Mavericks take huge step with victory over Allen

INDEPENDENCE , Mo. – On Saturday night, the Missouri Mavericks were looking to right the ship versus the Allen Americans. The Mavericks had lost four of their last five games, including a 4-1 loss to the Americans on 21 January, in the first meeting of the Central Hockey League’s two expansion franchises.
 

Missouri needed to make some adjustments, primarily on the defensive side of the puck and reducing their penalties. The Mavericks are the most penalized team in the CHL, averaging over 25 penalty minutes per game. Not only would the defense be put to the test, but also the offense faced quite a challenge against a stingy Americans defense who have allowed the fewest goals in the league.
 
In front of a sellout crowd at the Independence Events Center, the visiting Americans threw the proverbial kitchen sink at the home team early in the first period. Allen was skating all over the Mavericks and had a couple of early chances, but goalie Gerry Festa (making his home debut) and the Mavericks’ defense held their ground, refusing to let the team fall behind early in the game. 
 
The Mavericks made some adjustments and began punching back both figuratively and literally. After the Mavericks’ Jordan Foreman blasted an Allen defenseman into the boards, Mike Salekin dropped his gloves and the two exchanged blows, earning five-minute fighting majors for both and a roughing call on Allen’s Christian Gaudet.
 
The Mavericks’ special teams have struggled all year, but they made the Americans pay for their mistakes on this night. 
 
Defenseman Mike Burgoyne blasted a slap shot from the point and beat Allen goalie Charlie Effinger for their first power play goal at the 18:11 mark. Right after the goal was scored, Allen captain Jarret Lukin received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which gave the Mavericks another power play opportunity. This time, forward Jeff MacDermid reaped the benefit of Allen’s lack of discipline, and found the back of the net for his 14th goal of the season at the 19:44 mark. The Mavericks took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
 
The Mavericks continued their success early in the middle frame. Defenseman Bret Tyler dumped the puck deep into the Allen zone and forward Brett Hammond was able to wrestle it away from an Allen defender and feed a streaking Braden Walls with a beautiful pass in the slot. Walls buried the feed into the back of the net to put the Mavericks up 3-0. 
 
The Mavericks spent the rest of the game playing puck control. The only real threat that Allen had was five-on-three advantage at the end of the 2nd period.  However, the Mavericks’ special teams would do its job and kill off both penalties unscathed. 
 
The Mavericks held on for a 3-0 victory over a tough and talented Allen team. “Tonight was a big step,” Head Coach Scott Hillman said. “This was the biggest win for our organization thus far.”
 
The real story of the night was the play of the Mavericks’ defense, led by Bret Tyler and goalie Gerry Festa.  With injuries to Jared Lavender and Mike Burgoyne over the past few weeks, Tyler has seen an increased amount of playing time. While Tyler has progressed game-by-game since joining the team, his improvement over the past few weeks has been exponential. 
 
“Bret’s confidence has really risen over the past few weeks,” Hillman said. “He competes. He’s not afraid of anyone, and he’s really turning into a nice player for us.”
 
The defense played great, but the Mavs have not had stellar play between the pipes lately. That’s exactly what they got tonight from Gerry Festa who recorded his first shutout in only his third game with the team. 
 
“You want to win first of all, but to get the shutout is a nice bonus,” Festa said. “The guys in front of me did a hell of a job tonight. It’s exciting.”
 
This was the type of game that the Mavericks needed. They showed the top teams in the Central Hockey League that they mean business. Coming into the game, the Mavericks were 0-11-0 against the top four teams in the CHL.
All the things that the Mavericks wanted to improve on, they did against Allen. They stayed out of the penalty box, they played well on the defensive side of the puck, they took advantage of odd-man rushes, and they had great success on their power play. 
 
Currently battling the Tulsa Oilers for the fifth and final playoff berth in the Northern Conference, the Mavericks showed what they are capable of when they put all the pieces together.
 
Contact the author at joe.rozycki@prohockeynews.com