By Bridget Brooks
What a difference a week makes. The Omaha hockey team was playing in 50 degree weather last weekend in Tempe, Arizona. The expected high temperature for this weekend’s series in Grand Forks, North Dakota is 3 degrees.
Fortunately, the games are played indoors, so the outside temperatures won’t have much of an effect. The trip north for the Mavericks also heralds the beginning of second-half conference play. It’s all NCHC the rest of the regular season.
And what an introduction back into NCHC play. North Dakota (14-5-1 overall, 5-3-0 in the NCHC) is currently in second place in the conference, with 18 points. Omaha (10-6-2 overall, 3-4-1 in conference play) has 9 points, and is tied for sixth place with Minnesota Duluth.
In the weekly press conference, Coach Mike Gabinet said the team was excited to get back into conference play. “It’s a trip that we know will be a tough one,” he added. He said it will be an “intense second half” and that it is important to “make sure you’re getting better every weekend.”
Gabinet mentioned that the team had focused on the power play during the Wednesday practice, noting that a few more power play goals could “help us win some of those close games.” He said the power play is improving.
Although the Mavericks are coming off an overtime loss on Jan. 6 versus Arizona State in the Desert Hockey Classic, Gabinet praised the performance as a “good effort by our guys; one of our most solid games we’ve played.”
Junior forward Zach Urdahl, a transfer from Wisconsin, said he’s “heard a lot of things about The Ralph (Engelstad Arena); it’s a tough but an exciting place to play.”
Urdahl had six points (two goals, four assists) early in the season before being injured. He returned to play in the Friday game against UMass Lowell, recording a goal that got the scoring started for Omaha in the 4-3 overtime win.
“Skating is one of my biggest assets as a player,” Urdahl said. “I try to use that to be a factor every game.”
Urdahl said the team is ready to resume conference play. “Every single game is worth something. We have three points on the line. We’re trying to climb the standings and get home ice for Baxter,” he noted. “Going forward, that’s the mindset — get as many points as possible and climb up in the standings.”
The Fighting Hawks are coming off a sweep of Alaska in Grand Forks on Jan. 5-6. Omaha was the runner-up in the Desert Hockey Classic, losing 2-1 to host Arizona State in overtime.
North Dakota holds a 35-18-2 lead in matchups with the Mavericks. The first team to score a goal has won 25 of the last 28 games in the series.
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