Feb. 11 Omaha Hockey Press Conference Transcript
Bridget Brooks, MavPuck.com:
So Marcus, the win — obviously, on Saturday night at Western Michigan — was a huge win for the team.
Marcus Nguyen (Freshman Forward, Omaha Hockey):
Uh-huh.
Bridget Brooks, MavPuck.com:
What does that say for where you guys are now at this point in the season?
Marcus Nguyen (Freshman Forward, Omaha Hockey):
Yeah. I think just being, you know, later in the season, it’s coming off a win against a top-three opponent that Saturday was kind of like a big steppingstone for us, I think. You know, we know where we want to be. And as a team, we set our goals. And I think every day, we’re just kind of taking steps to achieve those goals.
Bridget Brooks, MavPuck.com:
It was a big weekend for you, obviously, personally. Coming into Omaha, you had said when you were younger that you had to kind of change your identity when you went in the WHL, that everybody was the goal scorer. How has your identity changed throughout this season?
Marcus Nguyen (Freshman Forward, Omaha Hockey):
Yeah. I think you kind of see it throughout the team. You know, every guy plays a little differently. And I think for me personally, it’s just kind of working hard and doing the right things before, you know, the cool tricks and the goals and the stuff like that. I think doing the details, using my speed to my advantage, like back-checking on the forecheck, I think that’s a big thing.
Bridget Brooks, MavPuck.com:
Obviously, Lawson (Arena) is a difficult environment to play in, but you guys managed to quiet them on Saturday. How does — how did — the barns in the NCHC compare to the WHL?
Marcus Nguyen (Freshman Forward, Omaha Hockey):
It’s a lot different, for sure. In the “Dub” (WHL), you don’t get the student sections or any of that. So it’s pretty neat and, you know, kind of going to different arenas around the league here and experiencing the, you know, just the intensity of the fans.
Bridget Brooks, MavPuck.com:
Coach Gabinet talked about your speed when you were interviewed in the NCHC profile.
Marcus Nguyen (Freshman Forward, Omaha Hockey):
Uh-huh.
Bridget Brooks, MavPuck.com:
What do you think is the part of your game that has translated best to playing in the NCAA?
Marcus Nguyen (Freshman Forward, Omaha Hockey):
I think just my speed. Like you said, just I think sticking to the strengths of just your game as a player is a big thing. And that’s, you know, what I think is a big part of, you know, you take steps of going pro. You know, in the WHL, I was a speedy guy. And I think just sticking to my strengths as I move along in the NCAA is a big thing.
Bridget Brooks, MavPuck.com:
(Coach Gabinet) talks about you guys focusing on your own game. But this is obviously a big, big opponent coming in here.
Marcus Nguyen (Freshman Forward, Omaha Hockey):
Uh-huh.
Bridget Brooks, MavPuck.com:
Denver’s unbeaten in the last five (games) and ranked (in the Top 10). But that’s nothing new for you guys.
Marcus Nguyen (Freshman Forward, Omaha Hockey):
Uh-huh.
Bridget Brooks, MavPuck.com:
What do you think it’s going to take this weekend from you and from the team to shut them down?
Marcus Nguyen (Freshman Forward, Omaha Hockey):
Yeah. I think it’s playoff hockey. Details are going to be number one. I think, you know, they’re a skilled team over there. You give credit where credits due. But I think it’s going to be playoff it’s going to be a playoff series. And I think, you know, every shift matters. Every period matters. I think it’s going to, you know, come down to those details.
Bridget Brooks, MavPuck.com:
When Omaha came calling to recruit you, what did you know about the city and the hockey program, and how did you decide to come to Omaha?
Marcus Nguyen (Freshman Forward, Omaha Hockey):
Honestly, I didn’t really know much about, you know, Omaha as a city. I knew about the Omaha program and the NCHC. So I think, you know, just kind of doing my research. You know, once Gabs and the rest of the staff reached out, I, you know, hopped on my Safari (browser) and searched it up. So I think that was a cool little thing. And then once I got down here, I was just blown away by the facility and, you know, just the people here.
Bridget Brooks, MavPuck.com:
Talk a little bit about Baxter (Arena). Obviously, there’s only two more home series left in the season. What have you learned about the hockey fans here that maybe you weren’t expecting?
Marcus Nguyen (Freshman Forward, Omaha Hockey):
I think just being a player in this facility is, you know, every game, they’re so close to us. And I think just with, you know, the Blue Line Club even, you get to experience dinners with them (the fans). And you get to chat with fans after games. And it’s pretty incredible.
