Mavericks Blanked By Thunder, 3-0

The Wichita Thunder shutout the Missouri Mavericks 3-0 Friday night at INTRUST Bank Arena.  Wichita goaltender Kevin Regan stopped all 25 shots faced for his first win of the season and Chad Painchaud had a goal and an assist as the Thunder took game one of the 10-game season series between the two rivals.  Mavericks’ goaltender Mathieu Corbeil stopped 23 of 26 shots in the loss, and the Mavericks season-starting five-game road trip ends with a 2-2-1 record.  Missouri will have a shot at redemption Saturday night against the Thunder in the team’s home opener at Independence Events Center at 7:05 p.m.
“Not a great start, we were not very crisp off the bat,” said Mavericks’ Head Coach Scott Hillman.  “We didn’t play well in the first period, and the second period was probably our best period but again we get outscored 2-0.  We still have a lot of things to work on, but the bright spot tonight was the penalty kill.”
Wichita took a 1-0 lead on Painchaud’s second goal of the season.  The goal came just over four minutes into the opening period and Ian Lowe earned the lone assist.  Wichita was also awarded the only two power play chances in the first, but the Mavericks didn’t allow the Thunder to score while on the man-advantage.  Wichita finished the game going 0-for-4 on the power play.
The Thunder extended their lead to 3-0 in the second period.  First, Nathan Lutz scored on a one-timer blast that just went over the shoulder of Corbeil to give the Thunder a 2-0 lead.  Wichita then took a commanding 3-0 lead on a shorthanded goal by Kevin Young at the 11:41 mark of the second period.  Neil Trimm and Painchaud earned the assists on the final goal of the game.
Missouri outshot the Thunder 12-8 in the final period and 21-15 in the final two periods, but the Mavericks’ couldn’t get a puck past Regan.  Missouri finished 0-for-3 on the power play and the team hasn’t scored on the power play in their last two games.
The Mavericks will finally open up the home portion of their schedule Saturday night at Independence Events Center at 7:05 p.m.   Saturday’s game is the first of 33 regular season games and parking is always free.  Tickets to all 33 games are sale now via Ticketmaster.  For more information on the Missouri Mavericks visit www.MissouriMavericks.com.