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ECHL Kansas City Mavericks

Mavericks Offense Rolls in OT Win over Thunder

February 4, 2017 - ECHL (ECHL)
Kansas City Mavericks News Release


INDEPENDENCE, Mo. - The Missouri Mavericks captured a wild 7-6 overtime win against the Wichita Thunder on Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena. The win improved the Mavericks to 6-2-0 on their nine-game home stand and moved their overall record over .500 at 20-19-7.

The win brought the Mavericks' record in the "Visit Independence, Visit Wichita" Cup to 4-4-0. The winner of the series receives a trophy at the end of the season and $2,000 for its local youth hockey organization.

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Zach O'Brien opened the scoring early in the first period with a tap-in goal off a 2-on-1 rush with Vincent Dunn. A Mavericks defender lost his footing at the Wichita blue line and that led to the odd-man rush for the Thunder. The goal came 2:55 into the contest on just the second shot sent on goalie Eamon McAdam. Thunder captain Ian Lowe doubled the lead at 7:49 with a snap shot from the right-wing circle.

Jesse Graham, who scored the game-winning goal for the Mavericks against Wichita last night, put Missouri on the board with his fourth goal of the season. Carter Verhaeghe and Dane Fox worked the puck up ice on a 2-on-2 rush while Graham trailed behind. Graham took the drop pass from Verhaeghe and beat Wichita's Scott Greenham with a wrist shot to the blocker side.

Verhaeghe's assist extended his point streak to 14 games, which is the longest in the ECHL this season.

Missouri had been held without a power play goal for three consecutive games, but broke out of the slump with a man-advantage score 2:43 into the second to tie the game. Fox and Graham teamed up to set up Darren Nowick between the circles, and the rookie forward buried his 17th goal of the season. The tie was short-lived as Matt DeBlouw scored off of a faceoff 25 seconds after Nowick's goal.

Graham continued to rack up points with the secondary assist on Fox's tying goal at 14:43 of the second period. Graham's pass found an open Dan Correale on the right wing who left a drop pass to Fox in the slot. His wrist shot beat Greenham over the blocker for his 18th tally of the season.

Matt Finn led the Mavericks' charge out of the second intermission as they took the lead for the first time. He scored his fifth of the season 47 seconds into the third period to put Missouri ahead 4-3, then assisted on Kyle Schempp's power play goal 1:57 later as the Mavericks pulled ahead by a pair. The Schempp goal was critical because a Ryan Rupert deflection scored at 5:16 to pull Wichita back within one.

Wichita took advantage of a Mavericks penalty just past the midway point of the third and netted the tying goal. Louick Marcotte worked open in the high slot and fired a wrist shot past McAdam. The pendulum swung back in Missouri's favor when Nowick slammed home his second of the game at 14:04 with Fox and Correale assisting.

Wichita's power play converted again at 15:41 courtesy of DeBlouw who notched his second of the game. The Mavericks survived 38 seconds of a Wichita power play to force overtime, but still had 1:22 of penalty time to kill off in the extra session.

At the moment the penalty expired, Rocco Carzo stole the puck in the Mavericks' zone and created an odd-man rush for the home side. Carzo's initial shot was stopped, but Finn pounced on the rebound and slammed home the game-winning goal.

McAdam turned in 47 saves and earned his fourth consecutive victory, and eighth of the season overall. The Mavericks went 2-for-3 on the power play and 6-for-8 on the penalty kill.

Mark your calendar! The Mavericks are back in action on home ice on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 7:05 p.m. to face the Wichita Thunder in the "Visit Independence, Visit Wichita" Cup! The Mavericks offer $2 domestic draft beers and 2-for-1 ticket specials courtesy of Price Chopper as part of their Two-For-Tuesday deals. Groups of 15 or more are eligible for discounted tickets and preferred seating based on availability. Call the Mavericks at 816-252-7825 to book your group outing .

About the Missouri Mavericks: The Mavericks are members of the Mountain Division of the Western Conference of the ECHL - the Premier ‚¬ËœAA' Hockey League in North America. Founded in 2009, the Mavericks are entering their eighth season in team history at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena. The Mavericks are the defending Brabham Cup winners after posting a league-leading record of 52-15-5 during the 2015-16 ECHL season, and have been honored with multiple community and league awards including the Harry S. Truman Special Community Service Recognition Award, the Bud Poile Governors' Cup (CHL), and the CHL Franchise of the Year Award for four consecutive seasons.

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