The Inaugural Series at Baxter Arena (UNO vs. Air Force) -- Oct. 23-24, 2015

Wow, what a week it's been for UNO Hockey! In this blog post, I'll round up some of the honors and awards accumulated by individual players and the team this week, provide links to the preview articles about the series, and give you info about pre-game and gametime activities scheduled for this weekend's inaugural weekend at Baxter Arena. (And then after the series, I'll post links to the coverage from the games themselves.)

First, the honors:
UNO achieved its highest-ever poll rankings this week -- for the first time ever, we were ranked #1 in the USA Today/US College Hockey Magazine's poll. We were #2 in the USCHO poll (which is the one that NCAA Ice Hockey uses for their weekly graphic).

Here's the #1 ranking from USA Today/US College Hockey Magazine (week 3):

Here's the #2 ranking from USCHO:

Austin Ortega picked up honors as The NCHC Offensive Player of the week. He has five goals (three of them game winners) and one assist in four games played.

He was also named Warrior Hockey's "Player of the Week":

Ortega's goal earned him the #1 spot in the NCHC Top 5 Plays of the week (week of Oct. 13-17):

http://www.nchc.tv/nchc/video/nchc-nchc-top-5-plays-of-the-week---s3,-episode-2-10-20-15

(starts at the 1:25 mark)

Nominate a play this weekend to the NCHC Top 5 Plays of the week by using the hashtag #NCHCTopPlay on Twitter.

And College Hockey News named UNO its "Team of the Week."

Here's the preview stories:
Here's a story KMTV did about the #1/#2 ranking:
http://www.kmtv.com/news/local-news/uno-mavs-hockey-team-1-in-poll-fans-ecstatic?autoplay=true

USCHO did a story about the opening of Baxter Arena:
http://www.uscho.com/2015/10/22/home-at-last-omaha-opens-baxter-arena-as-one-of-the-top-teams-in-college-hockey/

Tom Shatel talks UNO Hockey:
http://www.omaha.com/sports/shatel-thanks-to-keen-thinking-cu-soccer-nu-volleyball-and/article_86a6fd2f-dd26-597a-8626-b8659a41c1e7.html

OMavs preview article about the series:
http://www.omavs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31400&ATCLID=210442034

Air Force preview article about the series:
http://www.goairforcefalcons.com/sports/m-hockey/spec-rel/102115aaa.html

Omaha World-Herald preview article about Friday's game:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/in-a-week-of-firsts-uno-hockey-is-trying-to/article_6fbf1f1f-f527-544a-8f13-d60c6ae83152.html

KETV story about the opening of the new arena:
http://www.ketv.com/news/mavericks-opens-baxter-arena-against-air-force/36005562?utm_source=Social&utm_medium=FBPAGE&utm_campaign=KETV%20NewsWatch%207&Content%20Type=Story

Colorado Springs Gazette preview story about the series:
http://gazette.com/air-force-hockey-hoping-to-spoil-top-ranked-nebraska-omahas-arena-opening-party/article/1561778

"The Bottom Line" (OWH podcast) previews the opening of Baxter Arena:
http://www.omaha.com/sports/blogs/tbl-tony-boone-talks-uno-hockey-baxter-arena-the-crawford/article_f0013406-79cd-11e5-b2aa-23893491be91.html

Original UNO Hockey beat writer Eric Olson (now of the Associated Press) writes about the impact of Baxter Arena and the changes in the UNO Athletic Department since 2009 (article appeared in the San Luis Obispo newspaper):
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/sports/article41286288.html

OMavs story about Friday night's win:
http://www.omavs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31400&ATCLID=210447114

College Hockey News box score of Friday's game:
http://www.collegehockeynews.com/box/final/20151023/afa/uno/

Omaha World-Herald story about Friday night's game:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/uno-opens-baxter-arena-with-victory-over-air-force/article_6b2a204e-79fa-11e5-900c-e3ce8f9897e8.html

Omaha World-Herald story about the pre-game program:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/notes-alberts-dedicates-arena-to-uno-students-former-a-d/article_cb69cd99-4011-5063-a181-60b476694a91.html

