No. 17 Mavericks Open NCHC Playoffs at No. 6 Denver
Mar 10, 2016 | Hockey
This Week
The No. 17 Omaha Mavericks begin the NCHC Playoffs with a best-of-three quarterfinal series at No. 6 Denver on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (if necessary), March 11-13. Friday's game begins at 8:36 p.m. CT and Saturday's game starts at 8:06 p.m. CT from Magness Arena in Denver, Colo. If a third game is needed, it too will be played at 8:06 p.m. CT.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 18-15-1 overall and finished the regular season 8-15-1-0/0 in the NCHC, putting them in sixth place. Omaha was swept by Denver last weekend and has now lost six straight games. The Mavericks trail the all-time series with Denver, 9-19-2, and trail 2-10-2 in games played in Denver. The Mavericks are 8-7-1 on the road this year.
Denver is 21-8-5 overall and finished 17-5-2-0/0 in the conference, putting it in a tie with St. Cloud State. SCSU won a tiebreaker, putting DU in third place. The Pioneers, who won all four games against the Mavericks in the season series, are 11-2-3 at home this season. They have won nine straight and are 9-1-0 in the last 10 games. Since Jan. 1, they are 14-1-3.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks dropped both games at Denver last weekend to close the regular season. On Friday, Grant Arnold scored in the first period, and Will Butcher (power play) and Dylan Gambrell tallied in the second period for DU. It was more than enough offensive support for goaltender Tanner Jaillet who made 26 saves for his second shutout of the season against the Mavericks.
In the rematch, Fredrik Olofsson broke a scoreless tie by converting a rebound at 11:53 of the second period to put the Mavericks in front. The Pioneers tied the game less than three minutes later when Quentin Shore converted a breakaway at 14:23. In the third, Gambrell delivered the winner, finishing a pass from Trevor Moore at 18:26. Kirk Thompson stopped 44 for the Mavericks who were outshot 46-27. Evan Cowley turned aside 26 shots to pick up the win.
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 391-229-58 (.619) in his career as a head coach and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 129-114-25 (.528).
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.
Jim Montgomery is in his third season as head coach at Denver. The 1993 graduate of Maine is 65-38-13 during his time in the Mile High City. He is assisted by David Carle and Tavis MacMillan.
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 is available at NCHC.tv while live audio and stats can be found at OMavs.com.
Up Next For The Mavericks
Should the Mavericks win this series, they will advance to the NCHC Frozen Face-Off on Friday and Saturday, March 18-19 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn.
The No. 17 Omaha Mavericks begin the NCHC Playoffs with a best-of-three quarterfinal series at No. 6 Denver on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (if necessary), March 11-13. Friday's game begins at 8:36 p.m. CT and Saturday's game starts at 8:06 p.m. CT from Magness Arena in Denver, Colo. If a third game is needed, it too will be played at 8:06 p.m. CT.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 18-15-1 overall and finished the regular season 8-15-1-0/0 in the NCHC, putting them in sixth place. Omaha was swept by Denver last weekend and has now lost six straight games. The Mavericks trail the all-time series with Denver, 9-19-2, and trail 2-10-2 in games played in Denver. The Mavericks are 8-7-1 on the road this year.
Denver is 21-8-5 overall and finished 17-5-2-0/0 in the conference, putting it in a tie with St. Cloud State. SCSU won a tiebreaker, putting DU in third place. The Pioneers, who won all four games against the Mavericks in the season series, are 11-2-3 at home this season. They have won nine straight and are 9-1-0 in the last 10 games. Since Jan. 1, they are 14-1-3.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks dropped both games at Denver last weekend to close the regular season. On Friday, Grant Arnold scored in the first period, and Will Butcher (power play) and Dylan Gambrell tallied in the second period for DU. It was more than enough offensive support for goaltender Tanner Jaillet who made 26 saves for his second shutout of the season against the Mavericks.
In the rematch, Fredrik Olofsson broke a scoreless tie by converting a rebound at 11:53 of the second period to put the Mavericks in front. The Pioneers tied the game less than three minutes later when Quentin Shore converted a breakaway at 14:23. In the third, Gambrell delivered the winner, finishing a pass from Trevor Moore at 18:26. Kirk Thompson stopped 44 for the Mavericks who were outshot 46-27. Evan Cowley turned aside 26 shots to pick up the win.
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 391-229-58 (.619) in his career as a head coach and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 129-114-25 (.528).
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.
Jim Montgomery is in his third season as head coach at Denver. The 1993 graduate of Maine is 65-38-13 during his time in the Mile High City. He is assisted by David Carle and Tavis MacMillan.
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 is available at NCHC.tv while live audio and stats can be found at OMavs.com.
Up Next For The Mavericks
Should the Mavericks win this series, they will advance to the NCHC Frozen Face-Off on Friday and Saturday, March 18-19 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Hockey
G
/ HockeyTuesday, September 01
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
