Brass Bonanza
"Best Of" Highlights brought to you by Eric Sobczak, the International Mav of Mystery, and Secret Agent Chris Boehm.



Rick Rants - End of year Coach's show for the 10th anniversary of UNO Maverick Hockey



Red Army Studios?
Apparently, the Red Army has a production studio so secret, it's unknown even to us.


Red Army mentioned in the Reader Vol 15 Nov 20-26, 2008
With the story about MSU coming to town with Andrew Conboy, it was predicted that the RA would be "cheering" loudly for him every time he stepped onto the ice. Direct quote from the text coming soon.

UNORedArmy.org first on Yahoo.com search results!
As of today, 10/26/2008, if you search for UNO Red Army on Yahoo, this page is at the top of the results! Now all we have to do is work on google and we're in business.

Joe Connor of the Green Power Sports Tour (10/17/2008)

Our very own Chuck had the pleasure of speaking with freelance reporter Joe Connor at the second game of the 2007 stampede on 10/17/2008. He's driving a vehicle powered by biodeisel across the country, taking in sporting events as he goes. He stopped in our little corner of the world to, laugh, cheer, and watch the Mavs win the game against American International before heading to Iowa for some football the following night. He shared with us the links to both his and others' blogs about his trip so we could follow his adventures - http://www.greenpowersportstour.com/, and http://www.greenpowersportstourblog.com/, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/bruin/road_trip/index.html. Joe, should this humble page find you, if you're ever in town for a game again, drop us a note. We'd love to have you as an honorary member of the Red Army!

Our own Adam Froemming tips his hat to the Red Army.

Best Place to Celebrate a UNO Hockey Win: Old Chicago
76th and Cass

You know those odd characters sitting up in the rafters of the Qwest Center at UNO hockey games, beating old 10-gallon jugs with drumsticks and leading the crowd in goofy cheers? They are “The Red Army,” and although looks can be deceiving, they don’t bite. You’ll find them after every Mavs home game — win, lose or draw — at this Old Chicago location, hoisting a few pints and stuffing themselves with warm pizza pie. The RA usually commandeers a large section of the dining room, and is so beloved by the staff that a group photo hangs on the eatery’s wall, alongside the mugs of legendary Chicago figures such as Mike Ditka and Harry Caray.
— Adam Froemming

The Reader 11/29/2007

I believe that the Red Army has officially become a "thing" as Rick would put it. This season (2007-2008) all seats in sections 208 - 216 have been reduced to $99 for season tickets and have been labeled part of "the Red Army Section". When several thousand seats bears the name of your group, I think you might have made an impression on someone important.



TV2 Presents: The Red Army
Shot during the 2004-2005 Season, a 30-minute documentary hosted by Chazi Rutz and featuring UNO Head Coach Mike Kemp, then-UNO goaltender Chris Holt, and (of course) 'the Incompuable One; Rick Jeffries. The documentary discusses the start, the traditions, and the stories behind the revolution and formation of the Red Army.

The documentary was set to air in April 2005, but was 'lost' to technical gremlins. Attempts to restore the projecthave been unsuccessful.

The Mike Kemp Show: UNO Hockey 10-Year Anniversary Show
In April 2007, as a season finale to the 2nd season of the Mike Kemp Show on the Knowledge Network of Greater Omaha, UNO-TV hosted a retrospective on the first 10 seasons on UNO hockey. Producers Christopher A. Boehm, Charley Reed, and David Healy handed out ballots at the radio show to allow fans of the program to vote for their favorite moments and players of the first decade of Maverick Hockey.

The top players of the first 10 years of UNO Hockey were:

Forwards	Defensemen	Goaltenders
Scott Parse	Greg Zanon	Dan Ellis
Jeff Hoggan	Daniel Samuelsson	Chris Holt
Bill Thomas	Mike Gabinet	Kendall Sidoruk
David Brisson	Juha Uotila
Alex Nikiforuk	Mike Eickman

The top 10 moments from those first 10 season were:

10. Greg Zanon's 5-point night spurs UNO comeback victory against Merrimack (28 November 2002)

9. Bryan Marshall scores with 25 seconds to play in regulation, then again 19 seconds into OT to stun Yale (31 December 2005)

8. Scott Parse sets the All-time UNO scoring record (4 March 2006)

7. The St. Patrick's Day Massacre -- UNO beats Michigan 7-4 at Joe Louis Arena to reach the CCHA Championship Game in their first CCHA season (17 March 2000).

