UNO's Alex Hudson Kicked Off the Mavericks

The UNO Mavericks have kicked Alex Hudson off of the team for his second violation of team rules. As most UND Fighting Sioux fans know, head coach Dean Blais will not pull any punches and if there is a star player screwing up and not abiding by the rules he will not hesitate to suspend them and or kick them off the team. Coach Blais once sat former Fighting Sioux forward Jason Blake for a game when he was in the running for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award.

OMAHA, Neb. — Nebraska-Omaha coach Dean Blais has dismissed senior forward Alex Hudson from the team for his second violation of team rules this season.

UNO did not say what the incident was, and said in a statement that it would have "no further comment on the matter."

Hudson, 24, started the season as the captain, but had that stripped for a first violation of team rules. The 6-foot native of Corona, Calif., missed four games at the start of the season because of the resultant team-imposed suspension. Since his return, he had 4 goals and 10 points in 16 games.

In his four years with the Mavericks, Hudson had 37 goals and 82 points, with a career-high 31 points last season. His best goal-scoring year was his sophomore season when he had 14.

Blais sends a message to one of his star players.

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Former Fighting Sioux hockey coach Dean Blais once sat All American forward Jason Blake when he was a member of the Fighting Sioux. In retrospect Blais once said that this move may have also cost Blaie a shot at the Hobey Baker Memorial Trophy. Fast forward to the 2011-2012 season, now as coach of the Omaha Mavericks, Dean Blais has suspended his senior star forward Alex Hudson indefinably.

Chad Purcell; Omaha.com --- UNO forward Alex Hudson, the Mavs' top returning scorer who recently was named a captain, has been suspended indefinitely from the team for an unspecified training violation, coach Dean Blais said.

Blais did not elaborate on Hudson's status, other than to say that the senior would not play Saturday when the University of Nebraska at Omaha hosts its exhibition game against British Columbia to open the 2010-11 season.
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Hudson was not in attendance at the Mavericks' practice Wednesday.

The squad's only senior forward, Hudson, from Corona, Calif., had a career-best 31 points (13 goals, 18 assists) last season. He played in all 39 games as a junior and had a team-high four game-winning goals.

Dean Blais is a throw back to the days of former Minnesota Golden Gopher hockey coach Herb Brooks who isn't afraid to call a star player out when they aren't pulling their weight. For those of us that remember, Dean Blais was famous for these comments; "if a player(s) isn't playing well he will be sitting next to the coaches on the bench or in the stands watching the game. It will be interesting to see if Mavericks forward Alex Hudson gets the message or will his suspension become permanent?

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