CHL Kansas City Mavericks

Missouri Mavericks Turner Conference Semifinals Preview

Published on April 11, 2011 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Kansas City Mavericks News Release


INDEPENDENCE, Missouri - The Missouri Mavericks will battle the Colorado Eagles in the Turner Conference Semifinals starting Friday and Saturday, April 15 and 16 at Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colorado. The best-of-five series will be played in a 2-2-1 format featuring the second-seeded Eagles against the fourth-seeded Mavericks. The Mavericks' home games at Independence Events Center are scheduled for Tuesday, April 19 and Thursday, April 21. Tickets are available by calling (800) 745-3000, visiting www.Ticketmaster.com or going to the Independence Events Center Box Office.

TURNER CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

#4 MISSOURI MAVERICKS vs. #2 COLORADO EAGLES

MISSOURI MAVERICKS

THE COACH

Mavericks Head Coach Scott Hillman is currently in his second season behind the bench for the Mavericks. He has taken the club to the conference semifinals in each of the past two seasons. Hillman has a 68-50-12 overall record in two regular seasons with the Mavericks and a 5-7 record in the playoffs with Missouri. Prior to coming to the Mavericks, Hillman guided the Knoxville Ice Bears to back-to-back championships in the Southern Professional Hockey League in his first two seasons as a head coach.

PLAYOFF HISTORY

The Mavericks are in their second straight post-season in their second year as a franchise. Last season, Missouri defeated the Mississippi RiverKings, 2-1, in a best-of-three series in the opening round. In the conference semifinals, the Mavericks were swept by the eventual champion Rapid City Rush. This season, the Mavericks earned a #4 seed in the playoffs finishing just four points behind the top spot during the regular season. Missouri used their home-ice advantage in the first round by defeating the Wichita Thunder, 3-2, in the best-of-five opening round series. The Mavericks have an overall record of 5-7 in the playoffs and the team has won two series and lost one.

2010-11 Regular Season

The Mavericks finished fourth in the Turner Conference with a

37-23-6 record for 80 points and a .606 win percentage. Missouri finished just four points behind the conference-leading Rapid City Rush and Colorado Eagles. The Mavericks had the best defense in the CHL during the regular season and allowed a league-low 173 goals in 66 games played (2.62/game). After leading the league for most of the season on the penalty kill, the Mavericks finished second in the CHL with an 84.9% penalty kill rate. Missouri's 46 power play goals allowed were tied for the second fewest power play goals allowed in the league.

Vs. Colorado

Missouri finished 5-2-1 against the Eagles during the regular season (2-1-0 at home, 3-1-1 on road). Of the eight games, only three were decided by more than one goal. In the last four games, the Mavericks are 3-0-1 against the Eagles and have outscored Colorado 14-10. Forwards Mike Berry and Nick Sirota lead the Mavericks in scoring against the Eagles each with 10 points. Berry's five goals are tied with Simon Watson for the most scored against Colorado, and Sirota's six assists are the most vs. the Eagles. Mavericks' goaltender Robby Nolan had a 2.37 GAA and .924 save percentage against the Eagles in 456 minutes of work.

Key Players

Goaltender Robby Nolan was named the CHL's Most Outstanding Goaltender and led the CHL with a 2.07 GAA and seven shutouts. Nolan's 26 wins tied him for third in the CHL and his .928 save percentage also ranked third. He has one shutout in the post-season. Second-year forward Nick Sirota led the Mavericks in scoring during the regular season with 62 points (26-3662). He was tied with Toby Lafrance for the team lead with 36 assists. Forward Mike Berry led the Mavericks with 27 goals and he finished second on the team in scoring with 57 points (27-3057). Mavericks' defensemen Blake Forsyth and Cole Ruwe each finished the season with plus/minus ratings of +26 ranking tied for first among defensemen and fourth overall in the CHL.

COLORADO EAGLES

THE COACH

Eagles' Head Coach Chris Stewart returned behind the bench this season after a two-year absence. During the team's first five seasons, he led the Eagles to the playoffs in all five seasons, and won two CHL Championships. He is also one of two coaches in the CHL to win the championship with two different teams having won with the Huntsville Channel Cats in 1999. Stewart ranks third on the CHL's all-time wins list among coaches.

PLAYOFF HISTORY

The Eagles are in their eighth season in the CHL and the team has made the playoffs every season. Colorado won the President's Cup in 2005 and 2007 beating the Laredo Bucks on each occasion. The team went to the championship series in four straight seasons starting in 2005. Colorado was swept in the finals by Arizona in 2006 and again by Texas in 2008. This post-season, the Eagles defeated the Quad City Mallards, 3-1, in the opening round and every game was decided by one goal. Overall, the Eagles are 54-42 in playoff games. Colorado has played a total of 18 playoff series and has a record of 13-5 all-time in playoff series.

2010-11 Regular Season

The Eagles and Rapid City Rush finished with identical records for the top spot in the Turner Conference, but the Rush earned the #1 seed due to tiebreaker. Colorado finished with a 40-22-4 record for 84 points and a .636 win percentage. Colorado had identical home and road records at 20-11-2 and the Eagles' 20 road wins ranked tied for second in the CHL. The Eagles had the second best power play in the league converting on 20.2 percent of their man advantages and the Eagles total offense also ranked second in the league averaging 3.79 goals per contest.

Vs. Missouri

Colorado finished 3-4-1 against the Mavericks during the regular season. Forward Kevin Ulanski led all Eagles with nine points against the Mavericks on three goals and six assists. Four different players led the team with three goals against Missouri. Goaltender Andrew Penner finished 2-2-1 against the Mavericks with a 2.59 GAA and .896 save percentage and goaltender Kyle Jones was 1-2-0 with a 4.40 GAA and .812 save percentage. Colorado scored five of their 22 goals against the Mavericks on the power play and converted on 13.5% of their man advantages.

Key Players

Forward Riley Nelson beat out Mavericks' goaltender Robby Nolan to win the CHL's Most Valuable Player award for the 2010-11 regular season. Nelson finished with 93 points on the season on 34 goals and 59 assists and his +40 plus/minus rating was tops in the league. Forward Kevin Ulanski (2010 CHL MVP) led the team in scoring with 96 points (35-6196) and his 35 goals and 61 assists also led the team. Goaltender Kyle Jones was a finalist for the league's Most Outstanding Goaltender (won by Missouri's Robby Nolan), and he finished with a 29-10-3 record with four shutouts, a 2.62 GAA and .916 save percentage. Jones' 29 wins ranked second in the CHL.

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