INDEPENDENCE, Mo. – The Kansas City Mavericks have seemed to steady the course after a rocky start to the season, which saw the Mavericks begin the season with a 2-4-0-0 October record. Since then, the Mavericks have gone 4-3-1-0 since, including an exclamation point 10-1 victory over the then-first place Rapid City Rush Saturday night at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena. The Mavs host Allen for the annual Kids Day game this Tuesday then hit the road for the next four games to face divisional rivals the Idaho Steelheads this weekend before traveling to Wichita to face the Wichita Thunder on Thanksgiving weekend.
Last Week’s ActionMon. 11/11: 4-2 L vs. WichitaWed. 11/13: 4-3 OTL at IndySat. 11/16: 10-1 W vs. Rapid City
This Week’s ScheduleTue. 11/19: vs. Allen Americans (10:35 a.m.)Fri. 11/22: at Idaho Steelheads (8:05 p.m.)Sat. 11/23: at Idaho Steelheads (8:05 p.m. Game airs on KCWE)
Mountain Division Standings1. Allen (10-3-1-0, 21 points)2. Idaho (8-4-2-2, 20 points)3. Rapid City (9-5-2-0, 20 points)4. Wichita (8-4-3-0, 19 points)5. Tulsa (7-9-1-0, 15 points)6. Kansas City (6-7-1-0, 13 points)7. Utah (4-7-2-1, 11 points)
Saturday ShootoutThe Mavericks defeated the then-first place Rapid City Rush 10-1 on Saturday night. The Mavs outshot the Rush 45-26 and eight different Mavs had multipoint performances, led by defenseman Kevin McKernan and forward Tad Kozun who both had a goal and three assists.
The Plus MakersFour Mavericks had a plus-minus rating greater than +5 on Saturday night. Cliff Watson and Mitch Hults both finished the night with a +5 rating, while Kozun and McKernan left the rink with +6 ratings.
Hitting the RoadThe Mavericks will hit the road for two weeks after Tuesday’s game vs. Allen, heading west to Boise, ID to face the Idaho Steelheads for two games next Friday and Saturday and then head to Southeastern Kansas to face the Wichita Thunder on Thanksgiving weekend before returning home to face the Thunder on December 6.
Clean KillsThe Mavericks have killed 36 of their last 37 penalties and have only allowed two power play goals in eight games this month.
No Hults BarredMavericks forward Mitch Hults has nine points on three goals and six assists in his last five games since returning on assignment from Stockton.
In the BooksMavericks defenseman Neal Goff scored the first goal of his professional career Saturday against Rapid City. In three seasons and 72 games in both the ECHL and AHL, Goff had never scored a goal until Saturday. It was his 65th game with the Mavericks.
Carrying OverThe second period has been a critical period for the Mavericks in determining outcomes this season. KC is 4-0-0-0 when leading after two periods and 0-4-1-0 when trailing after two periods this season.
Hitting the NumbersThe Mavericks average margin of victory in wins this season is 3.67 goals and they average 5.5 goals scored when they are the winning team.
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