FRIDAY SADDLEBAG: CLINCH SEASON

The Mavericks face off in two huge Mountain Division games this weekend, Friday night against the Wichita Thunder in the final game of the Independence Cup and Saturday night against the first-place Tulsa Oilers. The Mavericks can push Wichita closer to the brink of elimination from postseason contention, while making up ground in the tightening Mountain Division race against Tulsa. Friday night's game will be televised. Tune in to KSMO-TV with Justin Scholtes and Matt Stephenson for the Mavericks' final TV broadcast of the season.

Ticket InfoKansas City Game Notes 3/15Wichita Game Notes 3/15

Mountain Division Standings1. Tulsa, 35-21-4-2 (76 points)2. Idaho, 35-21-3-2 (75 points)3. Utah, 32-21-4-4 (72 points)4. Kansas City, 31-23-3-2 (67 points)5. Rapid City, 26-29-5-3 (60 points)6. Wichita, 24-28-6-3 (57 points)7. Allen, 22-37-4-2 (50 points)

ECHL POTW Mavericks forward Greg Betzold took home Inglasco ECHL Player of the Week honors for his monster offensive week from March 4-10. Betzold scored five goals and assisted on four goals in three games en route to the Mavericks 2-0-0-1 week.

Durocher In StrideGreg Betzold isn’t the only Mavs player on a hot streak. Corey Durocher has five goals and two assists in his last three games.

Thriller vs. Cincy The Mavericks faced off against the top team in the ECHL, the Cincinnati Cyclones Sunday afternoon in one of the most physical and thrilling games of the season. The Mavericks scored two goals in the final five minutes of regulation to force overtime and earn a standings point against the top team in the league. The game went to a shootout after a scoreless OT period. The Cyclones took home the win on Alex Wideman’s second round shootout goal after all three Mavericks shooters failed to score in the shootout.

All Out Brawl Out Kansas City and Cincinnati combined for 144 penalty minutes (72 each) in Sunday’s game, most of which stemmed from the aftermath of a third period hit in the Cyclones zone. Mavericks forward Loren Ulett exited the game on a game misconduct penalty after picking up his third major penalty and amassed 49 penalty minutes during the game. Cincinnati’s Arvin Atwal also earned an ejection for his role in the fracas and amassed 32 penalty minutes during the game. Cincinnati’s Justin Vaive and Kansas City’s David Dziurzynski also received game misconducts for their roles in the altercation.

Countdown To Clinching With five points amassed in three games last week, the Mavericks are closing in on their first playoff berth in two seasons, and seventh playoff appearance in franchise history. The Mavericks need 79 points to clinch a playoff spot and eliminate Rapid City and Wichita from playoff contention. The Mavs currently have 67 points.

Quarter Century Club Mavericks Forward Darian Dziurzynski was the first Maverick to reach the 25-goal mark last Saturday night in Allen with his first period goal.

Away We Go The Mavericks only play one home game in their last 11 regular season games. The final 11 games are also played over the course of 19 days.

Closing in on 100 Wins Mavericks Head Coach John-Scott Dickson is closing in on 100 career wins as a head coach. In three seasons with the Mavericks, his record currently stands at 98-84-11-8.