Senior Nebraska Omaha goaltender John Faulkner is the Mavericks’ projected starting netminder for Monday’s exhibition game against the University of Lethbridge. (Photo credit: Matthew Semisch)

It’s hard to predict what might hinder the Lethbridge Pronghorns more when they face Nebraska Omaha on Monday night: ‘Bus legs,’ to use the applicable hockey vernacular, or exhaustion.

It would be tough to blame the Pronghorns if they resemble a spent force in Monday’ exhibition with UNO. It will be UL’s third game in as many nights, and neither of the preceding shellackings at Minnesota (a 7-0 loss on Saturday) and Minnesota State (7-1 on Sunday) were résumé-padders for the tourists.

The Gophers and the MSU Mavericks both ran rings around Lethbridge, collectively outshooting the Pronghorns 130-26 over the two games. That and UL’s fatigue and road-weariness ought to encourage UNO’s attackers to bomb forward up the ice all evening and express themselves.

Beating Canadian opponents is nothing new for the Mavericks. UNO holds a 14-2-0 all-time record against teams from north of the border. The Mavericks lost their very first game in program history to Manitoba in 1997, but UNO has won 13 of their last 14 against UM, Lethbridge and British Columbia.

The Mavericks have only faced Lethbridge once before, riding goals from John Kemp and Nick Von Bokern to a 2-1 preseason win in 2009.

Lethbridge departed for its three-game stateside tour following an 0-1-1 start to Canada West play. Canada West makes up part of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport system, Canada’s equivalent of the NCAA in the United States.