CHL Kansas City Mavericks

Mavericks Comeback Falls Short in 3-2 Loss to Amarillo

Published on October 24, 2009 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Kansas City Mavericks News Release


LOVELAND, Colorado- The Missouri Mavericks comeback effort fell one goal short Saturday night as the Amarillo Gorillas defeated the Mavericks 3-2 at Amarillo Civic Center. Amarillo jumped to a 3-0 lead including a pair of goals by Joe Guenther, but the Mavericks came back with two goals in the second period. Bill Vandermeer scored on a penalty shot and Andrew Davis scored for the Mavericks, but the visitors couldn't get the equalizer and fell to 0-4-0 on the season.

Andrew Smale and Gordon Bell each assisted on all three Gorillas' goals and Anthony Battaglia scored the game-winner to improve Amarillo's record to 5-1-0. Tuomas Lohtander had 28 saves on 30 shots in net for the Gorillas in his second win of the season, and his counterpart Mike Gorman stopped 24 of 27 shots for his second loss of the season.

For the second straight game, Missouri was unable to capitalize on the power play going 0-4 while the Gorillas had a five-on-three goal and finished 1-7 on the man advantage.

"We just have to find a way to win," said Mavericks Head Coach Scott Hillman. "It seems like a broken record. The effort is there, we just need to eliminate mistakes and capitalize on our opportunities."

After a scoreless first period in which the Gorillas outshot the Mavericks 11-5, Joe Guenther jumped out and scored a pair of goals to open the second period. Guenther scored at the 2:10 mark and again on a five-on-three goal one minute later. Finally, Anthony Battaglia scored at the 7:06 mark when he put in a rebound giving the Gorillas a 3-0 lead. Gordon Bell and Andrew Smale each assisted on all three Amarillo goals.

Missouri bounced back in the second period and Bill Vandermeer earned a penalty shot at the 10:10 mark when he was hindered from behind on a breakaway. Vandermeer scored on a backhand to forehand move on the penalty shot to cut the Gorillas lead to 3-1. Just 1:01 later, defenseman Andrew Davis found the back of the net when he pinched into the offensive zone and buried a rebound. Tyler Fleck and Chad Hinz assisted on the goal that got the Mavericks to within a goal of tying the game. Hinz' assist was his fourth assist in as many games; he is currently riding a four-game point streak.

The Mavericks had their chances in the third period but were unable to capitalize. Missouri outshot Amarillo 25-16 over the final two periods and finished with 30 shots in a game for the first time this season. The Mavericks have yet to score three goals in a game scoring two goals in each of the first four games.

Missouri will head to Odessa to take on Scott Hillman's former team on Tuesday night at the Ector County Coliseum at 7:05 p.m. CDT. The Mavericks have five games left in the team's nine-game road trip to start the season. Missouri will open up at the brand-new Independence Events Center on Friday, November 13 against the Wichita Thunder.

Single-game tickets are now on sale for all 32 of the Mavericks' home games. Season tickets, group tickets and mini-plans are available by calling the Mavericks front office at (816) 252-7825. For more information, please visit www.MissouriMavericks.com.

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Central Hockey League Stories from October 24, 2009


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