Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.

Lost, maybe, in all the commotion this week about next year's outdoor hockey game is that there's a pretty significant weekend coming up that could determine the fate of this UNO season.

The Mavericks, who picked up three points in a crucial series at Michigan Tech last weekend, play their final road series of the regular season Friday and Saturday at slumping Colorado College, ranked 14th and 15th in the national polls.

The puck drops at World Arena in Colorado Springs at 9:07 CST Friday night and 8:07 p.m. Saturday, with Friday's game televised by CBS Sports Network.

"The teams we've got coming up, starting this weekend at CC, are all ahead of us — so we've got our work cut out for us," UNO winger Matt White said. "We've got to stick to our game plan, stay on the same page and keep this thing going."

UNO (13-11-6 overall, 10-7-5 WCHA) and CC (15-11-2, 12-9-1) are tied for fourth in the WCHA with 25 points — five behind first-place Minnesota, and three behind third-place Denver, but only four ahead of the teams tied for eighth place. The top six teams get home ice for the first round of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs.

"Even that one point (from last weekend's tie) is going to be huge at the end of the year," UNO coach Dean Blais said. "The three teams we're going to be playing (home series follow with Minnesota and Denver) are tied or ahead of us, so it gives us the opportunity to jump. It could work the other way, too.

"We're in good position. It seems like after 22 games it should be more settled. But nothing is settled from top to bottom. The 12 teams, no one knows where they're going to be. No one has made hotel reservations (for the playoffs) yet."

While travel plans are uncertain beyond the first week of March, UNO also changed its normal routine for this weekend.

After going by Blais' preferred mode of travel — by bus — for the long trip to Houghton, Mich., last weekend, the coach wanted to let his players rest a little easier and had them fly into Denver on Thursday before busing down to Colorado Springs for a Thursday night practice.

Blais, on a bus with the equipment and equipment manager Mark Pane, left Wednesday. The team will bus back Saturday night.

"Back-to-back travel, it's kind of like when you go to Alaska — you're sometimes more tired the next weekend," Blais said.

UNO hopes to be fresh against a Tigers team that has been hit hard by injury. Seven regulars — including three of their top five scorers and top goalie Josh Thorimbert — were out last weekend as CC was swept at Bemidji State.

Thorimbert, Omaha native and CC captain Nick Dineen (13 goals, eight assists, 21 points) and defenseman Mike Boivin (6-16-22) were out with concussions, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette.

Right wing Scott Winkler (6-15-21) and defenseman Gabe Guentzel (3-17-20) would be playing hurt — Winkler has missed three of the last four games.

According to the Gazette, all but Boivin are considered probable for this weekend, and defenseman Eamonn McDermott is expected back after an extended absence with a knee injury.

"It doesn't matter who puts on that uniform, they have enough to talent to be right where they're at, in the thick of it, year in and year out," Blais said. "They haven't won a lot of league championships, but they're always right in there and they always seem to get home ice and then make it to the Final Five."

CC was one of the highest-scoring teams in the country and ranked No. 2 in the polls, when it came to Omaha and split a series with the Mavs on Nov. 4 and 5. UNO won the opener 7-5 before falling 5-2.

But CC — which still features the dangerous Schwartz brothers, Rylan (19-13-32) and Jaden (10-20-30) — hasn't scored more than two goals in any of its last six games while going 2-3-1.

"You never know how that's going to turn out," Blais said. "It's not like we've been an offensive juggernaut either."

Trying to keep the Tigers' high-octane attack under wraps will more than likely be Ryan Massa, who bounced back from being pulled after giving up two goals in the first period of last Friday's opener by making 35 saves for his first career shutout the following night.

"Right now, it really is just one game at a time, and it starts Friday night at CC," Massa said. "One shift at a time, one period at a time. Worry about our opponent this weekend first."

The outdoor game can wait until next year. Things are heating up inside right now.

• NOTES: Forward Andrew Schmit (separated shoulder) is out two to three weeks. ... Forward Zahn Raubenheimer (quad) is probable. ... With UNO down two forwards, freshman defenseman Brian O'Rourke played on the left wing last Saturday and played well, Blais said. He'll likely play there again this weekend.

Contact the writer:

402-444-1027, rob.white@owh.com

twitter.com/RWhiteOWH

« Sports - Mavs Today

Share