Mavericks: Season Begins!

It’s the start of a new year for the Flames’ ECHL affiliate in Kansas City! After missing the Kelly Cup playoffs in last year’s crazy shortened and re-aligned season, they’re now back at it to try again.

The Mavs’ have kicked off the year by going .500 through their opening six contests. They’ve scored one less goal than they’ve allowed so far (22-23), and are not helping matters by leading the league with a whopping 181 penalty minutes already, a full 39 PIMs more than the next closest Wheeling Nailers of the Central Division. The team is directly in the middle of the Mountain Division standings, with the season only a couple weeks old and still plenty of hockey to be decided!

GAME BY GAME:

OCT 22nd- KC Mavericks 4 @ Iowa Heartlanders 7 –LOSS

OCT 23rd- KC Mavericks 5 vs Iowa Heartlanders 3 –WIN

OCT 27th- KC Mavericks 2 vs Tulsa Oilers 5 –LOSS

OCT 29th- KC Mavericks 3 vs Wheeling Nailers 0 –WIN

NOV 6th- KC Mavericks 7 vs Allen Americans 5 –WIN

NOV 7^th– KC Mavericks 1 @ Wichita Thunder 3 –LOSS

THE SQUAD:

Not much to report statistically in the early goings, as Westin Michaud sits tied for the team points lead with vet Darik Angeli, while Lane Scheidl and Nick Pastujov sit in their own tie at second place. Mikael Robidoux has carved out his own special spot, contributing 42 of the team’s early 181 penalty minutes to himself.

In the blue paint, Angus Redmond has carried the starts so far with 4 of the 6, and has posted the team’s only shutout in a 3-0 victory against the Wheeling Nailers. Andrew Shortridge returns from last season and has a single start so far.

Matt Greenfield is also back in net for another season with the Mavs, as he was recently sent down from fellow Flames affiliate AHL Stockton Heat. He got his first start on November 7th in a 3-1 loss to the Wichita Thunder, but managed to get a couple good highlights including this big stop:

UP NEXT:

The ponies will be out on the road for 4 of their next 6 match-ups. They’ll be all within the division which will likely help to start separating the standings. It’ll see a pair against Tulsa and a pair against Utah, with single matchups against Wichita and Allen mixed in. Check back with Matchsticsk & Gasoline in a couple weeks to see how the Mavericks fare!

by MilhouseFirehouse