Timothy Rohwer, UNO Blue Line Club Newsletter:
What did you think of that dinner (Dinner with the Mavs), that event last week?
Marcus Nguyen (Freshman Forward, Omaha Hockey):
Like, what did I think of it?
Timothy Rohwer, UNO Blue Line Club Newsletter:
Well, yeah. What did you think?
Marcus Nguyen (Freshman Forward, Omaha Hockey):
Yeah. It was awesome. I got to I think there’s been two of this year so far. And you get to sit with different kind of fans and just kind of talk. You mingle. You don’t got to talk about hockey all the time. It’s nice to, you know, get to know someone — about their life and, you know, just their life experience.
Mike Gabinet (Head Coach, Omaha Hockey):
Awesome. Good job. Thanks, Marcus.
Marcus Nguyen (Freshman Forward, Omaha Hockey):
Thanks, Gabs.
Mike Gabinet (Head Coach, Omaha Hockey):
Okay, man.
Bridget Brooks, MavPuck.com:
Thanks, Marcus.
Marcus Nguyen (Freshman Forward, Omaha Hockey):
Thanks, guys.
Bridget Brooks, MavPuck.com:
So Coach, obviously, huge win. Kind of inopportune timing to have the bye (week) because you guys probably have been building on that through practice and things like that. But now with just a couple of weeks left in the season, how big of a moment was that for the team to get that win on the road in such a hostile environment?
Mike Gabinet (Head Coach, Omaha Hockey):
Yeah. It’s huge. Obviously, I think, you know, their record the last 14 games or whatever, they were on a pretty hot streak there too. And obviously, not an easy place to play in. So again, to stick with it and have the resiliency as a group to keep showing up and battling and come away with a huge win was massive, you know? And I think just not only you’re getting three points, but beating that opponent, coming off of a, you know, CC (Colorado College) weekend that was pretty good and St. Cloud before that. So it’s just nice to get some momentum. We’ve had some wins every weekend here and keep that moving forward.
Bridget Brooks, MavPuck.com:
Talking about Marcus, when you recruited him during the CHL, it was his speed and his knack for scoring that kind of drew you to him. What have you learned about him — both as a player and his skills as well as some of his off-the-ice things that have made him a strong contributor this season?
Mike Gabinet (Head Coach, Omaha Hockey):
Well, I think you can see his skill set when you watch him play, just his speed, just his skill level. I think he’s probably maybe second on our team right now in goals, if not first, maybe now. So he has that knack for scoring. He had 36 goals last season. And so again, you’re seeing all those attributes. But I think one of the most things that drew us to recruiting him was just his coachability. And when you talk to him, he was very — had a good self-assessment of his game, where he needed to improve to continue developing, liked to talk hockey, liked to talk about development. And, you know, just when a player has that, you know, has that self-assessment — that’s pretty bang-on from what you see, usually those are the guys that keep getting better.
And so really much a student of the game, wanted to be in a place where he’d be pushed and challenged and developed. And then when you, you know, you talk to the people you know around the league or in the hockey world, just always positive feedback on that as well there so too. And you’re seeing it translate, you know, right? He’s been through some ups and downs a little bit through the season, as new players do in a new league, in a new environment.
But man, he just continues to climb and get better and better. And obviously, (he) was a big — had a big weekend for us against Western. And he’ll just continue to do that.
Bridget Brooks, MavPuck.com:
At this point in the season, how different is your team than it was in October? And where have you seen the biggest growth?
Mike Gabinet (Head Coach, Omaha Hockey):
Yeah. I was telling the guys today, I think you can just see guys getting more comfortable. You can see guys growing and getting better. Just — I had I thought we had an excellent — I know the bye weekend came after a big win. But we had an excellent week. We’ve been going pretty hard since the holiday break. And we haven’t — I don’t think we’ve had one day off besides like Sunday since the second half started.
So it’s just nice to get the guys a chance to kind of just recover a little bit, rest a little bit, get away from hockey for a little bit there. And then man, when we practiced during the bye (week), I kind of just I was really impressed with the group and the energy level and the attention to detail. And you can just see guys getting better. And then they feel it. Again, these guys are high-performance athletes. They know when they’re getting better. They know when they’re putting the work in.
And so it’s been fun to watch those guys grow. And you can see the confidence coming. You can see the less decision-making coming — more instinctively playing in that flow state. And those are good things.
