The Story Behind #PlayFor13

Two years ago, four of us were in Kalamazoo, Michigan when a pivotal moment happened. With two weeks to go in the regular season, the Mavs were playing in a crucial NCHC series. With just seconds to go in the second period, the Mavs were on the penalty kill. Senior forward Zahn Raubenheimer went down to block a shot, and the puck broke his first metatarsal bone on his foot. Although injured, Raubenheimer got up and tried to block another shot. Time ran out in the period and his teammates on the ice immediately surrounded him and helped him off the ice.

Maverick fan Lindsay Schellhardt captured that moment on camera:

That moment was his last in his hockey career. But it sparked a movement, and a hashtag: #PlayFor13.

John Sparano came up with the #PlayFor13 hashtag and it quickly spread. Here is John's original tweet:

A young man blocked a shot broke his foot ended his college career and what did he do? Got up and tried to block another. #heart #playfor13

— John Sparano IV (@JSparanoIV) February 26, 2014

Jon designed a t-shirt logo that we were going to sell to show fan support for Zahn. Unfortunately, UNO compliance intervened and we weren't able to produce them, but it remains a powerful image.

Zahn was never able to play for the Mavs again. His injury was season-ending, and he's now enrolled in medical school.

One more Zahn story:
Zahn was already a fan favorite in my family. He was my niece Olivia's favorite player. At a Skate With the Mavs event in December 2013, I introduced Olivia to Zahn, telling him, "Olivia is your biggest fan." He looked her right in the eye and replied, "No, Olivia, I'm YOUR biggest fan."

Awwww.....

Here's Zahn with my nieces (left to right) Olivia, Julia, (family friend, Emma), Veronica, and Emily.

You can read Rob White's story about Zahn in the Omaha World-Herald:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/uno-s-raubenheimer-has-no-regret-over-injury/article_c173cb3d-1649-5d8a-8182-0165f0bc4765.html

Omaha vs. St. Cloud: Feb. 19-20, 2016 at Baxter Arena

This weekend begins a stretch of four crucial home games for the Mavs -- we're calling it #HomeStretchFOURHomeIce. This weekend, UNO faces #3 St. Cloud State at Baxter Arena.

As Jon pointed out in the Mavpuck Group this week, the Huskies have the nation's top-ranked power play unit, and is a team that has scored a nation-leading 130 goals on the season. However, St. Cloud has struggled a bit on the penalty kill. So if the Mavs can stay OUT of the box, and St. Cloud spends some time IN the box, that bodes well. Of course, another key stat for the Mavs this year is scoring first. So #WearBlackGetLoud!

We're back to normal game times for this weekend too -- 7:07 p.m. starts both nights.

And watch for UNO Student Involvement as you come into Friday night's game. They'll be giving out postcards tonight advertising the Hobey Baker Award voting. If you would like postcards to give out in your section, stop by the ticket box office at 6:30 p.m. and pick up a stack!

The Mavs remained #12 in the USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll this week.

Evan Weninger picked up Goaltender of the Week honors from The NCHC:
http://www.nchchockey.com/news_article/show/612422?referrer_id=878553

And Tyler Vesel's SICK goal earned him top honors in this week's NCHC Top 5 Plays of the week:

NCHC Top 5 Plays of the Week - 2/16/16
The NCHC Top 5 Plays of the Week, presented by TRIA Orthopaedic Center, from Feb. 12-13 are up! This week's plays feature four goals and a save off the goal line by a defenseman. See who took the top spot:
Posted by The National Collegiate Hockey Conference on Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Here's the roundup of stories leading up to the series (and post-game coverage links, when they're added).

