Mavericks Hail Seniors, Host No. 1 Denver
Mar 2, 2017 | Hockey
This Week
The Omaha hockey team finishes the regular season by hosting No. 1 Denver on Friday and Saturday, March 3-4. Friday's game begins at 7:37 p.m., and Saturday's game starts at 7:07 p.m. from Baxter Arena.
The Teams
Omaha is 16-13-5 this season and 9-11-2-0/0 in the NCHC, putting it in a tie with North Dakota for fourth place. The Mavericks are coming off a road split at UND, losing 6-4 on Friday and winning 3-0 in the rematch. Omaha is 6-8-2 at home this season. The Mavericks have lost eight straight games to Denver and trail the all-time series with the Pioneers, 9-23-2. They are 7-9-0 all-time vs. DU at home and 3-5-2 in their last 10 games.
Denver begins the week with a record of 24-6-4 overall and 16-3-3-0/2 in the NCHC, putting it in first place by four points over Minnesota Duluth. The Pioneers swept a pair of games from St. Cloud State last weekend at home, winning 4-3 in overtime and 7-2. DU is 10-3-2 on the road this season and 9-1-0 in its last 10 games, having won nine straight.
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 407-244-63 in his career as a head coach and has guided the Mavericks to a mark of 145-129-30. He earned his 400th career win at St. Cloud State on Dec. 9.
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 former UNO defenseman and a 2004 graduate, and assistant coach Leigh Mendelson, a 2015 Omaha graduate and former volunteer assistant coach for the team (2014-16).
Jim Montgomery is in his fourth year leading Denver. The 1993 graduate of Maine is 93-46-18 all-time in the Mile High City. He is assisted by David Carle and Tavis MacMillan.
Media
Friday's game will be televised live on CBS Sports Network. Ben Holden will call the action, Dave Starman will offer analysis and Shireen Saski reports.
Both games also can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2. Dave Ahlers will handle the play by play, Terry Leahy provides analysis, and Lester St. James reports. Coverage begins 30 minutes before game time with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show. Live video can be found at NCHC.tv on Saturday only while live audio and stats can be found at OMavs.com.
Up Next
The Mavericks will begin the NCHC Playoffs with best-of-three quarterfinal action on campus sites next weekend. Results from this weekend will determine UNO's opponent and venue.
