Remembering the First Voice of Omaha Hockey
Sep 16, 2026 | Hockey
OMAHA — Thirty years ago, Mike Kemp not only was assembling a team for the inaugural Omaha hockey season in 1997, he also was deciding who would be broadcasting the new squad's games.
Kemp turned to Greg Harrington.
"We were fortunate to have him as our first voice of Maverick hockey because he set a certain level of expectation that certainly has been lived up to ever since," Kemp said.
Harrington passed away on Monday, Sept. 7, in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he lived most of his life. He was 70. A celebration of life will take place Sept. 20 in St. Paul.
Kemp, who now is Special Advisor to the Director of Athletics for the Mavericks, said while coaching in Minnesota he got to know Harrington's work on the radio.
Kemp thought Harrington would be an ideal fit for Omaha's play-by-play position. Harrington teamed up with Terry Leahy and they called games for the program's first 12 seasons.
Leahy said he didn't know Harrington before he was hired to do play-by-play, but Leahy said they quickly clicked.
"He was an instant hit. The fans just loved him," said Leahy, who has called more than 1,000 career hockey games for the Mavericks. "I got to know him and we became the greatest of friends."
Kemp said the duo's radio broadcasts in those early years helped build the team's loyal fan base in Omaha.
"Obviously, they did a phenomenal job," Kemp said of Harrington and Leahy. "I think a lot of it was the way Greg could broadcast a game. There's a real skill to be able to keep up with the speed of hockey and paint the picture so as you're listening to a broadcast in your mind you can see the flow of the game, the flow of the play. Greg was really good at drawing that mental picture for the listener.
"With him and Terry working together and having such a good banter back and forth, I think that helped create a following of fans early on."
Leahy agreed that Harrington's forte, in the days before games were streamed, was his apt descriptions of what was happening on the ice.
"He could definitely paint the famous picture," Leahy said. "You had a blank canvas and a bucket of paint. You got to describe the action and that's probably what Greg was best known for."
Broadcasting ran deep in the Harrington family. Greg's father, Eugene, was a long-time broadcaster in Minnesota, and Greg's son, Matt, also graduated with a degree in broadcasting.
Leahy said after Matt was born, Harrington would spend most of each week at his family's home in Minnesota before traveling to catch up with the team for weekend series.
Leahy said Harrington's expertise as a broadcaster was evident when he called Maverick games. He said Harrington wasn't someone who would over-hype calls when goals were scored, instead providing "solid stuff" to describe the action.
Away from the ice, Kemp, who stepped down as Omaha's coach in 2009, said he and Harrington enjoyed talking hockey and being around one another on road trips. He said they continued to have conversations on a regular basis all the way through this summer.
Leahy said one of his first memories with the man he refers to as "Harry" was after the Mavericks' first regular-season series at Air Force in late October 1997. Leahy, Harrington and his wife Kelly were in a rental car and drove from Colorado Springs to Omaha amid an early fall blizzard that dumped about a foot of snow in Omaha.
And most of those early seasons for the Mavericks included weekend series in Alaska.
"Harry just loved those trips to Alaska," Leahy said. "It could be 40 or 50 below, but there were always the same places we would go for breakfast or for dinner."
Kemp said he still remembers walking onto the team bus during early mornings heading to the airport and Harrington would be "entertaining the troops. He had the gift of gab."
"He was a personality and a character," Kemp said. "Because of that, we got along real well."
For complete coverage of Omaha Hockey, follow the Mavericks on X and Instagram, @OmahaHKY.
Kemp turned to Greg Harrington.
"We were fortunate to have him as our first voice of Maverick hockey because he set a certain level of expectation that certainly has been lived up to ever since," Kemp said.
Harrington passed away on Monday, Sept. 7, in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he lived most of his life. He was 70. A celebration of life will take place Sept. 20 in St. Paul.
Kemp, who now is Special Advisor to the Director of Athletics for the Mavericks, said while coaching in Minnesota he got to know Harrington's work on the radio.
Kemp thought Harrington would be an ideal fit for Omaha's play-by-play position. Harrington teamed up with Terry Leahy and they called games for the program's first 12 seasons.
Leahy said he didn't know Harrington before he was hired to do play-by-play, but Leahy said they quickly clicked.
"He was an instant hit. The fans just loved him," said Leahy, who has called more than 1,000 career hockey games for the Mavericks. "I got to know him and we became the greatest of friends."
Kemp said the duo's radio broadcasts in those early years helped build the team's loyal fan base in Omaha.
"Obviously, they did a phenomenal job," Kemp said of Harrington and Leahy. "I think a lot of it was the way Greg could broadcast a game. There's a real skill to be able to keep up with the speed of hockey and paint the picture so as you're listening to a broadcast in your mind you can see the flow of the game, the flow of the play. Greg was really good at drawing that mental picture for the listener.
"With him and Terry working together and having such a good banter back and forth, I think that helped create a following of fans early on."
Leahy agreed that Harrington's forte, in the days before games were streamed, was his apt descriptions of what was happening on the ice.
"He could definitely paint the famous picture," Leahy said. "You had a blank canvas and a bucket of paint. You got to describe the action and that's probably what Greg was best known for."
Broadcasting ran deep in the Harrington family. Greg's father, Eugene, was a long-time broadcaster in Minnesota, and Greg's son, Matt, also graduated with a degree in broadcasting.
Leahy said after Matt was born, Harrington would spend most of each week at his family's home in Minnesota before traveling to catch up with the team for weekend series.
Leahy said Harrington's expertise as a broadcaster was evident when he called Maverick games. He said Harrington wasn't someone who would over-hype calls when goals were scored, instead providing "solid stuff" to describe the action.
Away from the ice, Kemp, who stepped down as Omaha's coach in 2009, said he and Harrington enjoyed talking hockey and being around one another on road trips. He said they continued to have conversations on a regular basis all the way through this summer.
Leahy said one of his first memories with the man he refers to as "Harry" was after the Mavericks' first regular-season series at Air Force in late October 1997. Leahy, Harrington and his wife Kelly were in a rental car and drove from Colorado Springs to Omaha amid an early fall blizzard that dumped about a foot of snow in Omaha.
And most of those early seasons for the Mavericks included weekend series in Alaska.
"Harry just loved those trips to Alaska," Leahy said. "It could be 40 or 50 below, but there were always the same places we would go for breakfast or for dinner."
Kemp said he still remembers walking onto the team bus during early mornings heading to the airport and Harrington would be "entertaining the troops. He had the gift of gab."
"He was a personality and a character," Kemp said. "Because of that, we got along real well."
For complete coverage of Omaha Hockey, follow the Mavericks on X and Instagram, @OmahaHKY.
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