Here's the OMavs.com preview of the series:
http://www.omavs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=31400&ATCLID=210723911

COOOOOPPPPP!!! Nice article about senior defenseman and captain Brian Cooper from the OWH:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/captain-cooper-versatile-defenseman-produces-on-the-ice-while-being/article_ecf498ee-dab7-5182-8417-9c8f2ce73cfa.html

Series Preview from the Omaha World-Herald:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/mavs-three-closing-series-have-playoff-atmosphere-in-bid-for/article_29341ae7-7415-5ab1-bf8b-57e3cdc3320d.html

Here's the video highlights from Saturday night:

TV 

Coverage:
Friday and Saturday night's games will be televised on NCHC.tv.

Radio Coverage:
The games will be broadcast on 1180 AM (1180 The Zone 2). Dave Ahlers will provide radio play-by-play and Terry Leahy will provide color commentary. Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. both nights with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show.

2016-2017 UNO Hockey Schedule

UNO released the 2016-17 hockey schedule on Wednesday. We had started this blog post back in February to try and piece together what it would look like, but now we know!

Saturday, Oct. 8 -- 7:07 p.m. -- Exhibition (opponent TBD)
Friday, Oct. 14 -- 7:05 p.m. -- vs Alaska Anchorage (Brice Alaska Gold Rush) (Fairbanks, AK)
Saturday, Oct. 15 -- 10:05 p.m. -- vs. Alaska (Brice Alaska Gold Rush) (Fairbanks, AK)
Friday, Oct. 21 -- 7:07 p.m. -- Vermont
Saturday, Oct. 22 -- 7:07 p.m. -- Vermont
Friday, Oct. 28 -- 7:07 p.m. -- UMass Lowell
Saturday, Oct. 29 -- 7:07 p.m. -- UMass Lowell

Friday, Nov. 4 -- 7:07 p.m. -- Colorado College
Saturday, Nov. 5 -- 7:07 p.m. -- Colorado College
Friday, Nov. 11 -- 6:35 p.m. -- Miami (Oxford, OH)
Saturday, Nov. 12 -- 6:05 p.m. -- Miami (Oxford, OH)
Friday, Nov. 18 -- 7:07 p.m. -- Minnesota Duluth
Saturday, Nov. 19 -- 7:07 p.m. -- Minnesota Duluth
Friday, Nov. 25 -- 6:07 p.m. -- Northern Michigan (Marquette, MI)
Saturday, Nov. 26 -- 6:07 p.m. -- Northern Michigan (Marquette, MI)

Friday, Dec. 2 -- 7:05 p.m. -- Wisconsin (Madison, WI)
Saturday, Dec. 3 -- 7:05 p.m. -- Wisconsin (Madison, WI)
Friday, Dec. 9 -- 7:37 p.m. -- St. Cloud State (St. Cloud, MN)
Saturday, Dec. 10 -- 7:07 p.m. -- St. Cloud State (St. Cloud, MN)
Friday, Dec. 30 -- 7:07 p.m. -- Lake Superior State
Saturday, Dec. 31 -- 4:07 p.m. -- Lake Superior State

Friday, Jan. 6 -- 7:07 p.m. -- North Dakota
Saturday, Jan. 7 -- 7:07 p.m. -- North Dakota
Friday, Jan. 13 -- 8:37 p.m. -- Colorado College (Colorado Springs, CO)
Saturday, Jan. 14 -- 8:07 p.m. -- Colorado College (Colorado Springs, CO)
Friday, Jan. 20 -- 7:07 p.m. -- Miami
Saturday, Jan. 21 -- 7:07 p.m. -- Miami
Friday, Jan. 27 -- 8:36 p.m. -- Denver (Denver, CO)
Saturday, Jan. 28 -- 8:06 p.m. -- Denver (Denver, CO)

Friday, Feb. 3 -- 7:07 p.m. -- Minnesota Duluth (Duluth, MN)
Saturday, Feb. 4 -- 7:07 p.m. -- Minnesota Duluth (Duluth, MN)
Friday, Feb. 10 -- 7:07 p.m. -- Western Michigan
Saturday, Feb. 11 -- 7:07 p.m. -- Western Michigan
Friday, Feb. 24 -- 7:37 p.m. -- North Dakota (Grand Forks, ND)
Saturday, Feb. 25 -- 7:07 p.m. -- North Dakota (Grand Fords, ND)

