INDEPENDENCE, Missouri — The Missouri Mavericks impressed in their first ever home opener, beating the Wichita Thunder 3-2 in a shootout. Although the Mavericks earned a hard fought victory on the ice, it was also a great night for the entire organization. The Mavericks had a plan to not only entertain their hometown fans, but also to help those fans who aren’t too familiar with hockey learn the game, one piece at a time.
Image Credit: Missouri Mavericks
Now, to the game itself, the Mavericks came out firing on all cylinders in the first period. They completely dominated the first 20 minutes. The Mavericks outshot the Thunder 16-5, yet trailed at the end of the first 1-0. Joel Hanson capitalized on a Mavericks turnover in their defensive zone, and beat Mavericks goalie Doug Groenestege to put the Thunder on top. Both teams obviously wanted to make their physical presence known early, as the two teams combined for 36 penalty minutes in the first period.
The first period was very exciting and eventful, but the second period was the complete polar opposite. Marc Belanger scored 2:47 into the second period to put the Thunder up 2-0. Seventeen seconds after Thunder defenseman Jason Woll was sent to the penalty box for hooking, Mavericks center and Assistant Coach Jeff Christian cleanly won a faceoff in the Thunder’s zone, sending the puck back to defenseman Shaun Avrai. Avrai then unleashed an absolute laser, which beat Thunder goalie Scott Campbell high on the glove side for the Mavericks’ first goal of the game. While the first 4 minutes were action-packed, the remaining 16 minutes of the period were mind-numbing at best. Sloppy neutral zone play by both teams, inaccurate passing, slow transitional play, and the inability to put shots on goal marred the pace of the game.
The third period was a back and forth battle from beginning to end. Goalies from both sides were continually tested and proved to be up to the task. Newly acquired Jeff MacDermid tied the game up for the Mavericks with 4:45 left to play. The final minute of regulation was a proverbial staring match between the two netminders, as both Campbell and Groenestege made saves to spare their team defeat. Groenestege somehow stopped a shot by Thunder forward Brandon Kaleniecki with 48 seconds left in regulation when it seemed as though he had an easy tap-in goal on an empty net. Campbell, not to be outdone, stopped a surging Simon Watson, after Watson made a nifty move around the Thunder defense and came in alone.
This contest would then go into overtime, with the only real danger coming from back to back penalties committed by the Thunder. While penalties in overtime are typically dooming, the Thunder were able to thwart any attempt made by the Mavericks to end the game. With the game gridlocked after the 5 minute overtime, the two teams would then enter into a shootout. With the capacity crowd on its feet, and making more noise than they had the entire night, Mavs goalie stopped attempts by Thunder forwards Glenn Detulleo and Mike Kneeland, and wrister by Belanger clanked off the post and away from danger. The Mavericks would fare much better in their shootout attempts, as Chad Hinz, Jeff MacDermid, and Bill Vandermeer all netted goals in the shootout to lead the Mavericks to their first ever home win.
The Mavericks have been promising an exciting product. Not only were the promising exciting hockey, they were promising an exciting, yet affordable, experience for their fan base. If their first home game was any indication for the rest of the season, it appears as though they will uphold that promise.
Contact the author at joe.rozycki@prohockeynews.com
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