Mavericks: Turning It Around

When we last checked in with the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks, they’d be on a pretty ugly skid. Starting back from the All-Star game break on January 25th, the Mavericks hosted 9 straight contests though late January and early February with 11 of 13 games inside friendly confines where the team had fared substantially better than the road this season with an 12-3 record. It seems even some home cooking couldn’t even help them out of this rut. Dropping 12 of their last 20 games overall, the Mavs sat 15 points back of the Mountain Division leading Utah Grizzlies. However, they managed to make up some ground by taking a pair of wins against the Grizz on the road, but then went 2-2 to start a homestand immediately afterwards. The teams ahead of the Mavericks have done some shuffling, with Utah dropping to 3rd to be tied with the Tulsa Oilers at 68 points each and eight points ahead of KC. The Idaho Steelheads have jumped up into the division lead at 70. KC has games in hand on all three teams as of now, which might help moving forward in the chase for the playoffs.

GAME BY GAME:

FEB 16th- KC Mavericks 3 @ Utah Grizzlies 0 WIN

FEB 18th- KC Mavericks 5 @ Utah Grizzlies 2 WIN

FEB 20th- Toledo Walleye 4 @ KC Mavericks 3 LOSS

FEB 22nd- Toledo Walleye 3 @ KC Mavericks 5 WIN

FEB 23rd- Kalamazoo Wings 5 @ KC Mavericks 2 LOSS

FEB 27th- Idaho Steelheads 3 @ KC Mavericks 4 WIN

THE SQUAD:

With Mark Cooper and Jared Vanwormer both still out on loan, Rocco Carzo remains in the team points lead with 45, adding a goal and six assists in his last seven. Darian Dziurzynski is still holding down the goals lead at 21.

In the crease, Flames prospect goalie Nick Schneider has returned to the team from Stockton, but his fellow Calgary prospect netminder Mason McDonald continues to carry the workload. McDonald picked up a shutout against the Grizzlies on the 16th of February. upping his SO count to 3 on the year. He’s now got 17 wins in 24 starts, sitting on a .917 SV% and 2.39 GAA as his numbers slowly improve. Schneider’s now looking at 5 wins in 14 ECHL games played, with a GAA creeping towards four at 3.91 and a save percentage at .873

UP NEXT:

The Mavericks will round out their homestand by hosting the division leading Idaho Steelheads for a pair of games, before swinging out on the road for three divisional contests. It’ll be a pair against the last-place Allen Americans and one in Tulsa against the Oilers, before the team returns home to Silverstein Eye Centers arena for three more. That makes five of the next eight at home and a few division games to try and chip away at the standings. Check back with M&G in two weeks to see if the Mavericks can move on up!

by MilhouseFirehouse