INDEPENDENCE, MO – A strong second and third period lifted the Kansas City Mavericks to a 4-2 victory over the Utah Grizzlies on Friday night at Cable Dahmer Arena.
After a scoreless first period, Utah opened the scoring midway through the second with a goal from Briley Wood at 7:35, assisted by Matt Araujo and Luke Manning. But Kansas City responded in the final two minutes of the frame. Chase Brand tied the game at 17:57, finishing a feed from Drake Burgin and Nolan Sullivan. Just before the horn, Casey Carreau beat the buzzer at 19:59 to give the Mavericks a 2-1 lead heading into the third. Marcus Crawford and David Cotton assisted on the go-ahead goal.
Utah briefly tied the game at 6:10 of the third on a goal from Reed Lebster, assisted by Keaton Mastrodonato and Derek Daschke, but the Mavericks responded quickly. Just 1:42 later, Drake Burgin jumped into the rush and ripped a shotpast the Utah goaltender to make it 3-2 Kansas City. Nathan Dunkley and Jack LaFontaine picked up the assists.
David Cotton sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 19:57, his second point of the night.
Jack LaFontaine earned the win in net, turning aside 33 of 35 shots. Kansas City was outshot 35-32, including 15-3 in the third period, but timely scoring and steady goaltending made the difference.
The Mavericks will wrap up their home series against Utah tomorrow at 6:05 p.m. for Affiliation Night at Cable Dahmer Arena.
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