CHL Kansas City Mavericks

Mavericks Beat Thunder, 2-1

Published on October 23, 2010 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Kansas City Mavericks News Release


INDEPENDENCE, Missouri - The Missouri Mavericks defeated the Wichita Thunder Friday night, 2-1, in front of 5,317 fans at Independence Events Center. This regional rivalry gained a bit more steam as both teams dropped the gloves a total of three times in the first period. The goaltending matchup proved to be a great one, as Gerry Festa of Missouri stopped 35 of 36 shots and Wichita's Marty Magers stopped 24 of 26. The Mavericks head to Mississippi Saturday to take on the RiverKings in the teams' first matchup of the season.

The first period was a wild one, as both teams combined for 46 penalty minutes, including three fighting majors a piece in the period. Cole Ruwe and A.J. Gale were the first to hook up after Gale plowed into Ruwe along the boards in the Wichita zone. Gale received a boarding penalty in addition to his five minute major. Then Carlyle Lewis and Jason Goulet dropped the gloves. The final bout came when Derek Knowles and Ryan Hand squared off before play had even resumed after the Lewis and Goulet fight. The Mavericks' and Thunder's special teams played to perfection, not allowing a power play goal in the entire period. The Mavericks did however take advantage of a shorthanded opportunity when forward Olivier Filion took a pass from Toby Lafrance to put the Mavs up by one in the late stages of the first period. Festa became the story of the night early on, stopping 15 of 16 first period shots from the Thunder, his highest total in any period. The goal would be the only Wichita tally as Festa stood tall in net for the remainder of the game.

The second period was a bit more docile, as there were only seven penalties called on both teams. Once again, the Mavericks' top ranked penalty killing unit was perfect as the Mavericks maintained their 100% penalty kill rate throughout the game. Of course, the most important penalty killer was Festa, as he stopped nine Wichita shots in the second period. As the period was drawing to an end, Maverick forward Mike Berry ripped home a shot on a pass from Nick Sirota with just under 30 seconds left in the period. Defenseman Blake Forsyth also had an assist on Berry's goal. The marker put the Mavericks up for good.

The third period belonged to the Mavericks' goaltender, as he stopped all 11 of Wichita's attempts, including a late power play attempt by the Thunder. The Mavericks held the Thunder off for the remainder of the game and extended their winning streak against the Thunder to 11 games, dating back to the Mavericks' inaugural season last year. The Thunder falls to 0-3-0, as the Mavericks moved to the top of the CHL's Turner Conference at 2-0-1. Festa was voted the first star of the game with 35 saves on 36 shots. Magers ended up as the third star with 24 saves on 26 shots.

The Mavericks are now the only team remaining in the CHL with a perfect penalty kill percentage after going 6-6 on the penalty kill tonight. On the other side of their special teams play, the Mavericks scored their first power play goal of the season against the Thunder in six attempts. Both teams combined for 72 penalty minutes including six fighting majors and a 10-minute misconduct.

Missouri will return to action tomorrow night as they travel to Southaven, Mississippi to take on the Mississippi RiverKings. The Mavericks will make their return to Independence on Friday, October 29, when they face the RiverKings at 7:05 p.m. at Independence Events Center. Tickets for all remaining regular season home games are on sale now starting at just $14 per game. Mini-plans, season tickets and group tickets are also available by calling (816) 252-7825 or visit www.MissouriMavericks.com for more information.

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Central Hockey League Stories from October 23, 2010


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