Mavericks meet the Rapid City Rush for the fourth matchup this season, but this time on home ice. Mavericks start the series in third place in the Mountian Division behind first-place Tahoe Night Monsters and second-place Wichita Thunder. Victor Ostman starts the game in the net for the Mavericks with a record of 14 wins for the season
First Period
Less than two minutes into the first period, a fight broke out between Maverick’s Daniel Amesbury and Rush’s Connor Mylymok, leading to matching penalties for both sides. At 4:08, the Mavericks struck first with a goal by Chase Spencer, his first goal as a Maverick player. Luke Loheit and Damien Giroux assisted that goal. The second fight of the game was between Mavericks’s Jimmy Mazza and Rush’s Tyler Burnie. Both players got matching penalties for fighting, but Mazza got two minutes for interference, leading to a power play for the Rush. Fortunately for the Mavericks, the Rush could not capitalize on the power play and remained goalless in the first period. At 14:54 the Mavericks Cam Morrison made his tenth goal of the season and the fourth goal in the last four home games. That goal was assisted by Jake McLaughlin giving the Mavericks a two to zero lead going into the second period.
Second Period
The second period started off a little slower and with a lot less fireworks. The game’s third goal came at 11:20 by Nate Knoepke, assisted by Jackson Berezowski and Chase Spencer. This Was Knoepke’s first goal of the season. A tripping penalty by Rush’s Tyler Burnie led to a power-play goal from Casey Carreau, helped along by Marcus Crawford at 12:36. This was Casey Carreau’s 14th goal for the season. At 16:06, a boarding penalty by Daniel Amesbury resulted in a power-play goal by Rush’s Blake Bennett, assisted by Ryan Wagner and Charles Martin, ending the period with a score of four to one in the Maverick’s favor.
Third Period
The third period started off with an unassisted Rush goal by Blake Bennett at 11:56. There were no penalties through the remainder of the third period, but in a final effort to tie the score, Rush pulled their goalie, leading to an empty net goal at 19:50 by Cade Borchardt assisted by Max Andreev. This was Borchardt’s 23rd goal for the season. The Mavericks won the game with a score of five to two. The Mavericks meet the Rush again Saturday night, hoping to win their twenty-second game for the season.
Game Recap
The Mavericks had a total of 35 shots on goal. Victor Ostman had a total of 24 saves on 26 shots. The first star of the game was Chase Spencer for his first goal as a Mavericks player and his first goal in his ECHL career. The second star of the game was Nate Knoepke for his first goal of the season and a plus-three for the game. The third star of the game was Casey Carreau for his power-play goal in the second period.
ITR 39: Conference Finals – Inside The Rink
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