At least one member of the University of Denver hockey team will be welcomed by Nebraska-Omaha fans at this weekend’s series at the Qwest Center.
For any Nebraskan who knows Dustin Jackson and his story of perseverance, it would be difficult to root against the hard-luck Omaha native.
Jackson, a fourth-year redshirt junior forward, overcame a broken leg that kept him out last season and mononucleosis this September to continue his career Nov. 9.
He missed 53 games over a 19-month span. Quitting was an option, but Jackson — a 24-year-old assistant captain who joined DU as a recruited walk-on — defied it.
“I’ve had a lot of people contact me, people who I really haven’t talked to in some time, telling me they’re going to come watch, which is cool,” Jackson said. “It’s been kind of hectic getting family members tickets and stuff like that. It will be nice to just get there and play, to be honest.”
At the beginning of the season, this series was thought of as the start of a regional rivalry. UNO, a sister school to Nebraska at Lincoln, the football school, is a first-year member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
Nobody thought the Mavericks would have immediate success in the rugged league, but here they are, with four remaining games, tied for third in the 12-team league, and just a point behind second-place DU. The Pioneers trail North Dakota by two points.
The Mavericks are averaging 7,777 fans at the 15,959-seat Qwest Center and are anticipating crowds of more than 8,000 tonight and 10,000 on Saturday, a team spokesman said.
“It’s definitely going to be an exciting weekend,” Jackson said. “And it’s definitely not going to be an easy weekend. They’re a good team.”
Jackson played midget-minor hockey for the Junior Lancers during his freshman year at Omaha’s Creighton Prep High School. He moved to Faribault, Minn., to play for Shattuck-St. Mary’s as a sophomore and junior, then spent his senior year in Billings, Mont., playing junior-A for the local North American Hockey League team.
He moved to the NAHL’s Southern Minnesota Express for a year before joining DU at the start of the 2007-08 season as a 21-year-old freshman.
Jackson was an immediate contributor for the Pioneers, playing in 37 of 41 games as a freshman and 38 of 40 as a sophomore. He broke his leg in a freak accident during practice before last season.
A year later, he was diagnosed with mono.
“You got to hand it to him — he’s worked hard in his rehab and trying to get his game back,” DU coach George Gwozdecky said of Jackson. “When you’re out for a season and a half, that’s a long time, especially at the Division I level. But he’s been very good and was a sparkplug for us when he came back.”
Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com
College hockey this weekend
No. 6 Denver (19-8-5, 15-6-3 WCHA) at No. 12 Nebraska-Omaha (19-11-2, 15-7-2 WCHA)
What: WCHA two-game series
When: 6:35 p.m. tonight; 6 p.m. Saturday
Where: Qwest Center, Omaha
TV: ALT 2 (Friday only) Radio: 87.7 FM
Notes: DU captain Kyle Ostrow (lower-abdominal) will miss his fifth and sixth consecutive games and first road trip since joining the program. . . . Sophomore Adam Murray is expected to start in goal tonight. . . . DU is 4-5-1 against ranked opponents and 6-5-3 on the road. . . . The Pioneers are 7-2 against UNO and have won the past seven games in the series since being swept at Omaha in 1997 in the Mavericks’ inaugural season.
No. 7 Minn.-Duluth (19-7-5, 14-6-4 WCHA) at No. 19 Colorado College (17-15-2, 11-12-1 WCHA)
What: WCHA two-game series
When: 7:35 p.m. tonight; 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Colorado Springs World Arena
TV: None Radio: 103.9 FM
Notes: CC is 2-8-1 in its past 11 games against Minnesota-Duluth, which won a three-game playoff series a year ago the last time these teams met. . . . With a one-point series last weekend at Bemidji State, CC fell to seventh in the WCHA standings, out of home-ice position for the first round of the league playoffs March 11-13. The Tigers trail sixth place Minnesota by a point.
Robert Morris (18-9-5, 13-7-5 AHA) at Air Force (14-11-6, 12-7-6 AHA)
What: AHA two-game series
When: 7 p.m. tonight; 7:35 p.m. Saturday
Where: Cadet Ice Arena
TV: None Radio: 1300 AM
Notes: This is the regular-season ending series for both teams. . . . Air Force is three games above .500 for the first time this season and has clinched home-ice advantage for the first round of the AHA playoffs March 5. The Falcons would clinch a first-round bye if they gain three of four points this weekend. . . . Robert Morris beat Air Force 3-2 on Oct. 17 at Pittsburgh in a game the Falcons led 2-0.