Friday, March 3 -- 7:07 p.m. -- Denver
Saturday, March 4 -- 7:07 p.m. -- Denver

Friday, March 10 -- NCHC Quarterfinals (Game 1)
Saturday, March 11 -- NCHC Quarterfinals (Game 2)
Sunday, March 12 -- NCHC Quarterfinals (Game 3, if needed)

Friday, March 17 -- NCHC Frozen Semifinals
Saturday, March 18 -- NCHC Frozen Faceoff Final/Third Place Game


Home games in BOLD.

Here's an article about UNO appearing in the 2016 Brice Alaska Gold Rush Tournament alongside UAA, UAF and Canisius:
http://www.alaskananooks.com/news/2016/2/12/MHOCKEY_0212164405.aspx

Omaha vs. Western Michigan: Feb. 12-13, 2016 at Baxter Arena

They're tanned, they're rested, they're ready.

Well, okay, they're probably not tanned, but the Mavs have had a chance to heal up some of the bumps and bruises from the first half of the season, and we're ready to enter the "Home Stretch For Home Ice" that starts this weekend!

The MOST important thing you need to know about this weekend is that Friday night's game starts at 6:37 p.m., due to the game being televised on CBS Sports Network.

Much respect to @WOWTweather for putting the O on the 7 day. Only one of the big three. pic.twitter.com/E1P1A8bu4L

— The Red Army (@RedArmyUNO) February 12, 2016

Tom Shatel gives a preview of the series in the Omaha World-Herald:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/shatel-mavericks-have-gone-cold-at-baxter-arena-but-they/article_16dd60cb-ea72-5840-b242-d582cd97fc75.html

Here's the Omaha World-Herald story about Friday night's game:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/mavericks-brace-for-punch-of-broncos/article_8affb446-36d4-5518-b641-e018744cb8b1.html

Here's the Omavs.com story about the series preview:
http://www.omavs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31400&ATCLID=210705816

Here's the wrap-up story from Omavs.com from Friday night:
http://www.omavs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31400&ATCLID=210710192

Here's the Omaha World-Herald story about Friday night's win:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/vesel-s-breakaway-goal-in-first-helps-mavs-end-slide/article_22262472-d1fe-11e5-957e-5b892a37dc42.html

Here's the highlights of the Friday night post-game press conference:

And here's highlights from Friday night's game:
Video

Saturday Night SWEEP!!

Omaha World-Herald story about the win:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/mavericks-sweep-western-michigan/article_bde596bc-d2cc-11e5-b897-bb0d88c0a1b8.html

(Mavs are now 2-8 in games when their opponent scores first. That was a huge emotional comeback tonight after getting scored on a minute into the game.)

Omavs.com story about the sweep:
http://www.omavs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31400&ATCLID=210712598

I didn't realize that Guentzel played in his 100th game Saturday. Austin Ortega played in his 101st game Saturday night.

Here's the Omaha World-Herald photo gallery from Saturday night's game:
http://odc.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=5002&p=6435


Here's my video of the post-game lobby celebration:

SWEEP CELEBRATION!
Posted by MavPuck.com on Saturday, February 13, 2016

Here's the Saturday night post-game press conference highlights:


And here's the game highlights (courtesy of the NCHC) from Saturday:

HIGHLIGHTS: @UNO_Hockey erupts for six goals in 6-3 win over @WMUHockey to complete weekend sweep https://t.co/gk1ub2MEg1 #NCHCHockey

— The NCHC (@TheNCHC) February 14, 2016

Photo gallery from the talented Brad Williams:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1037143693016195.1073741897.101744153222825&type=3

Here's the video highlights from UNO from Saturday night's game:

And finally, a cool time-lapse video of the transformation from UNO Basketball to UNO Hockey on #DoubleheaderDay

@Mavpuck @RedArmyUNO from hardwood and hoops to ice and glass in less than 2 hours pic.twitter.com/1IZZBioF2v

— Arlo Selix (@GoldenBuffARLO) February 14, 2016

TV Coverage:
Friday night's game will be televised on CBS Sports Network (consequently, it will NOT show on NCHC.tv).