Omaha World-Herald video of the Frozen Four banner raising:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/blog/video-mavs-open-baxter-arena-raise-frozen-four-banner/article_1b298d76-79ed-11e5-9137-8b3802df6974.html

Cool Omaha World-Herald video (with some time-lapse moments) of the opening of the arena:
http://studio.omaha.com/?ndn.trackingGroup=91341&ndn.siteSection=omahawh_spt_ncaa_sty_pp&ndn.videoId=29852042&freewheel=91341&sitesection=omahawh_spt_ncaa_sty_pp&vid=29852042

Tom Shatel shares his thoughts about the first game at Baxter Arena:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/shatel-uno-hockey-opener-brings-more-than-its-share-of/article_f0407b59-d38e-5c8b-aece-90545b724711.html

Here's a time lapse video of the pre-game festivities Friday night:



OMavs story about Saturday's sweep:
http://www.omavs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31400&ATCLID=210449428

College Hockey News box score of Saturday's game:
http://www.collegehockeynews.com/box/final/20151024/afa/uno/

Omaha World-Herald story about Saturday night's sweep:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/no-letdown-mavericks-bring-opening-weekend-to-a-close-by/article_9bc314f0-7ac1-11e5-8ce7-23514cda1220.html

Dirk Chatelain included the opening of Baxter Arena as part of his "one-drous" night story:
http://www.omaha.com/sports/chatelain-crawford-provides-the-capper-to-a-one-drous-omaha/article_11686c84-f0b4-5bc6-bbdc-77a0d166dbb5.html

Stuff you need to know about the game!
First, UNO has released a special app for Baxter Arena, called "Mav Experience." Read about it here:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/uno-s-baxter-arena-app-is-among-first-of-its/article_3d35b13a-da0d-50a4-a127-9e3e40b68227.html

Parking woes are sure to be an issue for the first series, despite UNO's efforts to get the word out about alternate routes to Baxter Arena and parking options in Aksarben Village. Check out this story about parking options for Baxter Arena:
http://www.unomaha.edu/athletics/arena/parking-information.php

UNO prepared this PDF to address parking/tailgaiting and traffic info:
http://www.omavs.com/pdf9/3999311.pdf

Get to Aksarben Village early and celebrate with other fans at Dudley's Pizza & Tavern's #GetYourGameFaceOn pre-game party! The event starts around 4 p.m. with a photo booth, face painting, emcee/DJ Shif-D, and Q&A with #oldbulls Mark Bernier, Kendall Sidoruk & Dan Swanson. Check out Dudley's new Game Day menu!

More details here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/464718103728518/

Also, Dudley's is the "Home of Maverick Hockey" -- they will have live streams (or live TV coverage) of ALL UNO Hockey games, both home and away, during the 2015-16 season. Check out their website here.

Still need tickets for the series? The games are sold out, but you can find tickets here:
Friday tickets
Saturday tickets

Here's how student tickets will be handled (fun YouTube video!)
https://youtu.be/XBeWj9FJnSo

Doors will open on Friday night at 5:30 p.m. We haven't heard an official "start time" for the pre-game activities, but there will be approximately 50 minutes of speeches, ceremonial puck-dropping, and Frozen Four banner-raising. (Estimated puck drop is 7:42 p.m.)

Jim Cornelison will sing the National Anthem:

The Mavs are happy to welcome Jim Cornelison to Baxter Arena on Friday for the National Anthem. Please sing along. https://t.co/vHpSSzMiny

— Maverick Hockey (@UNO_Hockey) October 21, 2015

So get to your seat early, wear black, and GET LOUD! #WearBlackGetLoud

There will be an inaugural night t-shirt that will be available for purchase in the Baxter Arena Team Store. Short-sleeve shirts are $22; long-sleeve are $29, and hoodies are $45. The team store opens at 2 p.m. on Friday.

It's also Parent's Weekend.

