University of Nebraska at Omaha Men's Ice Hockey

Mike Gabinet is the head coach of Omaha's NCAA Division I men's ice hockey team, a position he has held since 2017. A native of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Gabinet is the first former Maverick hockey player to become head coach of the program. He played 131 games as a defenseman at Omaha from 2000-04, ranking in the top 15 for all-time points by a Maverick defenseman with 47 (6G-41A). Selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2001 NHL Draft, Gabinet played professionally from 2004-2012 in North America, Finland and Sweden. Before joining Omaha, he served as head coach at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in 2015-16, where he led the team to an undefeated 36-0 season and Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference Championship, earning ACAC Coach of the Year honors as the first rookie head coach to lead a team to an undefeated season in Canadian college hockey history. At Omaha, Gabinet has established himself as a successful coach, leading the Mavericks to five consecutive winning seasons, three NCHC Herb Brooks Coach of the Year finalist nominations, and the program's first-ever NCHC Frozen Four Championship appearance in 2024. His grandfather, Clare Drake, was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame (1989) and Hockey Hall of Fame (2018) for his legendary coaching career.

Adrian Dowell was appointed Vice Chancellor / Director of Athletics at the University of Nebraska at Omaha on November 15, 2021, by UNO Chancellor Dr. Joanne Li, with a clear objective: to elevate Omaha Athletics to sustained national relevance while strengthening its institutional and community connections. Since his arrival, Omaha has emerged as one of the fastest-rising NCAA Division I-AAA athletics programs in the country, driven by competitive excellence, disciplined financial growth, strategic capital investment, and an integrated, holistic model of student-athlete development. Dowell oversees a $28 million operation consisting of 16 NCAA Division I sport programs, more than 350 student-athletes, 130+ full-time staff members, and over 300 part-time employees. A native of Salem, Virginia, Dowell earned his bachelor's degree from Roanoke College and holds both an MBA and a Master of Sport Management from West Virginia University. A former men's basketball captain, he and his wife Stephanie—a former Maverick soccer standout and UNO Hall of Famer—reside in Omaha with their three children.

Dave Noel Bernier is Associate Head Coach of Omaha's men's ice hockey team. A native of Montmagny, Quebec, Canada, Bernier was a forward on Omaha's inaugural roster, playing 138 games over four seasons (1997-2001) and recording 50 points (24G-26A). He earned a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from Omaha in 2001 and was a two-time CCHA Scholar Athlete and Omaha Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. After playing six seasons of professional hockey in North America and Germany, Bernier began his coaching career as Assistant Coach and Director of Hockey Operations/Assistant Strength Coach at Omaha (2007-10), then Assistant Coach for the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the USHL (2010-13), Hockey Director for Grand Rapids Blades Association (2013-14), Assistant Coach for the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL (2014-15), and Assistant Coach for the Detroit Red Wings in the NHL (2015-17). He returned to Omaha as Assistant Coach (2017-22) before being elevated to Associate Head Coach in July 2022. At Omaha, he manages power play strategy, oversees forward development, and assists in recruiting. Since his promotion, Omaha has gone 60-45-8, achieved a 23-win season in 2023-24 (second-most in program history), and reached their first-ever Frozen Faceoff title game in 2024.

Josh Englebretson became the Mavericks’ athletic trainer in August of 2014 after spending eight years at Castleton State (Vt.), the last two as the head athletic

Zach Vit played four seasons (2010-14) of collegiate hockey at SUNY Geneseo and was an assistant captain on the program's first team to reach an NCAA Frozen Four (2013-14). He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from SUNY Geneseo in 2014 and a Master of Science in Business and Technology Management from Stevenson in 2017. Vit played one season (2014-15) of professional hockey with Neuilly-sur-Marne in France before transitioning to coaching. His coaching experience includes serving as a Graduate Assistant Men's Hockey Coach at Stevenson, where he recruited over 40 players for the inaugural NCAA hockey season. He was Head Coach of the Potomac Patriots in the USPHL, where he increased the team's win total by 14 games in his first season. Vit served as Assistant Coach at Wisconsin-Stout (NCAA Division III) and as U18 Associate Head Coach and Director of 16U/18U Player Personnel at Bishop Kearney Selects from 2021-24, where he helped guide teams to a state championship and assisted with the 16U team's USA Hockey National Championship in 2021-22. He currently serves as Director of Hockey Operations for Omaha in NCAA Division I.