Mike Hastings’ booming voice is big enough to fill every corner of an empty hockey arena — even one as massive as Qwest Center Omaha.

Hastings sometimes shouts out his praise when he sees something he likes. UNO’s top assistant often roars his disapproval when he catches a mistake.

And rest assured, if one of the Mavericks’ defensemen makes even the smallest of slip-ups, it’s probably not going to escape Hastings’ attention. Good or bad, there’s never any gray area about the way UNO’s blueliners are performing during practice.

“He’s really, really intense — and I really like that about him,” said UNO junior defenseman Eric Olimb. “He gets on you when you’re having a bad practice, or even if you make one bad play. He’s always on you to perform your best, and that’s just made our ‘D’ corps so much better.”

But just like first-year UNO coach Dean Blais, Hastings seems to have a knack for knowing exactly when to lighten the mood. He might chew on someone up and down the ice all practice long. Then, during the cooling-off period before the Mavs exit the ice, Hastings might make a joke just to crack the kid up.

And these days — when Hastings isn’t zoned in on the serious business of helping Blais push UNO hockey to new heights — it seems rare to see the former Omaha Lancers coach and GM without a smile on his face.

Hastings said he loves being back in Omaha, the city in which he established such firm roots and gained so many close friends. He knew he was seizing a rare opportunity when he came to UNO to work under such an accomplished head coach.

Yet Hastings said his decision to join Blais’ staff has worked out even better than he could’ve imagined. He said there isn’t a day that goes by when he doesn’t learn something from his new boss. He said it’s been a revelation even for him that working this hard can be this much fun.

“It’s been so enjoyable seeing the passion Dean has for the game, and he’s just so focused on doing something to get better every single day,” said Hastings, whose official title at UNO is associate head coach. “The focus for our entire staff and our entire team has been on ‘we’ not ‘me,’ and that starts right at the top with Dean. He’s fantastic about giving you responsibility, and he expects results. He allows you to do your job, but we know who’s running the show — and that’s exactly what you want as an assistant coach.”

One of Hastings’ top responsibilities is working with UNO’s defensemen — and all of them rave about the way he’s helped shore up their techniques and get a better grasp on playing the position.

The results have been impressive, too. Yes, the Mavs are eighth in the CCHA in scoring defense, having allowed 2.75 goals per game so far in 2009-10. In reality, however, that stat seems to reflect the inconsistent play of UNO goalies Jeremie Dupont and John Faulkner more than it does the Mavs’ overall team defense.

If you measure the Mavs by how many scoring opportunities they’ve given up, UNO has been one of the CCHA’s best. The Mavericks rank third in the league with their 26.8 shots allowed per game. Only Michigan (23.5) and Miami (24.2) are giving up fewer shots night in and night out.

“I think the intensity Coach Hastings demands of us during practice has definitely carried over into our games,” said UNO’s Eddie Del Grosso, a senior defenseman and alternate captain. “Having him back there working with us has helped a lot.”

During his 14 seasons leading the Lancers, Hastings notched a 529-210-56 overall record — the most wins of any coach in USHL history. He never had a losing season in Omaha. He won three regular-season Anderson Cup titles with the Lancers as well as three Clark Cup playoff championships.

He left the USHL in 2008 to become an assistant at the University of Minnesota. But as much as he enjoyed being back in his home state, Hastings couldn’t turn down the invitation to join Blais at UNO.

Without question, Blais believes he has one of the top staffs in the country. He praises the job that both Hastings and assistant Nick Fohr have done in recruiting standouts who will join the Mavs in the future. Blais was away from the team for close to a month midway through the season when he coached Team USA to a gold medal at the World Junior Championships. But Blais said there’s no way he ever would’ve considered leaving the team if Hastings wasn’t there to fill in.

“Mike knows the game inside and out, no matter whether it’s goaltending, defensemen or forwards,” Blais said. “He’s worked with them all, and he’s really a head coach more than he’s an assistant. He thinks quickly and makes smart decisions. There’s just all kinds of things you have to be able to do on that bench, and he can do them all.”

After going 10-3-1 in their last 14 games, the No. 18 Mavs now find themselves two wins away from a trip to Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena for the CCHA semifinals.

UNO plays a best-of-three second-round playoff series this weekend at 13th-ranked Ferris State. Should the Mavs earn two victories, they’d lock up their first trip to “The Joe” since 2004-05. They’d also have 22 wins — the second most in school history — and would be right in the mix for an at-large NCAA tournament invitation.

If the Mavs lose the series, their season will be over. Clearly, Hastings said, UNO will have to play up to its full potential to have a shot at knocking off the Bulldogs. At the same time, he said, there’s a strong belief that everything these players have done — starting all the way back with their off-ice training last summer — has prepared them for this moment.

“We know our biggest challenge is the one right in front of us, but I think our guys have earned the right to be confident,” Hastings said. “It’s just like going in and taking a test. If you know you’ve prepared, that test isn’t going to be as intimidating than if you hadn’t done the work.”

Contact the writer:

444-1207, chad.purcell@owh.com

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