Not only is sixth-year Omaha coach Mike Gabinet one of the most experienced people on the Mavericks’ bench, but his history with the program also goes back longer than most.
He spent four seasons (2000-04) at UNO, played 30 games as a freshman in only the Mavericks’ fourth year of existence and then captained them as a senior. As an alumnus from nearly the beginning, even Gabinet sounded taken aback that it wasn’t until Saturday’s 4-4 tie at Lake Superior State that UNO, for the first time in the program’s 25-year history, erased a four-goal deficit.
“It’s a testimony to the character and work ethic of our group, and in particular our leadership group,” Gabinet said Wednesday, looking back on a series where UNO won and tied against one of its olden-days CCHA rivals.
“The energy on our bench and the mindset of our players was pretty extraordinary, especially with such adversity so quickly and early in the game. To be able to battle back and ultimately tie the game, and I thought we had multiple chances to actually win it, as well, it speaks to the commitment and character of the group we have.”
One of UNO’s alternate captains, senior forward Jack Randl, scored Saturday’s tying goal and helped create the Mavericks’ third goal of the night.
Lake State’s 4-0 lead after 20 minutes came thanks to two power-play goals and another one shorthanded, but Kirby Proctor and Tyler Rollwagen halved the deficit with goals six minutes apart early in the second. Randl and Matt Miller, another Mavericks alternate, provided assists on Berg’s snapshot that found its way into the LSSU net.
Randl then tipped home an initial shot from Berg with 6:55 left in regulation. The Mavericks couldn’t find a winning goal, but they minimized LSSU’s chances. The Lakers had outshot UNO 12-7 in the first period, but only managed five more shots on target over the rest of the game.
A tie that felt like a win for the visitors came one night after UNO beat the Lakers 3-1 in Friday’s season opener. Randl and Tyler Weiss scored in the third period, breaking a tie that LSSU forced after canceling out Ty Mueller’s opening goal in the second.
Gabinet saw the Mavericks’ unbeaten weekend in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., as a good response following UNO’s two 4-3 home losses to Niagara on Oct. 7-8. UNO had hammered preseason No. 3 Minnesota State 7-2 in the teams’ exhibition game Oct. 1, so many were surprised to see the red Mavericks get swept by a Niagara team picked to finish ninth in Atlantic Hockey.
“I thought we did some good things against Niagara and weren’t rewarded for it, but if you look at it analytically, we probably should’ve came away with better results than we did,” Gabinet said. “With a young team, it’s important that you remind them they’re doing a lot of right things, and there’s no systems for turnovers or things like that, so we have to clean up a couple crucial mistakes, but we’re doing a lot of right things and we have to make sure the players still believe in themselves and understand that sometimes the games go that way.
“The most important thing is, ‘What are you doing on a day-to-day basis?’ That was our message out of Niagara, just to stick with it. We have to focus on our rate of learning, and how fast we can learn and develop.”
Gabinet’s Mavericks play at home this weekend to another old CCHA foe, Alaska.
