Tournament Preview: Cactus Cup Tournament, Palm Desert California, Jan. 3-4, 2025

The second half of the 2024-25 season kicks off at the inaugural Coachella Valley Cactus Cup tournament in Palm Desert, California. The Omaha Mavericks will face the Holy Cross Crusaders on Friday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. Pacific/9 p.m. Central. Omaha is expected to be the home team for the game.

UDPATE: The Mavs will face UMass Lowell on Saturday in the championship game. Omaha will be the visiting team as UMass Lowell is the official tournament host. (Losers of both Friday matchups play at 3:30 p.m. Pacific on Saturday; winners play at 7 p.m. Pacific Saturday.) Holy Cross will face Michigan Tech in the early game.

Omaha and Holy Cross have only met once — also at a tournament in Troy, New York, in 2005. The Mavericks defeated the Crusaders to win the 55th Annual Rensselaer/Bank of America Holiday Hockey Tournament with a 6-1 victory that night. So the overall series is 1-0-0 in favor of the Mavericks.

The Mavericks are coming off an exhibition win against the University of Manitoba on Dec. 29. In that game, five different Mavericks scored (Jacob Guevin, Sam Stange, Jimmy Glynn, Isaiah Norlin, and Zach Urdahl) to give Omaha a 5-0 win.

There was no pre-tournament press conference before the team came out to California, and there was no new episode of the MavPuckCast recorded after the exhibition.

About Saturday’s Possible Opponent:

• UMass Lowell. Omaha faced the River Hawks in last year’s January tournament — ASU’s Desert Hockey Classic in Tempe — defeating them 4-3 in overtime to advance to the tournament championship against the Sun Devils. UNO is 5-2-0 all-time against the River Hawks. UMass Lowell is currently ranked no. 10 in the national polls.
• Michigan Tech. Omaha is 8-3-1 all time against the Huskies. They last played Feb. 2, 2013 in Omaha, with MTU winning that game 2-1.

For Fans Attending the Games in Person in Palm Desert:

The Omaha vs. Holy Cross game starts at 7 p.m. local time at Acrisure Arena, 75702 Varner Road in Palm Desert. The two main entrances are located on the east side of the building, next to the Patio. Acrisure Arena has a clear bag policy. Paid parking is available. (Full arena policies.) 

Game tickets can be accessed from the Acrisure Arena Ticketmaster site here.  

There is no pre-game send-off. There is also no official fan gathering before or after the games. 

For Fans Not Attending In Person:

All games will be on Flo Sports ($). You can sign up for a monthly pass for $29.99/month. (Don’t forget to cancel the pass after this weekend though or it will automatically renew!)

Friday’s game link is here. 

Saturday’s game link is here. 

There are no watch parties scheduled in Omaha.

When:

> Friday, 7 p.m. Pacific/9 p.m. Central at Acrisure Arena (Palm Desert, California)

> Saturday, either 3:30 p.m. Pacific/5:30 p.m. Central or 7 p.m. Pacific/9 p.m. Central (depending on outcome of Friday’s game)

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 and Saturday night’s games will be streamed on Flo Hockey (Flo Sports).

Here is the link to the Friday broadcast:

https://www.flohockey.tv/signup?redirect=%2Flive%2F149609

Here is the link for the Saturday broadcast:

https://www.flohockey.tv/signup?redirect=%2Flive%2F149611 

(It’s $29.99 to subscribe to Flo Sports for one month; be sure to cancel your subscription after the weekend so it doesn’t automatically renew next month!)

Live Stats:

Friday and Saturday night stats will be available here. 

On the most recent episode of the MavPuckCast, Jon and Jason discuss the Omaha Maverick Hockey team’s series against Lindenwood at Baxter Arena — includes video clips and their picks for “Player of the Week.” They talk about some “Things You Missed at Baxter Arena” — including a surprise Mavboni driver picking up the fish. They conclude the episode with their preview and predictions for Omaha’s upcoming trip to Palm Desert, California, to participate in the 2025 Coachella Valley Cactus Cup holiday hockey tournament at Acrisure Arena.