6. Fishgate -- Northern Michigan's Pat Bateman smacks the fish following UNO's first goal of the game, line brawl ensues (15 November 2003)

5. Billy Pugliese scores in double overtime of Game Three vs Ohio State, to end the longest game in UNO history (11 March 2001)

4. UNO Makes the NCAA Tournament for the first time (24 March 2006)

3. Tuesday Night -- UNO beats Bowling Green at Omaha Civic Auditorium in the CCHA Play-In Game (14 March 2000)

2. 'Six Seconds with Alex Nikiforuk' -- after Michigan ties the game at 3, Nikiforuk takes faceoff from center ice, sends Jack Johnson's jock strap to the rafters of the Civic Auditorium, and beats Noah Ruden... all in 6 seconds. (17 February 2006)

1. UNO Takes the Ice -- the inaugural game vs Manitoba (17 October 1997)

Red Army Section at Qwest Center Omaha

Published FridayMay 4, 2007
UNO hockey revamping ticket packages
BY CHAD PURCELL
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
The good news is easy enough to trumpet.

By drawing an average of 5,579 fans in 2006-07, the UNO hockey team still ranked 10th in the NCAA for highest home attendance.

The footnote to the good news, for those most invested in the program, is fuel for both optimism and urgency. The Mavs, who will be entering their fifth season at the 16,680-seat Qwest Center Omaha, have one of the worst attendance-to-capacity ratios in the country.

Only Ohio State, which drew an average of 4,818 fans to its 17,500-seat Value City Arena, regularly plays in front of more empty seats.

With so much room to grow, interim chancellor John Christensen said, the time has long since passed for the Mavs to get aggressive about expanding their hockey fan base. Although the school is still in the process of filling both its chancellor and athletic director positions, Christensen said UNO simply can't wait any longer to get hockey boiling on the front burner.

"Since September 12th, when I started in this particular role, I believe I was asked to do this job," said Christensen, who believes UNO has the potential to lead the nation in college hockey attendance. "We're not going to sit on our hands and wait for things to happen."

UNO held a press conference Thursday to unveil a new marketing campaign as well as a series of fan-friendly changes to its season-ticket packages. Much of the presentation focused on thanking those who have supported the program from its inception and on highlighting how far the Mavs have come in their 10-year history.

But in interviews conducted away from the stage, both Christensen and head coach Mike Kemp expressed optimism that the 11th season of UNO hockey can be the launching point of a new era for the program.

"I think this really is the kickoff for the next decade," Christensen said. "And one of the things we're not going to allow to happen is have 10 years go between times where we sit down and look very seriously at the program. We will do that every year. I think we do provide a very good product, but we always can build on that."

The problems surrounding UNO's move from the 8,000-plus seat Civic Auditorium to Qwest Center Omaha have been well documented.

"We took off with such tremendous support initially, based on a great enthusiasm in the city and the newness of it," Kemp said. "I think, rightly or wrongly, quite possibly the university just rode that success. And it took awhile to realize you can't stop doing new and creative things. To me, what we're doing now is a huge step in the right direction."

The approach UNO unveiled Thursday aims to both entice new fans and attract previous season ticket holders back to the arena. Among the highlights:

• The elimination of a priority season-ticket pricing policy at the Qwest Center that required a mandatory donation to the athletic department.

• A new "Red Army" $99 season-ticket package. These seats, in the Qwest's upper bowl, are for the rowdiest of UNO's rowdies. The Red Army is the now-legendary group of puckheads who stand, scream, shake noisemakers and bang on drums for the duration of Mavs games.

• A mini-season ticket package, ranging in price from $120 to $150, that lets fans choose the 10 games they want to attend.

• An option in which season ticket holders can purchase a parking pass.

Rick Jeffries, a self-described Mavs super fan and a founder of the Red Army, said it's clear by the revamped season-ticket options that UNO is listening to its most passionate customers.

"These changes are the product of the input of a lot of fans," Jeffries said. "They've been very responsive to our thoughts. I think UNO has really rallied around the idea that they're not the only hockey game in town. But they do have so much to offer. And, in a very real sense, they are Omaha's team."


Students' Impact is felt, needed at hockey games.

See the quotes from our very own MavRick and Secret Agent Mav in the UNO gateway on March 3rd, 2006.
http://tinyurl.com/22r9pz


KETV Channel 7 was there to cover the 2008 Caps For Cancer event on Ice where 325 hats were collected for the Eppley Cancer Center.