Mike Gabinet Hired by Nebraska Omaha

A week after Minnesota State announced that they had locked Mike Hastings, the presumed top candidate in Nebraska Omaha’s coaching search, to a long-term deal, Omaha announced that associate head coach Mike Gabinet had been hired as the third head coach in Omaha hockey history.

At 35 years old, Gabinet becomes the youngest current head coach in Division I men’s hockey. Gabinent played four years for the Mavericks, serving as team captain in his senior season.

After a brief minor league professional career, Gabinent took an assistant coaching job at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, and was promoted to head coach in 2015-2016. He was hired by Omaha last summer in the associate head coaching role, after the Mavericks fired both assistant coaches.

Gabinet is young and relatively unproven, which perhaps makes this hire a bit of a gamble for the Mavericks, but his strong connections to the program and the Omaha community helped give him an edge in securing the job.

In the school’s press release, UNO athletic director Trev Alberts said: ““Moving forward, we think Mike can not only help us excel on the ice but also work hard in the community to strengthen the bonds we have with our fans, alumni and donors.”