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.

MORE Last-Minute Christmas Gift Ideas for Maverick Fans

If you liked our blog post yesterday with gift ideas from the UNO Bookstore (shhh....we won't tell anyone if you're shopping for yourself!), today's post has a few more!

If you've been following Mavpuck for any amount of time, you know that we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our subscription to NCHC.tv. It allows us to watch all of UNO's conference road games, re-watch all of the games at Baxter Arena that we attended in person, and scope out our conference foes on bye weekends or when we're just bored.

Well, the NCHC is offering a mid-season special on NCHC.tv subscriptions.

You get access to 60+ LIVE games for the remainder of the 2015-16 season, including select playoff games. We stream the games from our iPad to our Apple TV so we can watch them on the big screen. The livestream quality depends on the host school, so don't expect CBS Sports or NET Sports quality for all broadcasts -- but hey, it's a LOT cheaper than actually going on the road with the team. And listening to the home team broadcasts for the away games can be hilarious (or annoying). But the commercials are definitely hilarious. Get the details -- or subscribe -- here.

Yesterday's blog post also featured some really cool Maverick yard art you can purchase at the UNO Bookstore:

If you liked that, check out the custom wreath I had made!

It was made by Carly with Door Decor (816-205-5239). So cute!

Do YOU have any ideas to share? I'd love to feature them! Post in the Comments!

Last-Minute Christmas Gift Ideas for a Maverick Hockey Fan

You've made a list and checked it twice. You know a Maverick fan who is both naughty and nice. If you're not sure if Santa Claus is coming to town ... help him out.

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care, but there's a spot under the Christmas tree that's still pretty bare.

If there's a UNO fan on your list and you're looking for a last-minute gift idea, here are some suggestions, courtesy of our friends at the UNO Bookstore! I was invited to come in and check out the selection for Mav fans. If you haven't been into the Bookstore for a while, I think you'll be shocked at how many items they have!

[We were in there on 12/22/15 and they were having a holiday sale -- 25% off any regularly priced apparel. Don't know how long it will last, but get there soon!]

Note: The UNO Bookstore is located in the Milo Bail Student Center, which is currently under construction. During Winter Break, you can park in any of the UNO lots. I recommend parking by the College of Public Affairs and Community Service building (just north of the Sapp Fieldhouse) because it's a 1-minute walk to the south entrance of Milo Bail. That's your closest parking spot. Go in the south doors of Milo Bail and the UNO Bookstore is right there!

Bookstore hours Dec. 22-23:

7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

#GiftTheO

STOCKING STUFFERS

Hats, gloves, mittens…

Scarves…

License plate holders, commemorative pucks…

FOR KIDS

Onesies, youth shirts, cheerleader outfits, stuffed animals…

This is my favorite onesie…

("I still live with my parents")

Youth replica jerseys…

FOR THE DISCERNING FAN

"The Executive Collection" -- available in sizes from Small to 4X (XXXXL)

For the Maverick fan who is more comfortable in a black sweater vest than a hoodie…

For example, a cardigan…

THESE ARE UNUSUAL

"Ugly" Christmas sweaters

UNIQUE GIFTS

I love, love, love this wooden sign…

($22.99 for the "Mav Fan Plank Wood Sign")

"O" Bike Jersey…

The perfect gift for the hockey fan with a military background…

the Cam"O" jersey…

EVERY HOCKEY FAN NEEDS AT LEAST ONE...

A UNO Hockey Jersey…

(The UNO Bookstore sells replica jerseys – $114.99)*

So you can look as stylish as this guy…

* Authentic jerseys are only sold at the UNO Team Store in Baxter Arena.

FOR THE STAR WARS FAN IN YOUR LIFE…

Limited sizes of this one available…

This one's new…

The UNO Bookstore also has cowbells, a Durango bobblehead, and UNO flags…
(Not pictured.)

