Mike Gabinet (Head Coach, Omaha Hockey):
Yeah, good to see everybody. Thanks for coming. Excited to get back playing here this weekend here coming off of a bye weekend here. So, obviously, hosting UMass and really looking forward to getting the weekend underway.
Emma (Sports Information, Omaha Athletics):
Questions for Aidan.
Mike Patterson, Omaha World-Herald:
Aidan just talk about your experience with the Mavs so far.
Aidan de la Gorgendiere (Junior Defenseman, Omaha Hockey):
Yeah it's been a lot of fun. Obviously coming in here start of August, a lot of new faces. It felt pretty uncomfortable. I think that was a big word that a lot of people, a lot of new guys used. But ever since coming in here, the guys have welcomed us with open arms and it's been a blast. It's been a blast.
Bridget Brooks, MavPuck.com:
You wore a letter when you were with the (WHL’s Saskatoon) Blades. How have you applied those leadership skills to your time here in Omaha?
Aidan de la Gorgendiere:
Yeah, I think I try and lead by how I play on the ice. Obviously, I think I'll say a word or two here and there, but yeah, I don't know. I don't want to step on anyone's toes. Obviously, our leadership group is unbelievable, a lot of old guys, so it's a work in progress and still pretty fresh in the season. So yeah, I just try and chime in when I can and play good hockey.
Mike Patterson:
What's been done to get you in a comfort zone? Do all the new guys, do they all hang out together or what?
Aidan de la Gorgendiere:
Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of the guys welcomed us in, kind of showed us around the city. There's a lot of us that live in the same apartment (complex), which has been super helpful. So if you have an issue, you can always just go up and ask one of your buddies. But yeah, I think all of us are in the same position. So it's been nice.
Bridget Brooks:
The roster kind of has a heavy Alberta Golden Bears flavor to it with Lajoie and Hyland and Tschigerl there. Has having those guys with you in the locker room and on the ice helped ease the transition for you at all to Omaha?
Aidan de la Gorgendiere:
Yeah, I think so. I think so. I think there's a couple other guys you could add in there like Trevor Wong. Obviously, I played with him in Saskatoon and so forth. There's been a couple of us that we've kind of all played together, crossed paths. So, I kind of knew most of the guys coming in to this year, the new guys I guess, but like you said, playing with Marc, Sean and Brett last year, it's been awesome. It's been a lot of fun.
Mike Vaillancourt, Learfield Sports:
Speaking of transitions, what are some of the challenges that you've had to overcome as you've adjusted to the NCAA game and life?
Aidan de la Gorgendiere:
Yeah, I think the biggest challenge is probably the speed. It's quite a bit quicker and obviously the talent. There's talent on the first and fourth line and every line in between there. I think it's just being sharp every single day, and trying to get better.
Bridget Brooks:
Looking ahead to this weekend, you faced a couple of different styles with Air Force and then Mankato. How has that prepared you for UMass?
Aidan de la Gorgendiere:
Yeah, I think that – I'm not really sure. I think — I know a lot of the guys talk about in the dressing room, like the Pairwise standings and all that. But like, I think us new guys, we're not quite sure how all that works. So I think our mentality is just approaching every weekend the same, coming out and doing, working on our game plan, and executing what we've talked about in our dressing room.
Mike Patterson:
Aidan, what do you think of the city of Omaha and have you found a good restaurant yet?
Aidan de la Gorgendiere:
I haven't found a good restaurant yet. Trevor (Wong), my roommate, is a really good cook, so he's been cooking a lot at home. I was actually just talking to Gabs on the walk over here. Like, beautiful city. It kind of reminds me a lot of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Kind of flat, hilly city, but everyone here is super friendly, super nice, and super helpful. So it's been nothing but great.
Bridget Brooks:
If I can ask you something a little personal, you honor your mom by writing her name on your sticks. What does that ritual mean to you, getting ready for each game?
Aidan de la Gorgendiere:
Yeah, I think, obviously I lost my mom when I was 17, so... yeah, I play for her every game, and I've kind of done that since she passed away. It's just a kind of reminder that she's always with me, and yeah, I try and play for her every day.
Aidan de la Gorgendiere’s stick features his number (22) and “Mom”
Emma:
Questions for Mike (Gabinet)?
Mike Gabinet:
Awesome. Good job (Aidan). You can head out. Awesome. Good job. Thank you.
Aidan de la Gorgendiere:
Thanks, guys.
Mike Patterson:
Coach, just talk about having an off week this early in the season. How do you like that?
Coach Mike Gabinet:
Yeah, we got hit a little bit by the injury bug, so it's been nice to try to get some guys healthy for this upcoming weekend here. But that's probably the only positive about being off, I think, just because I think once you get rolling, guys want to play. We've been practicing for a long time, and (we) want to get playing in games here, so... A little bit of some positives with the time, but I think guys are excited to kind of just get rolling here and playing games every single weekend.