Saturday night's game will be on NCHC.tv and will be televised in Nebraska statewide on NET Nebraska. Watch on NET1 as well as Fox College Sports Central (Dish channel 446 and DirecT channel 608-1).

Watch @WMUHockey v. @UNO_Hockey, Saturday, Feb. 13 at 7pm CT on NET or online at https://t.co/BGROrDHbMM. #Hockey pic.twitter.com/xDRGOUUB8T

— NET Nebraska (@NETNebraska) February 12, 2016

Radio Coverage:
The games will be broadcast on 1180 AM (1180 The Zone 2). Dave Ahlers will provide radio play-by-play and Terry Leahy will provide color commentary. Coverage begins at 6 p.m. on Friday night and 6:30 p.m. on Saturday night with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show.

Omaha vs. Colorado College: Jan. 29-30, 2016 in Colorado Springs

The Mavs are looking to rebound from a sweep at Baxter Arena by Miami of Ohio. The Mavs are currently tied for fifth place in the NCHC with Miami. This weekend's opponent, Colorado College, may be at the bottom of the NCHC standings, but they should not be overlooked. The Tigers came back from a four-goal deficit on Friday night, tying North Dakota 5-5. They lost to the F'n Hawks 5-1 Saturday night and will be eager to steal some conference points at home from a banged up Mav team.

The Mavs played without forward David Pope last weekend (and we're not sure if he'll return for this series), and freshman goalie Evan Weninger is expected to return to the lineup this weekend. Weninger was injured in the first period of the Denver series at Baxter Arena and has been out of the lineup ever since. But with the goalie Kirk Thompson injured (broken finger), Weninger is expected to be between the pipes for the Mavs this weekend. The flu bug that affected the Mavs last weekend (forward Tyler Vesel was a late scratch for Saturday night's game) appears to have passed.

The Mavs are expected to have vocal support in the stands this weekend as two busloads of students are on their way to Colorado Springs to cheer on their classmates.

Bus 1 full of crazy UNO hockey fans! Headed to Colorado College! @UNO_Hockey @UNOmaha @UNOmavmaniacs @Mavpuck pic.twitter.com/YZW9JngtLG

— Bill Pickett (@billpickett78) January 29, 2016

Media Roundup:
Here's the roundup of this week's media:
Here's the Omaha World-Herald article after the weekly polls came out. Mavs dropped to #12 in the USCHO poll and #11 in the USA Today/USA Hockey magazine poll:
http://m.omaha.com/uno/blog/slumping-uno-drops-out-of-top-in-hockey-polls/article_2c63552a-c3b4-11e5-a48b-9b46fe7cad36.html?mode=jqm

OMavs series preview:
http://www.omavs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31400&ATCLID=210670199

Here's the Colorado College series preview:
http://www.cctigers.com/news/2016/1/27/MHOCK_0127163921.aspx

Omaha World-Herald Friday game preview:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/uno-hockey-team-knows-colorado-springs-is-a-tough-place/article_f2ca867d-5c31-55b5-8a9d-cbf9245d2ec7.html

KETV (Channel 7) series preview:
http://www.ketv.com/sports/uno-hockey-hopes-to-regroup-against-colorado-college/37679088

Colorado Springs Gazette Friday game preview:
http://gazette.com/tigers-top-line-clicking-during-colorado-college-hockeys-recent-uptick-in-play/article/1568830

Morning skate for the Mavs. Game one vs Colorado College at 8:37 pm CT. Watch on @CBSSportsNet. pic.twitter.com/8zjIg1UkIW