Next up: Omaha faces Colorado College at Baxter Arena on Friday, Jan. 10 and Saturday, Jan. 11. Puck drop for both games is at 7:07 p.m. Saturday night is “Princess and Super Hero Night.”

Tournament Preview: Ice Breaker Tournament, Las Vegas, Oct. 11-12, 2024

The 2024-25 hockey season kicks off at the Ice Breaker Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Omaha Mavericks will face the UMass Minutemen on Friday, Oct. 11 at 6 p.m. Central. The Mavs will face either the University of Minnesota or the Air Force Academy on Saturday, depending on the outcomes of Friday’s games.

No. 15/17 Omaha and No. 14 UMass last faced off almost 20 years ago — in December 2004 in Amherst, Mass. — with Omaha Hockey losing 5-2. The overall series is 5-2-1 in favor of the Mavericks all-time. 

UMass has played two games already, a regular-season win against Bentley and an exhibition loss in overtime versus RPI.

Omaha fell 3-2 in overtime to the University of Wisconsin in an exhibition on Saturday, Oct. 5 at Baxter Arena. Omaha had jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a pair of goals from junior forward Tyler Rollwagen before surrendering two goals in the third period. 

Coach Mike Gabinet said the team “got some really good feedback from the game.” He added, “It didn’t feel like an exhibition game. It felt like a game almost in February or March, to be honest, with the pace and tempo to that.”

Looking ahead to UMass, Gabinet said, “It will be an exciting test to get those guys to open the season.” He noted they are a ranked team that won a national championship in 2021.

UMass is one of the top 3 college hockey teams by average height (6'1.3"), while Omaha is one of the 5 smallest teams (average height of 5'11.6"). The height difference doesn’t worry Coach Gabinet. “So long as you are ultra-competitive and get inside and have good posture, have good leverage — good things happen, no matter [the] size of the [team] you’re going against.” 

For Fans Attending the Games in Person in Las Vegas:

The Omaha vs. UMass game starts at 4 p.m. local time at Orleans Arena, 4500 W. Tropicana Avenue in Paradise, Nevada. Orleans Arena has a clear bag policy and is cashless for concession purchases. Parking is free for all guests. (Full arena policies.) 

Game tickets can be accessed from the Boyd Gaming Ticketmaster site here. 

The “Mavs on the Move” event, sponsored by the UNO Alumni Association, will be held from 6-9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 11 in the Dauphine Ballroom in the Orleans Hotel & Casino. Registration has closed. Omaha fans WILL be able to re-enter the arena for the Air Force vs. Minnesota game. Please stop at the box office to have your hand stamped BEFORE leaving the arena (your game ticket will not work for a second entry). 

For Fans Not Attending In Person:

All games will be on the Big 10+ Livestream ($).

When:

> Friday, 6 p.m. Central at Orleans Arena (Las Vegas, Nevada)

> Saturday, either 6 p.m. Central or 9:30 p.m. Central (depending on outcome of Friday’s game)

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 and Saturday night’s games will be streamed on the Big 10+ Network. 

Here is the link to the Friday broadcast:

https://www.bigtenplus.com/en-int/livestream/icebreaker-tournament-umass-vs-nebraska-omaha/1807538

(It’s $12.99 to subscribe to the Big 10+ Network for one month; be sure to cancel your subscription after the weekend so it doesn’t automatically renew next month)

(Note: the Saturday game streams will be activated after the outcome of Friday’s games is known.)

There is a watch party on Friday night at Aksarben Cinema; however, it is sold out.

Live Stats:

Friday and Saturday night stats will be available here.

Catch up on the MavPuckCast podcast by watching a special mini episode of the podcast. In the 13-minute Season 7, Episode 4, Jon recaps the Wisconsin series, previews the Ice Breaker, and showcases our amazing Founding Members! 

Next up: Omaha faces Augustana at Baxter Arena on Friday, Oct. 18 and Saturday, Oct. 19. Puck drop for both games is at 7:07 p.m.