Bridget Brooks:
You've talked about growth and progression from week to week and getting better. What kind of strides have you seen the team make then from the exhibition and that Mankato series to where they are now?
Coach Mike Gabinet:
Yeah, like Aidan said, I think you can tell guys are getting that kind of real-life feedback and realizing just how you have to play to be successful and where you have to go on the ice to be successful. So, I think that's been a positive note to get some of that real-life feedback and then just continue to work on our game, right? We still have lots of things that we have to improve on. Practice was tough on Monday and Tuesday was you know we did a lot of stuff that was hard to do and not a lot of space out there it can be frustrating at times when you're not producing — when there's tight quarters and stuff — but it's you got to get through it and you you know like we talk about you can do hard you can you can get through it and that's how you grow
So again, working on a lot of things today and today as well. And then tomorrow, hopefully, it'll be a little lighter here and get some good energy here heading into the weekend.
Mike Patterson:
Mike, just talk about UMass coming up this weekend, another team that I think made the NCAA playoffs last season.
Coach Mike Gabinet:
Yeah, another ranked team, another team that was in the NCAA tournament there. So I'm looking forward to it. They're off to a good start here. I think they're 4-1 and played some good hockey here, so it'll be a good challenge here, but a challenge we'll be ready to face, and looking forward to another good opponent coming into Baxter Arena here.
Bridget Brooks:
College Hockey Insider had ranked UMass' defensive unit as the top in the nation. I know your focus is always on what you guys do and what you can control, but what have you been trying to emphasize to help create scoring chances against a defense like that?
Coach Mike Gabinet:
Yeah, well first off, I think you have to be aware of those types of players, especially as a forward. I think kind of one of the new one-on-ones now is actually forwards going out on defensemen in the offensive zone, not just defensemen taking forwards one-on-one the other way around. So something you've got to work on, be prepared for, and know your opponent a little bit there too. So that's definitely something that we're aware of there and we'll have to be conscious of when we play against them.
Mike Patterson:
Coming off that penalty-filled game, Mike, have you... made any adjustments because of that game, or is it just one to put in the rearview mirror and move on from?
Coach Mike Gabinet:
Well, I think like Aidan talked about, too, I think, again, this is a new league for a lot of guys, and I would say college hockey's officiated very tight compared to maybe that major junior, the pro level that some of these guys have experience at there. So again, just you can warn them and talk about as much as you want, but sometimes you need that real feedback that you only have to play a certain way to be successful and to stay out of the box. So I thought guys have been really, you can tell they've been consciously focusing on that here the last couple of weeks here with controlling their sticks and controlling what we can control. So definitely a point of emphasis that we have to keep working on. And, you know, at the end of the day, we want to have more power plays than we're killing. That's for sure.
Bridget Brooks:
Tomorrow, October 23rd, is the 10th anniversary of the first game at Baxter Arena. And you have the distinction of playing in all three of the venues. Well — playing, coaching — in all three of the venues that the Mavericks have been in, the Civic Auditorium, Quest Center (Centurylink, CHI Health Center), and now Baxter. Which is your favorite and why?
Coach Mike Gabinet:
Yeah, great question. I would say Baxter, just because of the on-campus and just, I think, the way it's just so... smartly designed and I just think it's such a beautiful rink I don't know — I'm biased I know — but I think it's the best rink in college hockey and so I just think Baxter. But then obviously reflecting on my playing days, the Civic was a special place where it was so loud, you could barely hear yourself think on the ice out there. And then moving to CenturyLink, I think that was neat because it was brand new. And obviously it's a 16 or 17,000 seat arena there. So, but I'd probably rank them Baxter, Civic, and then CenturyLink would be my ranking.
Bridget Brooks:
What have the new guys said about playing in front of the crowds last week, two weekends ago, against Mankato?
Coach Mike Gabinet:
Yeah, I think they've really enjoyed it. I think they can tell the energy's there. And I think they go a little bit from that uncomfortable feeling a little bit just to being at home, being in front of a crowd. And now I think they're starting to roll into that just excitement period there, where you're feeding off the energy, you're enjoying it.
They're getting more comfortable skating in the arena. So the guys love it. You can tell the guys love it here. They love the city. They love the university. They love each other, the teammates. And so, just to top it all off, we get to play one of the best buildings in the country with some of the best fans in the country. So it's all positive, that's for sure.
Mike Patterson:
Mike, you talked about the injury bug. Are there any players definitely out this weekend?
Coach Mike Gabinet:
Yeah, I think Sam — Big Sam Huo — will be out this weekend here. He's just recovered from a lower body injury. And just another guy's questionable here to see if we'll get him back here. So, again, trying to be a little bit cautious here earlier in the year that we don't aggravate things to have those go. And then Joe Gramer, he had surgery there, maybe a week ago now here, so he'll be out for just a little bit longer there but he's he's back skating now at least and getting back active there so a couple guys down but um yeah opportunity for other guys to get some playing time here early in the season which is great.
Awesome. Okay, thanks guys
