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OMAHA, Neb. — The past has passed and the nationally-ranked Alaska Nanooks and Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks are meeting in the Qwest Center this weekend for the first time this season, but neither team can forget their historic playoff game nine months ago.

Alaska lost 2-1 in triple overtime last March 9 in the deciding game of the first-round Central Collegiate Hockey Association series in the Qwest Center, where the Nanooks and Mavericks square off at 4:05 p.m. ADT today and Saturday.

The 104-minute, 13-second postseason thriller is the ninth-longest game in NCAA hockey history, and it affected the CCHA rivalry partners, who are enjoying success this season.

“That was a tough game to lose; anytime you lose, you want to win that much more,’’ Alaska junior center and leading scorer Dion Knelsen said after Thursday’s practice at the Qwest Center. “Obviously, it showed the importance of scoring goals and capitalizing on your chances and your power play. ... That’s what we hope to do this weekend.”

Last season’s playoff finale, said Nebraska-Omaha head coach Mike Kemp, is part of the lore of the Mavericks.

“We’re still trying to build that history as a young program (12-year existence), and it’s one of those (games) that people talk about today, and will talk about for a long time,’’ Kemp said Thursday.

One of those people was a friend of Kemp, and the man was at the game with his grandchildren.

“It was getting late and the kids had to be at school in the morning,’’ said Kemp, “but he was just bound and determined that he wasn’t going to leave until the game was over, even though it was getting (close) to midnight.

“Those kind of things, I think, are the carryover. It’s a unique thing to be a part of and it’s one of those things that’s very memorable, and I think that’s what you cherish.”

The Nanooks have had some things to cherish this season.

Alaska, at 6-3-1-1 conference and 8-4-2 overall, moved into a three-way tie for third place in the CCHA and into the No. 20 spot in this week’s USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Poll after sweeping Lake Superior State last Saturday at the Carlson Center.

Alaska leads NCAA Division I in defense, allowing an average of 1.36 goals per game. Its penalty kill ranks second in the conference and seventh nationally with a 91.5-percent efficiency, and Alaska’s 11 penalty minutes per game make them the least penalized team in the CCHA and the third-least penalized squad in the nation.

Also, senior goaltender Chad Johnson leads the CCHA with a 1.57 goals against average and .944 saves percentage. His GAA ranks fourth nationally and the saves percentage seventh.

Knelsen and senior center Adam Naglich each have five goals and five assists for 10 points to lead Alaska scorers.

“From what we’ve heard, they’re kind of hot right now,’’ said senior left wing Dan Charleston, who leads active Mavericks against Alaska with 12 points in 15 games. “I think they’re going to try to clog up things for us and make things a little bit miserable for us ...

“You’ve just got to see how hard you want to work to get in front of the goalie. I think it’s going to be a heck of a series.”

No. 18 Nebraska-Omaha, in sixth place in the CCHA at 5-4-1-1 league and 9-4-1 overall, has the league’s fourth-ranked defense (2.07 goals average). But the Nanooks are concerned, too, about an offense (3.50 goals per game) and power play (20.3-percent efficiency) that each rank second in the CCHA and seventh nationally.

“Going into this weekend, I know Omaha is a team that’s always had a lot of skill and guys that can make plays,’’ Alaska head coach Dallas Ferguson said. “The more we have the puck and they don’t have the puck, that’s going to be our advantage.”

The Nanooks have the all-time lead in the series at 19-14-8, but the teams are tied at 9-9-3 in Omaha and Alaska has only won two of the last 11 games of the series.

BLADE BITS: Johnson leads the CCHA Perani Cup standings with 25 points. The points are calculated for the first, second and third star honors presented to players after each game.

• Mavericks junior defenseman Eddie DelGrosso leads CCHA blueliners in scoring this season with 1-14-15 totals.

• Former Nanooks right wing and assistant coach Wade Klippenstein was named Monday as the head coach of the Prince George (British Columbia) Cougars after the Western Hockey League team fired Drew Schoneck. Klippenstein had been the major junior team’s assistant general manager and assistant coach since August 2007.