Currently, the UNO Bookstore is working on digitizing their offerings so you can check everything out online. In the meantime, you can see their some of what they have to offer here: 

UNO Bookstore

Omaha vs. Arizona State: Dec. 19-20, 2015 at Baxter Arena

The UNO Mavericks are back home at Baxter Arena after a bye week. Student-athletes are finished with finals, and before they head home to see their families for Christmas break, they're taking on a non-conference foe, Arizona State, in a Saturday night/Sunday afternoon series. Arizona State is in its first full year in Division I play, but is not to be overlooked. The Mavs are undefeated at Baxter Arena this season, and we want to end the first half of the season strong.

The biggest news during the bye week was the sudden, unexpected departure of forward Avery Peterson. A highly touted recruit (and Mr. Hockey), Peterson had been experiencing a scoring drought his sophomore season. While we haven't heard an official reason for his departure, sources say it's related to his brother's illness, as outlined in this article from a few years ago. Sounds like Avery wants to be closer to home. While his departure is a huge loss for the Mavs, we can't fault him for putting #FamilyFirst.

Here's a roundup of other stories leading up to the series (and game coverage articles will be added later).

Omaha World-Herald story about Avery Peterson's departure:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/avery-peterson-s-departure-shocks-uno-teammates/article_7db8097c-a720-5125-8ca4-58e892c3da88.html

OMavs series preview:
http://www.omavs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31400&ATCLID=210592595

OMavs Saturday night game recap:
http://www.omavs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31400&ATCLID=210593761

Notable quote:

The Mavericks earned their 13th win of the season, the most before the end of December in school history, to improve to 13-3-1 overall.  They are now 7-0-0 at Baxter Arena this season and 9-0-0 in non-conference games with a Sunday 2:07 p.m. rematch pending.  It will be their last non-conference game of the year.

Omaha World-Herald article after Saturday's win -- with THREE power play goals!
http://www.omaha.com/uno/mavericks-becoming-a-force-with-power-play/article_ebf2b5fc-a6c7-11e5-855f-af7e13ca39de.html

Omaha World-Herald article about Sunday's sweep!
http://www.omaha.com/uno/uno-caps-perfect-nonconference-with-sweep-of-arizona-state/article_1228a15a-a768-11e5-a899-2b2ccfca1ff7.html

#UNBEATENATBAXTERARENA

Tickets:
Tickets are plentiful for the matchup, due to the holiday season. You can find tickets for sale in the Mavpuck group or on Ticket Express' website.

TV Coverage:
Both games will be available 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. The First National Bank Pre-Game Show begins at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday night and at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Omaha vs. St. Cloud: Dec. 4-5, 2015 in St. Cloud

It was a SWEEP weekend at Baxter Arena as the Mavs improved to 11-2-1 overall -- we're calling it "HOME SWEEP HOME" as the Mavs are 6-0-0 at Baxter Arena.

But the biggest test so far of the season is coming up this weekend as the #6 Mavs travel to St. Cloud, Minnesota to face the #7 Huskies. Here's a roundup of this week's articles.

Omaha-World Herald story after the weekly poll results were released:

http://www.omaha.com/uno/uno-st-cloud-stay-put-in-polls-entering-key-conference/article_6441c7dc-97a5-11e5-b62c-033352be44d5.html

And here's the OMavs story about the poll results:

http://www.omavs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31400&ATCLID=210545901

No Mavs were honored with the NCHC weekly honors. (We thought Jake Guentzel was robbed, after his 5-point weekend!)

Here's the Omaha World-Herald preview story for the weekend's series:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/mavericks-want-payback-against-huskies/article_9efe6293-0998-53f5-ae1c-d4548e308bd5.html

Here's the OMavs.com story about the St. Cloud series:
http://www.omavs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31400&ATCLID=210555592

Here's the Omaha World-Herald write-up of Friday night's loss to the Huskies:
http://www.omaha.com/uno/no-st-cloud-state-rolls-to-win-over-mavericks/article_0b043c60-9b04-11e5-a05a-7b9f0de1417f.html


TV Coverage:
The games will be available 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 7 p.m. on Friday night and 6:30 p.m. Saturday night with the First National Bank Pre-Game Show.