Mavericks Begin Season Friday, Announce Opening Day Roster

The Missouri Mavericks will begin their fourth season in the Central Hockey League (CHL) Friday night against the expansion Denver Cutthroats at Denver Coliseum. The Mavericks waived forwards Jordan Foreman and Jason Dixon in order to get the roster to the CHL-mandated size. Missouri also signed forward Kellan Tochkin to a five-game tryout therefore the team will start the season with 20 players on the roster.
Missouri will begin the season against the Cutthroats in a pair of games this weekend on Friday and Saturday nights. The Mavericks are 2-1-0 in opening night games and 1-1-0 in such games on the road.  This is the second straight season the Mavericks will begin the season with a lengthy road trip. Missouri will play five games away from home over the next two weeks before the team plays their first game at Independence Events Center on Saturday, November 3.
The CHL requires all teams to be at a 19-man roster at the beginning of the season therefore the Mavericks waived forwards Jordan Foreman and Jason Dixon. The Mavericks will have 20 players on the roster due to Tochkin’s five-game tryout agreement with the team. After the five games, the Mavericks will be forced to make another move.
“The CHL has been the choice league for several NHL players during the lockout which says a lot about our league,” said Mavericks’ President and General Manager Brent Thiessen. “We are excited about the team we have put together and look forward to starting on Friday.”
“We are very proud of the way the guys competed in camp,” said Mavericks’ Head Coach Scott Hillman. “We have been forced to make some of the toughest player personnel moves in our franchise history. We are excited to hit the ice in Denver. We have a lot of things to work on but we are anxious to see how we stack up this season against some of the elite teams in the CHL.”

Missouri Mavericks 2012-13 Opening Day Roster:
#1 – Austin Lee, Goaltender
#3 – David Simoes, Defenseman
#4 – Brandon Smith, Forward/Defenseman
#7 – Matt McCready, Defenseman
#9 – Trevor Kell, Forward
#10 – Brian Bicek, Forward
#13 – Blake Forsyth, Defenseman
#17 – Jeff Pierce, Forward
#19 – Derek Leblanc, Forward
#21 – Ryan Jardine, Forward
#22 – Matt Krug, Defenseman
#26 – Jamie VanderVeeken, Defenseman
#27 – Kenton Miller, Forward
#28 – Kellan Tochkin, Forward^
#30 – Mike Clemente, Goaltender
#35 – Mathieu Corbeil, Goaltender
#40 – John-Scott Dickson, Forward
#43 – Sebastien Thinel, Forward
#45 – Colt King, Forward
#59 – Riley Emmerson, Forward
^- Five-game tryout

“We currently have six AHL/NHL assigned players and we are using the circumstances to expand our roster to 20 instead of 19,” added Hillman. “We expect a heightened level of play across the league and even more parity than in years past.”
The Mavericks first home game is set for November 3 at Independence Events Center where parking is always free. Tickets for all 33 regular season games on are sale now via Ticketmaster. For more information on the Missouri Mavericks visit www.MissouriMavericks.com.