A slightly edited University of Nebraska at Omaha news release: Head hockey coach Dean Blais announced that 11 student-athletes have signed national letters of intent and will join the team for the 2010-11 season. The list includes six forwards, four defensemen and a goalie. (Actually, most if not all these signings were probably published long ago. This is more of a formal introduction.)

"Our staff has worked hard to identify and sign those players who we feel will be able to have a positive impact for us immediately," he said. "We are entering the best college hockey conference in the country this fall, and these players will see right away what it takes to compete at the highest level of college hockey."

UNO begins play in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association this season after 11 seasons in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. The Mavericks' first conference series is with Minnesota at Mariucci Arena on Oct. 15-16.

The Mavericks' recruits includes eight players who skated in the United States Hockey League last season, one from the North American Hockey League and one each from the Alberta and Saskatchewan Junior Hockey Leagues in Canada. There are two Minnesotans in UNO's recruiting class, including Ryan Walters, who committed to the Gophers but was told to play another of junior hockey before he could join the program. There are also two players from Grand Forks, N.D., home of North Dakota where Blais was once head coach. The two Minnesotans: Forward Ryan Walters – Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) Height: 6-0 Weight: 188 Hometown: Rosemount, Minn. DOB: 7/30/1991 Walters spent the last three seasons (actually two and part of his sophomore season after playing for St. Thomas Academy) with the Des Moines Buccaneers, finishing the 2009-10 season as team's second-leading scorer with career highs in goals (21), assists (40) and points (61). He also had 103 penalty minutes. He was a member of the 2009-10 USHL All-Star team and was named the Most Valuable Player of the All-Star Game after scoring just the fourth hat trick in USHL All-Star Game history and finishing +4. Goaltender Mike Taffe – Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL) Height: 6-0 Weight: 191 Hometown: Maple Grove, Minn. DOB: 5/18/1991 Taffe appeared in 33 games for Fairbanks, posting a record of 20-6-1, a goals-against average of 2.67 and a save percentage of .909. He also played in three playoff games, going 0-1 with a 4.23 GAA and a .897 save percentage. (Wonder if Mike is related to Jeff Taffe, the ex-Gophers forward from Hastings? Anyone know. ... The Gophers also have an Ice Dog on their roster. Freshman orward Jared Larson was captain of that team last season.) Forwards Brock Montpetit – Waterloo Blackhawks (USHL) Height: 5-11 Weight: 189 Hometown: Somerset, Wis. DOB: 4/3/1990 Montpetit finished second in scoring for Waterloo and eighth overall in the USHL with 28 goals and 41 assists for 69 points. He also had 94 penalty minutes. He added two assists in three playoff games. He tied for the team lead with six game-winning goals and was third on the team with nine power play goals. In three seasons at Waterloo, he had 53 goals and 89 assists for 142 points in 169 regular season games and a goal and seven assists in 17 playoff games. Zahn Raubenheimer – Grand Prairie Storm (AJHL) Height: 5-10 Weight: 176 Hometown: Smoky Lake, Alberta DOB: 9/19/1989 Raubenheimer tied for the Alberta Junior Hockey League lead and led Grand Prairie in scoring last season with 47 goals and 60 assists for 107 points in 60 games. He also had 110 penalty minutes. He had 14 power play goals to rank second in the AJHL and first on his team. He also had three goals and nine assists for 12 points in nine playoff games. He was second on the team with seven game-winning goals and tied for the lead with three shorthanded goals. In 251 career games, he had 119 goals and 122 assists for 241 points and 294 penalty minutes. He had 18 goals and 29 assists for 47 points and 46 penalty minutes in 53 career games played with Grand Prairie. He helped lead Grand Prairie to the AJHL playoff championship in 2009. Johnnie Searfoss – Fargo Force (USHL) Height: 6-0 Weight: 185 