Bridget Brooks, MavPuck.com:
Speaking of having that time to kind of rest and recover, any update? Is everybody going to be available for this weekend?
Mike Gabinet (Head Coach, Omaha Hockey):
Yeah. We got a couple of guys still questionable. But I think, you know, guys are getting healthy, which has been a nice obviously, we lost (Spencer Sova) there on Saturday against Western (Michigan) there. But guys are starting to get healthy here, which is nice as a coach. Makes tough lineup decisions. But it’s great for the team having everybody available.
Bridget Brooks, MavPuck.com:
You’re honoring seven seniors this weekend, “Big Sam” (Huo), and then, of course, the six guys that have been the heart and soul of this program for the last four years. What can you say about this group of seniors?
Mike Gabinet (Head Coach, Omaha Hockey):
Yeah. I kind of said it at the Blue Line Club thing, I’m not thinking too much about it, to be honest, just to kind of stay present and not, you know, not get too sad, to be honest. When you’ve been with these guys for so long, you get really close to them. And lots of exciting things happening in their lives. And again, just I think just grateful to have the opportunity to coach those guys for so many years.
And it’s been a really nice partnership. You know, they’ve really kind of embodied what we’ve been about here in Omaha and the community and the team and had some big-time wins — and some adversity — and everything that goes along with playing in this environment. But when you do it together, I think that’s pretty special. When you have the character that they have, it’s pretty special. And, you know, those guys will be lifelong, you know, part of my life and part of our life and my family’s life. And, you know, just lots of good memories to reflect on.
But we’re not done yet. We got lots to go here. So we’ll get a chance to celebrate that at the end of the season. But right now, you know, we want to do right by everybody and show up the best way we can show up here for starting this weekend.
Timothy Rohwer, UNO Blue Line Club Newsletter:
You mentioned honoring. Is there going to be (something) special, you know, before the game?
Mike Gabinet (Head Coach, Omaha Hockey):
Yeah. Yeah. They’ll do a nice senior tribute there on Saturday before the game there, so.
Timothy Rohwer, UNO Blue Line Club Newsletter:
On Saturday?
Mike Gabinet (Head Coach, Omaha Hockey):
Yeah. On Saturday. So it’ll be a nice little a nice little way to recognize those guys and their time here, and get a chance for them to be recognized, which is pretty special. So that’ll be great. We’ll do that Saturday right before the game.
Bridget Brooks, MavPuck.com:
What can fans expect this weekend against this Denver team?
Mike Gabinet (Head Coach, Omaha Hockey):
Yeah. As you guys know, you know, Denver’s a high-octane team that has a lot of talent, which is, you know, what they’ve been known for for a long time. They’re, you know, defending national champions two years ago, etc. But again, I think, again, we obviously, we’ll we got to, you know, you do your pre-scout. You do the tactical things that you want to do to be successful against those guys.
But I think, again, it’s about us, just like we talked about on Saturday against Western Michigan. How are we playing the game? Focus on ourselves here and making sure we’re prepared to go, and bring the best version of ourselves ready to compete and battle. And like Marcus said too, it’s kind of fun. You get to experience a little bit of playoff hockey here too, right? You’re playing for keeps all the time. And I think that’s exciting.
I think leaning into that and enjoying that and facing it head-on — rather than overthinking it or worrying about it, let’s just get after it. And let’s go compete and be ready to battle.
Bridget Brooks, MavPuck.com:
I know you guys talk about focusing on yourself. But are you keeping an eye on the NCHC standings? Because it’s a tight race right there in the middle.
Mike Gabinet (Head Coach, Omaha Hockey):
Yeah. Yeah. I did that on Friday night a little bit. And I stopped because I was getting too nervous watching the games. So I think it’s just, again, you know, for sure, it’s, you know, it’s in your hands, right? I mean, that’s the most important thing. You got to worry about yourself. But obviously, you got to — you’re keeping tabs on it as everybody is there.
But again, just, you know, I always ask myself, how does it serve you, you know, right? And whatever you’re doing, how does it serve you? And if you can’t think of it doing a positive thing, then why are you giving it to your attention? And you got to be channeling all your attention to what serves you and how you’re going to help your team and also yourself.
Awesome. Okay. Thanks, guys.
Bridget Brooks, MavPuck.com:
Thanks, Coach.
Mike Gabinet (Head Coach, Omaha Hockey):
Thanks, Emma.
Emma Goldstein (Sports Information, Omaha Athletics):
Yeah. Thank you.˙
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