— Maverick Hockey (@UNO_Hockey) January 29, 2016

Friday night game wrap-up from the World-Herald:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/it-s-more-friday-night-plight-for-mavs-at-colorado/article_ca09162a-c710-11e5-b245-3bd5c5928a78.html

Friday night wrap-up from OMavs.com:
http://www.omavs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31400&ATCLID=210673336

Saturday Omaha World-Herald story ("Mavericks end slump, administer a beatdown"):
http://www.omaha.com/uno/mavericks-end-slump-administer-a-beatdown/article_63d2dad4-c7ca-11e5-9c82-f7e28fedae3d.html

Saturday night wrap-up from OMavs.com:
http://www.omavs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31400&ATCLID=210675347

Saturday night story from the Colorado Springs Gazette:
http://gazette.com/colorado-college-tigers-revert-to-poor-outing-get-blasted-by-nebraska-omaha/article/1568971

LOVE THIS! (My favorite Tweet from the weekend!)

I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN! @Mavpuck @RedArmyUNO @billpickett78 @unocowbell pic.twitter.com/IjijkMQLaX

— UNO Maverick Maniacs (@UNOmavmaniacs) January 31, 2016

Game Times:
Friday night's game is at 8:37 p.m. Central.
Saturday night's game is at 7:07 p.m. Central.

TV Coverage:
Friday night's game will be on CBS Sports (@cbssportsnet). Because of an exclusive agreement with CBS Sports, the game will not be on NCHC.tv. CBS Sports Network can be found on DirecTV channel 221 and Dish channel 158. On Cox Omaha, it's channel 234.
Saturday's game will be on NCHC.tv.

Radio Coverage:
Both games will be broadcast on 1180 AM (1180 The Zone 2). Dave Ahlers will provide radio play-by-play and Terry Leahy will provide color commentary. Coverage begins at 8:07 Central Friday and 6:37 Central Saturday with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show.

Where To Watch:
Several restaurants have let us know they will be showing Friday night's game. Here's a listing:

Dudley's Pizza & Tavern, Aksarben Village
Clancy's Pub Omaha (West), 168th and Center
Barrett's Barleycorn, 43rd and Leavenworth (Mobile Mavericks watch party)

Omaha vs. North Dakota: Jan. 15-16, 2016 in Grand Forks

The Mavs haven't been on the road for a series since late November, but they started the trip to Grand Forks early this week as President Obama's visit to Baxter Arena on Wednesday left them without a place to practice. So they headed up to Sioux Falls and practiced there before going on to Grand Forks.

Sioux Falls rolls out the red carpet for practice. UNO on the road early because of the President's visit. pic.twitter.com/ZcZHKgBL1S

— Maverick Hockey (@UNO_Hockey) January 13, 2016

Evan Weninger's injury in the Denver series last week looks to be a big factor this weekend. Weninger suffered a "lower body injury" (ankle) in the Friday game and didn't make the travel roster. So it will be Kirk Thompson in net for the Mavs on Friday night.

The Mavs are 4-5-1 in conference play -- fifth place in the NCHC (14-5-1 overall) -- after last weekend's sweep by Denver. The Mavs need to steal some points in Grand Forks this weekend, although it's going to be a tough task. North Dakota has more than double the number of conference points as Omaha (27 points for UND to 13 for UNO) and is 9-1-0 in conference (18-2-2 overall).

Here's the round-up of this week's media.

