Coming back from one game down last weekend to beat 10th-ranked Colorado College on the road in the first round of the NCHC playoffs all but guaranteed No. 12 Omaha what would be the Mavericks’ first NCAA tournament berth since 2021.
The noteworthiness of Omaha’s success in Colorado Springs didn’t stop there. A sixth win from the Mavericks’ last seven games saw them reach the NCHC Frozen Faceoff for the first time in the conference’s 11-year history.
Moreover, Sunday’s 2-1 victory saw UNO secure its second-winningest season ever. The Mavericks need three more wins if they are to break the school record set in the 2000-01 season, when current coach Mike Gabinet was a freshman defenseman on the team.
During a NCHC media conference call Tuesday, Gabinet drew connections between that UNO team from the start of the millennium, and what’s in front of him on the ice now.
“That year, we had a really good mix of some older players and some really good leadership and some good young players coming into the program,” Gabinet said. That 2000-21 UNO team was backstopped by future NHL goaltender Dan Ellis, and was led offensively by the likes of future Mavericks assistant David Brisson and Jeff Hoggan, the latter of whom has since had his jersey retired by the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.
“I think (this season’s team) is a little bit similar to that, where we’ve got some really good leaders on this team, some older players and obviously we’ve got a couple of good young guys and some really good guys in that sophomore class. It’s a nice mix, and I think everybody gets along.
“That’s one of the things I do remember about that year, with that team, was that maybe there was an age difference among some of the underclassmen and older guys on the team, but everybody really gelled and came together as a group,” Gabinet continued. “I feel that’s a really good vibe with (this season’s team), as well.”
Last week’s success against Colorado College set up a NCHC playoff semifinal game Friday against top-seeded North Dakota. It might not matter that Omaha is the lowest remaining seeded team, though, as the Mavericks were 3-1 against the Fighting Hawks in the regular season. Omaha is also 16-2 in one-goal games during this campaign.
All that seems to have the Mavericks in reasonably good shape as they head up to St. Paul, Minn. More and more lately, they’ve put together the kind of intangibles that help teams who go on deep postseason runs.
“I thought that (regular-season series at North Dakota on Jan. 12-13, when UNO split with the Hawks) was one of the first times this season that you really could feel the belief in the group, and really feel that confidence from the players,” Gabinet said. “I think that’s earned, and I think they’ve done a great job all season long of building it.
“When you keep a narrow focus and you don’t look too far ahead, especially in this league, that’s a really positive thing and I think we’ve done a really good job of just staying present and trying to find ways to keep improving every single weekend here, and it has really paid off down the stretch.”
Toodles
This week marks my last conference column of my 17th season at USCHO.com. Never thought I’d be in this job across four presidential administrations, but here we are.
Thank you to all of my colleagues for all your incredible work this season. I’d specifically like to shout out Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski for The PodKaz, a great addition to this website’s credentials as a one-stop shop for women’s NCAA hockey coverage.
Additionally, I want to thank all of the NCHC coaches, sports information directors and players I’ve spoken with this season, all of whom have been incredibly gracious with their time. Thanks, too, and congratulations to our managing editor, Matt Mackinder, who recently started a new role running communications with Lapeer Community Schools in Michigan. Writing for USCHO isn’t anyone’s day job, and Matt makes balancing everything he does behind the scenes look easy.
I won’t be in St. Paul for the Frozen Faceoff or the Frozen Four (we really should have one of those renamed), but I’ll still have a few more USCHO bylines this season. I have two Hockey Humanitarian Award finalist feature stories on the way, plus previews on NCHC teams playing for however long in the NCAA tournament.
Thanks for reading, everyone.
