CHL Expansion teams to meet for first time

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. – The Central Hockey League’s two expansion clubs will meet for the first time on Thursday when the Allen Americans travel to Missouri to play the Mavericks at the Independence Events Center. 
 
The Mavericks (17-16-3) will be concluding a six-game home stand and are 3-1-1 on the stretch thus far, including back-to-back wins against the Mississippi RiverKings. Missouri is currently in the fifth spot in the Northern Conference playoff race (five teams qualify for post-season) will play 17 of their final 28 games at home where they are 9-5-1 on the season. 
 

If the Mavericks can hold on to the fifth playoff position in the Northern Conference, it would be the first time since the 2003-04 season that two expansion teams made the playoffs. The Colorado Eagles and Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees both saw extended action in their first year of play. Of course, the Mavericks intend to do more than just hold the number five spot. With 37 points, they are two points ahead of Tulsa but only one point behind Mississippi (in fourth place) and three points behind the third place Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs.
 
Veteran right wing Jeff Christian leads the Mavericks attack with 47 points (20 G, 27 A, +5) scored in 25 games.
 
The Americans (25-9-2) have occupied second place in the Southern Conference for most of the season. Although they trail the first place Odessa Jackalopes by nine points, they lead the third place Texas Brahmas by seven points. Allen has an 11-6-1 on the road this season.
 
After Monday’s 4-2 win against the Arizona Sundogs, the Americans improved to 52 points. With 24 games remaining, they are on pace to break the Colorado Eagles’ expansion record of 94 points set in 2003-04.
 
Allen is led by the strong play of Center Justin Bowers who has tallied 49 points (17 G, 32 A, +16) including eight power play goals, nine power play assists and two short-handed goals.
 
With the reputation for physical play, the Americans will meet their match in the Mavericks, who have shown a penchant for rough stuff. Missouri leads the Northern Conference with 876 penalty minutes assessed (2^nd most in the league) with Carlyle Lewis and Karl Sellan the major offenders.
 
With 28 regular season games left for both teams, this game means more for Missouri than it does for Allen, but the Americans will prove to be a formidable new opponent and it’s a good bet that there will be fireworks in Independence on Thursday night.
 
Contact the author at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com