The Mavs dropped from #6 to #9 in the national polls after last weekend. Here's the Omaha World-Herald story about that:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/uno-hockey-drops-to-no-in-rankings/article_8ec2477c-b8c8-11e5-8151-276e63bc6046.html

OMavs.com also has a story about the poll results:
http://www.omavs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31400&ATCLID=210627117

And here's the OMavs.com story about the weekend series:
http://www.omavs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31400&ATCLID=210635515

Here's the World-Herald's preview story about the series, with a profile of Kirk Thompson:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/with-evan-weninger-s-injury-uno-hockey-team-glad-it/article_f73d868e-e240-58a8-bdd7-b642a398f3f4.html

With Evan Weninger’s injury, the UNO hockey team is glad it can call on Kirk Thompson. https://t.co/Wv702cycBp pic.twitter.com/2K4gjNLnmO

— World-Herald Mavs (@OWHmavs) January 15, 2016

Game Times:
Friday night's game is at 7:37 p.m. Central
Saturday night's game is at 7:07 p.m. Central

TV Coverage:
Both games will be available on NCHC.tv. Saturday night's game will also be on Fox College Sports (DirecTV Channel 608).

Radio Coverage:
Both games will be broadcast on 1180 AM (1180 The Zone 2). Dave Ahlers will provide radio play-by-play and Terry Leahy will provide color commentary. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. on Friday night and 6:30 p.m. Saturday night with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show.

Omaha vs. Denver University: Jan. 8-9, 2016 at Baxter Arena

The second half of the season starts this weekend as UNO picks up conference play with a series against Denver University. The Pioneers are currently in sixth place in the NCHC with a 3-4-1 conference record, 7-7-4 overall (the Mavs are in fifth place with a 4-3-1 record in conference play, 14-3-1 overall). Both Omaha and Denver have only played eight conference games so far.

But don't be fooled by their sub .500 record. Denver can come into an arena and steal a game or two. This is a big test for the Mavs. A good weekend can preserve the #UndefeatedAtBaxterArena streak and propel the team to next week's HUGE matchup against #1 North Dakota (#1 in the NCHC, and #1 in the country, currently.) The Mavs need to make sure they don't overlook the Pioneers this weekend, though.

Here's a roundup of stories leading up to the series:

UNO remains #6 in the national polls this week, via the Omaha World-Herald:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/uno-hockey-holds-steady-at-no-in-rankings/article_b6e4991c-b337-11e5-94eb-a3054c4517da.html

And junior forward Austin Ortega picked up NCHC Offensive Player of the Week (Dec. 18-Jan. 3) honors for his four-goal performance against Arizona State (he was a healthy scratch in the exhibition game) -- NCHC news release:
http://www.nchchockey.com/news_article/show/595441?referrer_id=878553

Here's the World-Herald preview for Friday night's game:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/mavs-high-scoring-ortega-hasn-t-skipped-a-beat-says/article_f57f7f4d-b4de-59d4-a1e7-5e10a06002e5.html

Denver handed UNO its first loss at Baxter Arena (this will be a trivia question someday).

Here's the Omaha World-Herald write-up from Friday night's loss:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/denver-hands-uno-first-baxter-arena-loss/article_d5e3d832-b67f-11e5-b29c-eb6ad72a99a4.html

And don't forget that Sunday is "Skate With The Mavs" (for kids). Details here.
Note: Each session is limited to 60 participants.

Who: UNO vs. Denver Pioneers
Where: Baxter Arena
When: 7:07 p.m. Friday / 7:07 p.m. Saturday

Watch @UNO_Hockey v. @DU_Hockey, Jan. 8 at 7pm CT / 6pm MT on NET or online at https://t.co/jGqS3UEYg7 #Hockey pic.twitter.com/EWUO0SFUb5

— NET Nebraska (@NETNebraska) December 29, 2015

TV Coverage:
Both games will be available on NCHC.tv.

Friday night's game will air in-state on NET Nebraska. Here's the link to the live stream:
http://netnebraska.org/interactive-multimedia/sports/omaha-maverick-hockey-denver-vs-omaha

Radio Coverage:
The games will be broadcast on 1180 AM (1180 The Zone 2). Terry Leahy will provide color commentary both nights. We are waiting on an announcement on who will provide radio play-by-play on Friday night, as Dave Ahlers usually does play-by-play for the TV broadcast. The First National Bank Pre-Game Show will begin at 6:30 p.m. both nights.