5-6. The Huskies are 9-3-1 on the road this season and 7-2-1 in their last 10 games.
Omaha and St. Cloud State split a two-game series in St. Cloud, Minn. back in December. SCSU won 4-1 to open play on Dec. 4, and the Mavericks responded with a 7-2 win the following night.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks snapped a four-game home losing streak last weekend, beating Western Michigan 2-1 and 6-3 for their first sweep since December. On Friday, Tyler Vesel opened the scoring with a shorthanded breakaway goal at 6:44 of the first. The Mavericks doubled their lead when Austin Ortega scored a 4-on-3 power play goal at 13:53 of the second. It stood up as the game winner after WMU's Scott Moldenhauer scored late in the middle period. Evan Weninger made 28 saves in the win.
On Saturday, the Mavericks got four points from Justin Parizek and two goals each from Jake Guentzel and Vesel in a 6-3 win. Omaha twice answered goals from the Broncos in the first period, getting tallies from Parizek (shorthanded) and Vesel to make it 2-2. UNO then erupted for three goals in the first 4:55 of the second as Guentzel, Vesel and Mason Morelli all scored. Guentzel added his second at 5:15 of the third before WMU got one back from Michael Rebry, his second of the game, to complete the scoring. Weninger again got the win, making 31 saves.
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 391-223-58 (.625) in his career as a head coach and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 129-108-25 (.540).
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 11th season leading St. Cloud State. The 1987 graduate of SCSU is 227-161-42 in his time at his alma mater. He is assisted by Mike Gibbons and Garrett Raboin.
Media
Both games can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. Dave Ahlers will call the play-by-play, Terry Leahy provides analysis, and 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 For The Mavericks
The Mavericks play their final home games of the regular season on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 26-27 when they host North Dakota. Game time is 7:07 p.m. each night from Baxter Arena.
Players Mentioned
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