Series Preview: Omaha vs. Augustana University, Nov. 24-25, 2023 (Home and Home)

 

By Bridget Brooks 

What an unusual weekend at Denver it was! Omaha ended up with a series split (good prediction on the MavPuckCast, Jon!), losing 8-4 on Friday, but winning on Sunday afternoon 4-3 — as the teams finished the game that was suspended for “bad ice” on Saturday night. 

UNO Hockey Coach Mike Gabinet achieved his 100th career victory with the win on Sunday as well.

Omaha is now 6-3-1 overall (2-2-0 in NCHC conference play) and is playing its first home-and-home series in more than 10 years, taking on first-year program Augustana University (Sioux Falls, SD) in a home game on Friday night at Baxter Arena and an away game on Saturday night in Sioux Falls at the Denny Sanford Premier Center. 

The Mavericks had played home-and-home series with fellow Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks previously, but the most recent home-and-home weekend was held December 2009 (prior to Omaha joining the WCHA in the 2010-11 season).

Gabinet previewed the series by saying, “You can tell by their record they’ve had a lot of success.” 

Augustana is 4-5-1 against a high-profile slate that has featured Wisconsin, Denver, and Colorado College already this season. The Vikings had a bye week last weekend.

An emphasis for UNO this week was continuing to work on the power play, which is 0.140 overall (currently sitting at 54 out of 64 D-1 teams in power play percentage). 

“The first period on Sunday [at Denver] was the best it [the power play] had looked,” Gabinet said. “We’re continuing to work on it. [We need to] make the smart plays at the right time.”

For Fans Attending the Friday Night Game in Person:

The west lot outside Baxter, Lot 25, is now open to donors only and parking passes are required to park in that lot. The north lot, Lot 27, offers free parking on a first-come, first-served basis, as is Lot 26 (west of the arena, across the creek).

A large crowd is expected this weekend, so fans should arrive early to avoid crowds, especially at the west entrance. Have digital tickets ready to scan in the Omaha Mavericks app (or add them from your MyMavs account to your phone’s wallet app). If you have questions, stop by the box office at Baxter Arena before the game or call 402-554-MAVS.

The clear bag policy remains in effect at Baxter Arena, and metal detectors are now at all entrances. All concession stands are card only (no cash).

Theme Nights:

Friday night is a BLACK OUT at Baxter Arena and a celebration of broadcaster Terry Leahy’s 1000th game.

Series preview articles:

Omavs.com:

https://omavs.com/news/2023/11/22/mavericks-to-battle-ncaa-hockey-newcomer-augustana-in-home-and-home-series.aspx

GoAugie.com (PDF):

https://goaugie.com/documents/2023/11/22/Augustana_vs_Omaha.pdf

When:

> Friday, 7:07 p.m. CT at Baxter Arena (Omaha, NE)

> Saturday, 6:07 p.m. CT at the Denny Sanford Premier Center (Sioux Falls, SD)

Radio:

Both games will be broadcast live on 1290 AM and on The Varsity Network app. Pre-game coverage begins 30 minutes prior to face off with the FNBO Pre-Game Show. “Voice of the Mavs” Mike Vaillancourt will have the play-by-play, with color commentary provided by Terry Leahy.

TV:

Friday night’s game will be streamed on NCHC.tv ($) Saturday night will be on FloSports (FloHockey.tv) ($). Saturday night will also be on Midco Sports Two (Channel Finder here.)

Live Stats:

Friday night stats will be available here.

See what you missed when the team was in Denver by watching the seventh episode of the sixth season of the MavPuckCast, with Jon and Jason. In the 39-minute episode, you can see what transpired with the Saturday night “bad ice” incident and check out the “Mavs on the Move” event in Denver that was held prior to the game on Saturday night. The duo also previews the Augustana series.

Next up: Omaha resumes conference play on Dec. 1-2, taking on Minnesota Duluth in Duluth. Friday’s game will be at 7:07 p.m. CT while Saturday’s puck drop is slated for 5:07 p.m. CT.