Baxter Arena ticket policy re: children:

• Children 2 years and under are free (no ticket required) if they sit on a ticketholder's lap.
• If the 2-year-old wants their own seat, they need a ticket.
• Over 2 years old must have a ticket.

And one important note from UNO:
Once your ticket has been scanned, there is NO RE-ENTRY of the arena. So bring everything you need the first time!

If you want to gear up for the game, visit Lawlor's main location at 84th & J. Tell them you want the "Mavpuck discount" and you'll save 10% on your entire purchase (through 10/31/15).

TV Coverage:
Friday night's game will start at 7 p.m. on NCHC.tv and at 7:30 p.m. on American Sports Network, which is channel 42.2 (over-the-air), Cox Channel 121. It's also on Centurylink Channel 43. DirecTV will also have the game on Friday night channel 628-1 and Saturday morning at 2:30 a.m. on Channel 681. Jim Rich will do play-by-play and Pat Micheletti will provide color.

Radio Coverage:
Both games can be heard live on 1180 The Zone 2 (1180 AM). Dave Ahlers will do play-by-play, and Terry Leahy will handle color. Lester St. James will provide ice-level reports. The radio show should begin at 6:30 p.m.

You can also tune into Mavradio.fm to hear the student call of the game. Noah Sullinger and Matt Barros will have the action for you!

And, just for fun, here's a time lapse of "the building of Baxter Arena" -- not construction, but "a day in the life":
https://hdr.wistia.com/medias/zq0bzwof1d

The Arena Origin Story (Part 2)

By Jon Brooks

In Part 1 of "The Arena Origin Story" we touched on the nascent days of hockey in Omaha, looking at how the The Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum became the hub for pucks in the area.

Whether or not that piece of property -- nestled in the middle of Omaha -- is "hallowed ground" for the sport is yet to be seen. But there is no denying that the area holds an important place in the city's sports landscape.

The Spokes on the Wheel
With the Omaha Lancers finding a foothold at Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum in the late 80s, hockey's passionate fans came roaring to the fore. A rough start to the franchise's history was succeeded by teams with excellent records, and capacity crowds to cheer on the boys.

It only stood to reason that other interested parties would stand up and take notice.

Not only would rumblings once again surface regarding the possibility of UNO Hockey, but a minor league hockey team's owner would even propose building a 10,000-seat arena in Omaha.

The Land of Our Dreams
In November of 1990, the Ak-Sar-Ben board of governors decided to put its 340 acres of property up for sale.

As I mentioned in Part I, the proceeds from horse racing on the property had declined throughout the 1980s, and those charged with its care started looking for other opportunities.

When the decision was made to sell, it was done with the idea that only select civic entities would even be considered.

An Omaha World-Herald article on Nov. 20, 1990 stated: "A new owner would be prohibited from using the land and buildings for any commercial activity..."

Obviously, that didn't quite end up being the case, and the Aksarben property is today a vibrant "mixed-use" development with commercial, residential, and educational facilities.

UNO was one of the educational entities on the short list for the sale. Local leaders felt there was merit in the idea that the property would allow for UNO's landlocked campus to have expansion opportunities.

Another entity that Aksarben's leadership found acceptable as a buyer was Douglas County, and board member Steve McCollister started devising a plan for the property.

McCollister proposed many possibilities for the property, and the idea of UNO as a major participant was definitely at play. In addition, he proposed building a new sports arena:

"The number of seats hasn't been determined but probably would be between 8,000 and 15,000," McCollister said. "Omaha's City Auditorium Arena seats 9,300; the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln seats 14,300." -- Omaha World-Herald, Jan. 5, 1991

There was a certain amount of debate as to where the city should build a new sports arena. Some local politicians (such as then-Mayor P.J. Morgan) favored downtown Omaha as a locale. Others were pushing for the soon-to-be available Aksarben property.

The sale of Aksarken had the resultant effect of putting all the various plans in limbo.

"Hockey at UNO?"
That sentence started out an Omaha World-Herald article published on March 22, 1991.

UNO had just released a 20-year master plan, and hockey was listed as a possible addition to athletics.

