Mavericks: Back To The Basement

When we last checked in with the Flames ECHL affiliate in Kansas City, their tough year had continued. They’d gone with five wins and four losses over their previous nine games, and while it was enough to bump them out of the seventh and last place spot in the Mountain Division, it was still a long road to climb. While they managed to rattle off a four game winning streak at the tail end, it might have given Mavericks fans hope that they were about to string a run together. However, things fell back to their .500-ish ways as KC immediately dropped their next three contests and dropped right back into the bottom of the Mountain Division. They currently sit only one point behind Tulsa, and with games in hand do in fact have the better winning percentage than the Oilers, but looking any further beyond is where the trouble starts. It’s a minimum seven point gap to get anywhere near feeling competitive in the division, as the next closest target is the Wichita Thunder in fifth. The team oughta hire a sherpa if they intend to climb this mountain.

Game By Game:

JAN 10th- KC Mavericks 5 @ Tulsa Oilers 1 WIN

JAN 11th- KC Mavericks 0 @ Wichita Thunder 3 LOSS

JAN 14th- KC Mavericks 1 @ Newfoundland Grizzlies 4 LOSS

JAN 15th- KC Mavericks 1 @ Newfoundland Grizzlies 7 LOSS

The Squad:

Rocco Carzo continues to hold down the fort at the top of the team scoring race, as he’s done all season so far. While Bryan Lemos previously jumped up two spots to second the last time we checked in, he remains in the same spot unable to gain more ground. Ryan Van Stralen, meanwhile, has overtaken the team lead in PIMs with 56, three ahead of Darian Dziurzynski’s 53.

In the blue paint, Flames goaltending prospect Nick Schneider continues to hold down the overall workload in games played, and although he has has added a pair of starts he hasn’t picked up any W’s and remains at 9 wins on the year. Fellow Flames prospect Tyler Parsons picked up a victory recently, but both have seen their numbers slide a bit. Things got blown up during a 7-1 loss to the Newfoundland Grizzlies, where Parsons allowed four goals on seventeen shots in relief, and before getting the hook Schneider allowed three on eleven. It’ll be a hard year to judge either netminder, as the team as a whole is not having a particularly positive campaign and their numbers reflect that.

Up Next:

The Mavs might have a glimmer of hope, as five of their next six games will be at home. They’ll host the division leading Allen Americans for two games which seems a scary prospect at first glance, but in their last two-game meeting Kansas City swept the Americans 2-0 on the road. They’ll also have a pair of games against the Tulsa Oilers, which could go a long way to perhaps not only grabbing sixth place, but also creating a gap to seventh if they can climb the standings. Check back with M&G to see if things will turn around!

by MilhouseFirehouse