A native of Cumberland, Maine, Ahlers is in his second year as UNO’s director of media relations. But 2009-10 marked his first full season as the Mavericks’ play-by-play voice as he joined longtime color commentator Terry Leahy in UNO’s radio booth.

Ahlers came to the University of Nebraska at Omaha with an extensive background in hockey and broadcasting. He previously served as director of communications for both the AHL’s Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights and Portland (Maine) Pirates. While with Portland, he was honored in 2003 with the James Ellery Award for the league’s top broadcaster.

Q: Looking back, how disappointed were you when the Knights left Omaha after only two years?

A: I think all of us who had been there from the beginning really felt that the Calgary Flames maybe didn’t give us enough time to take hold here. We thought we were making some traction in the second year. Certainly we had a good product, but their patience wasn’t quite there. Looking back on it, it does ask a lot for a city to support three hockey teams. We did our best, and the fans we did have were terrific. But we just couldn’t get enough of them.

Q: You worked for the top affiliate teams for both the NHL’s Flames and Capitals. Who are you pulling for now in a game between Calgary and Washington?

A: It’s probably Calgary, because I know more of the guys who are on Calgary’s team now than I do of the players at Washington. It’s remarkable, just in those two years here in Omaha, we had so many guys who are now with Calgary.

Q: Pick a favorite: Boston Bruins or Hartford Whalers?

A: (Laughs) Well, I’ve got to say the Boston Bruins. I never felt a lot of affinity for Hartford — they were always around .500, and Boston at least every few years would give you a run at the Stanley Cup. At least they did when I was growing up, so that made it a lot of fun.

Q: How have you enjoyed getting back on the air and calling hockey games again?

A: It’s funny — getting back into the groove, and not having done it with a lot of regularity (at UNO) before this season — there’s always that little bit of doubt in your head, like, “Do I still remember how to do this?” Fortunately it is kind of a riding-the-bike type of skill, where you get back in there and fall into that rhythm.

Q: What’s it been like the last year at UNO since new A.D. Trev Alberts’ arrival?

A: There’s no question about it — I think everybody has been energized by Trev’s outlook and the vision he has for the department. It’s been a lot of fun for us to plan ahead and look ahead in very grand terms, as opposed to some of the maybe more modest goals that had been set in the past. My perspective obviously doesn’t go too far back before Trev’s arrival, but he has us thinking big. Given the landscape in Omaha, and the company we keep with Creighton and Nebraska, I think we have to think big. He’s made a lot of people believe that we’ve got a lot of things possible ahead of us.

— Chad Purcell

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