[UNO Athletic Director Bob] Gibson said several people have asked him about UNO adding hockey. He said the success of the Omaha Lancers is probably one reason why.

"I don't think there's any question that has something to do with it," he said. "This is a hockey city."

The article itself was little more than a "tease," but it showed the concept was on UNO's radar.

Douglas County Makes Its Pitch
Douglas County Commissioner Steve McCollister wrote an editorial (published in the Omaha World-Herald on Jan. 8, 1992) titled "How Purchase of Ak - Sar - Ben Would Add to Quality of Life."

The plan would see the county purchasing the property, and the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben continuing as a foundation (using proceeds from the sale for charitable work within the community).

McCollister also wrote: "It is important to stress that it is not what Ak - Sar - Ben is today that is exciting; it is what it can be in 10 or 20 years. This is not an offer to buy a racetrack."

The vision that McCollister had is largely what we have seen the Aksarben development become (albeit with a significant commercial component).

Mayor Daub Enters the Picture
In April of 1995, Mayor Hal Daub started talking about redevelopment possibilities at Aksarben. Debate was swirling as to whether the property -- which in its heyday had been known for horse racing -- should be used for "non-gambling" uses, or whether casino gambling should be allowed on the property.

Daub focused on redevelopment centered around educational uses for UNO. He commented on the topic in the April, 21, 1995, issue of the Omaha World-Herald.

Mayor Daub said Friday that a conference center, a sports arena and an engineering college for the University of Nebraska at Omaha are among the redevelopment options that are under consideration for Ak - Sar - Ben.

Daub said the plan could include a 6,000-seat sports arena for hockey and basketball and a conference center for use by the city's medical schools and other educational institutions.

He said his personal view was that an engineering college "should offer undergraduate and graduate study, as well as continuing education classes."

(Note: Hal Daub currently serves on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents, and was one of the board members who approved the bonds to fund the UNO Community Arena adjacent to the Aksarben redevelopment).

McCollister voiced similar views the following week, and expressed his concerns about the property being turned over to "gaming" interests. He also reiterated the notion of the property being used for future UNO facilities.

Many discussions have been held over the years about uses as varied as UNO facilities and parking, amphitheaters, soccer fields, amateur and collegiate hockey to Shakespeare on the Green. -- Omaha World-Herald, April 28, 1995

In the final sum game, the "non-gambling" interests won out, and the road toward the ongoing Aksarben redevelopment we see today was forged.

It is fascinating to see how the property has developed in a fashion similar to those early visions.

It wasn't easy getting from there to here, and the notion of UNO having a new sports arena -- let alone a hockey team -- seemed like a faint dream.

While local leaders were ruminating on the future of sports, entertainment, and conventions in the area (along with the dealings at Aksarben, Mayor Daub was laying the groundwork for riverfront redevelopment downtown), UNO Athletic Director Don Leahy was laying the groundwork for D-I hockey at the university.

The "Don" of a New Era
The concept of D-I hockey at UNO was again floated publicly as Don Leahy returned to UNO for another stint as athletic director. This time, Leahy would pull it off.

Leahy's installment as AD was covered in the Aug. 11, 1995 issue of the Omaha World-Herald:

Don Leahy, introduced as UNO's new athletic director in a press conference on Thursday, said he had come up with the idea during his previous stint as athletic director at the school, from 1974 through 1985.

"Shortly after I arrived, I went to Ronald Roskens -- who had hired me -- with a plan to start hockey at UNO," Leahy said. "He said he liked it, but because of the timing and some possible problems involved, we decided to put it on hold."

Leahy had come to UNO from Ak - Sar - Ben's executive staff, where his responsibilities included working with the Omaha Knights of the Central Hockey League.

Now, more than 20 years later, UNO Chancellor Del Weber is enthused about the possibility, Leahy said.

But coming up with the funding -- and finding a place to play -- are different problems.

"I would think it would be extremely difficult for us to play at Ak - Sar - Ben, with another hockey team (the Omaha Lancers) and a basketball team (Omaha Racers) already there," he said. "But that will be part of our investigation. I haven't looked into it yet, but we're going to look at every option."

