Tragically, Omaha assistant coach Paul Jerrard passed away on Wednesday after battling cancer. He was 57.
Jerrard played in five NHL games, was an assistant in that league for five seasons and has spent the last five campaigns behind the bench for the Mavericks.
UNO is 7-1-1 in its last nine games, including a sweep of Miami at Baxter Arena on Jan. 20-21.
Obviously motivation shouldn’t be an issue for the Mavericks.
A look at this weekend’s matchup:
WHO: No. 15 Omaha Mavericks (15-10-3, 10-6-2 NCHC) at Miami RedHawks (7-17-4, 2-13-3).
WHERE: Cady Arena (3,049), Oxford, Ohio.
WHEN: Friday — 7:05 p.m.; Saturday — 5:05 p.m.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Miami leads, 29-23-7.
STREAMING: NCHC.tv ($).
MIAMI RADIO: Friday — WKBV-AM (1490), Richmond, Ind.; Saturday — WMOH-AM (1450), Hamilton, Ohio.
NOTES: Defense has been key in Omaha’s recent hot stretch.
The Mavericks have allowed two goals or fewer in 10 of their last 11 games, largely due to goalie Simon Latkoczy’s six-game unbeaten streak.
In 13 games, he is 8-2-1 with a 1.83 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage and should be among the league favorites for Rookie of the Year.
Graduate senior Jonny Tychonick has anchored a defense corps that has held opponents to an average of just 27 shots against this season while going 7-14-21.
Jack Randl is up to 16 goals, leading the team and ranking in the top 20 in Division I.
Miami is still looking for its first win of 2023 but salvaged a pair of hard-fought ties at St. Cloud State two weeks ago. The RedHawks were idle last weekend.
MU has been outscored, 36-6 since New Year’s and is 0-7-2 during its current nine-game winless streak. The RedHawks were pounded by North Dakota, 4-1 and 8-0 in their last home series Jan. 27-28 and have just three home wins this season.
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