Race Horse Hockey lands in Omaha.

I hope the fans in Omaha love run and gun hockey because Dean Blais will be named the coach of the UNO Mavericks. With the selection of Blais as head coach UNO signals they are serious about hanging a banner from the rafters of their rink. I also think this will play well with UNO moving to the WCHA. IMHO, I would rather see Blais coaching UNO than Minnesota.

Dean Blais, one of the biggest names in college hockey coaching, will be introduced as UNO’s new coach in a 2 p.m. press conference Friday, according to sources with knowledge of the hire.

Blais led North Dakota to two national championships and a runner-up finish in a five-year stretch between 1997 and 2001. He took the Fighting Sioux to seven NCAA tournaments in 10 seasons, compiled a 262-115-33 record, won five regular-season Western Collegiate Hockey Association championships and two WCHA tournament titles.

He left North Dakota for the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, for whom he worked in player development and as associate head coach. He then returned to North Dakota and spent last year as the head coach and general manager of the Fargo Force, the United States Hockey League expansion team that beat the Omaha Lancers in the playoffs and reached the Clark Cup finals.

The UNO position came open last month, when Athletic Director Trev Alberts promoted Mike Kemp to associate athletic director. Kemp, the only coach in the program’s 12-year history was 194-223-57 in his career, including 15-17-8 last season. UNO has made one trip to the NCAA tournament. [Omaha.com]