Another option would be renovation at the City Auditorium that would include ice for hockey.

Leahy had been brought in to revitalize athletics. There was considerable hand-wringing regarding UNO Athletics in the early 1990s, and it wasn't a pretty period.

I was a UNO student at the time, and there were some in Omaha who were even suggesting that the university drop athletics altogether.

Leahy -- and hockey -- proved to be the elixir that would fix an ailing athletic department.

(Note: That was part of my motivation for sending Bridget over to UNO to stand in line for hockey season tickets in May of 1996. I saw our school doing something positive for athletics, and thought it was important to support them in the effort).

Looking back, it is fascinating to consider Leahy's connection to the Omaha Knights organization, and his previous employment with Ak-Sar-Ben.

Even though the UNO Hockey program has yet to play a game in the area, Aksarben is inextricably tied to the program, and it almost seems like UNO building a new home there was predetermined from the inception.

But as we all know, the program would take a few detours on its road to the UNO Community Arena...

Next time: The Arena Origin Story: Part 3

Seat Selection at the New UNO Community Arena

The selection process for seats in the new arena is well underway! The new UNO Community Arena, located in Aksarben Village, will host its first hockey game on October 23, 2015.

In 2010, UNO announced that it would use a "priority points" process to determine seat selection. Points would be awarded for consecutive season tickets (dating back to 1997) as well as donations to the One Fund.

Letters were sent out notifying individuals of their "priority" number, and people were given the opportunity to make corrections or improve their status by making additional donations.

UNO also sent out a brochure outlining the pricing options (click on the image to enlarge):

Pricing for UNO Hockey tickets for the 2015-16 season is:
Suites: $40,000 (corners) – $50,000 (center ice)
Club Seats: $1500 per season, per seat
Glass: $495 per seat
Lower Premier (basically, center ice in the lower bowl, goal line to goal line on the non-suite side): $495 per seat
Lower End Zone (lower bowl seats, shoot-once end): $455
Upper Premier (goal line to goal line in the upper bowl): $295 per seat
Upper End Zones (upper bowl seats, both ends of the ice): $265
UNO Students: Free

There are 17 suites available for purchase. Suites include 12 fixed seats, plus four additional "bar rail" seats and four standing room tickets. Suites also include four parking passes per suite in the private parking lot, plus access to the Club Lounge and Suite Concierge staff. Suite purchases include all arena events.

Club suites include tickets to all UNO athletics regular-season events (hockey, basketball, volleyball) and first right of refusal on all non-UNO Athletic events. It also includes access to a Club Lounge and premium parking (accounts with 1-4 tickets will receive one parking pass; 5-8 tickets will receive two passes, etc.). Club suite chairs are 22" seats and have the UNO logo on them.

Regular seats are 20" seats (non-logoed) and season ticket holders will have "exclusive pre-sale access to all non-UNO Athletic events."

Parking is free and is available on a first-come, first-served basis, with more than 2400 stalls available. Premier parking is available for Suite and Club Seat members.

The process was finalized in March and the higher level priority people were given the opportunity to select their seats "on paper" in mid-March because the software wasn't available yet.

In late March, the software was finalized and people were given the opportunity to select their seats using the iomedia software.

You can view the available seats here:
omavshockey.io-media.com

Current UNO season ticket holders finished selecting their seats in mid-April. Individuals who had called the UNO ticket office and asked to be put on the waiting list were given the opportunity to select next.

The general public is expected to be able to start selecting on or around April 24, 2015.

If you are interested in purchasing season tickets, call 402-554-MAVS.

You can read the Mavpuck.com threads about the new arena seat selection process here:
2015-16 Season Tickets
Purchased My Tickets Today


4/22/15 Update:
UNO Athletics has announced that season tickets for the 2015-16 hockey season will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. on Monday, April 27. At that time, tickets can be purchased online through OMavs.com/tix, in person at the Sapp Fieldhouse ticket office, or by calling 402-554-MAVS.