Hometown: Colleyville, Texas DOB: 2/10/1990 Searfoss had 21 goals and 19 assists for 40 points in 60 games for Fargo to rank sixth in team scoring. He tied for second on the team with seven power play goals. He also had 90 penalty minutes. He had two goals and three assists for five points in 13 playoff games as the Force fell to Green Bay 3-2 in the Clark Cup Finals. In 120 career USHL games with Fargo, he had 36 goals and 38 assists for 74 points and 108 penalty minutes. He also played in 23 career playoff games, scoring four goals and five assists for nine points and ten penalty minutes. (Gophers have two freshmen who were on Force last season, forward Nate Condon and defenseman Nate Schmidt.) Alex Simonson – Chicago Steel (USHL) Height: 6-2 Weight: 201 Hometown: Grand Forks, N.D. DOB: 5/6/1990 Simonson played the last three seasons with the Chicago Steel of the USHL. He had two goals and four assists in each of the last two seasons and led team with 179 penalty minutes in 35 games during 2009-10 season. He finished his junior career with seven goals and eight assists in 90 games. Matt White – Omaha Lancers (USHL) Height: 5-10 Weight: 185 Hometown: Whittier, Calif. DOB: 8/23/1989 White was named the Dave Tyler Junior Player of the Year by USA Hockey. He also was USHL Player of the Year and a member of the All-USHL First Team after leading the Omaha Lancers in scoring with 35 goals and 47 assists for 82 points. He finished second in the USHL in scoring. He had a team-best +41 plus/minus ratio while scoring five game-winning goals and a team-best eight shorthanded goals while registering 53 penalty minutes. He also added four goals and seven assists for 11 points in eight playoff games. In 155 career games for Omaha, White scored 57 goals and 88 assists for 145 points and 102 penalty minutes. He also had seven goals and 24 points in 24 career playoff games. Defensemen Bryce Aneloski – Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL) Height: 6-2 Weight: 207 Hometown: Pekin, Ill. DOB: 4/27/1990 Aneloski was the top scorer among defensemen in the USHL this past season and was an All-USHL First Team pick, scoring 15 goals and 39 assists for 54 points in 60 games for Cedar Rapids. He finished second in team scoring. He registered 34 penalty minutes and had a team-best 26 powerplay points (8-18-26) while also firing a team-high 210 shots. He had four more assists in five playoff games. Aneloski had 27 goals and 59 assists for 86 career points in 157 game with Cedar Rapids and added four assists in 13 career playoff games. He was selected in the seventh round, 196th overall, by the Ottawa Senators in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. He played 16 games with Providence College during the 2008-09 season before rejoining Cedar Rapids. He will be a sophomore this season. Andrei Sustr – Youngstown Phantoms (USHL) Height: 6-8 Weight: 200 Hometown: Plzen, Czech Rep. DOB: 11/29/1990 Sustr was third in defenseman scoring for Youngstown with a goal and 18 assists for 19 points in 50 games. He also had 95 penalty minutes. Sustr played internationally for the Czech Republic in the IIHF World Junior Championship in Saskatooon, Saskatchewan in 2010, skating in five games and registering six penalty minutes. He was also a member of the Czech Under-18 team in 2007-08. In 2006-07, he won a first division league championship with Hc Dukla Jihlava.. Tony Turgeon – Waterloo Blackhawks (USHL) Height: 6-4 Weight: 228 Hometown: Grand Forks, N.D. DOB: 9/21/1989 Turgeon played in only 28 games during an injury shortened season with the Waterloo Blackhawks in 2009-10. He had no points and registered 113 penalty minutes. As a senior in high school, he was part of the Wisconsin State Championship Midget AAA team, the Madison Capitals. Michael Young – Flin Flon Bombers (SJHL) Height: 6-3 Weight: 213 Hometown: Calgary, Alberta DOB: 1/3/1989 Young had 13 goals and 33 assists for 46 points in 55 games for Flin Flon to rank fifth in team scoring and second in assists. He was fourth in defenseman scoring for the SJHL. He had seven powerplay goals and 25 powerplay points to rank fourth in the league. He also had six assists in six playoff games for the Bombers. He was named to the All-SJHL Second Team.