Mavericks Defeated By Americans In Hard Fought Battle, 3-2

The Missouri Mavericks (28-20-5) were defeated by the Allen Americans, 3-2, Saturday night at Allen Event Center.  Americans’ forward Jarret Lukin’s power play goal in the third period was the game winning goal and the first-place Americans won their league-leading 34th game of the season.  Allen had twice as many power play opportunities than the Mavericks in a penalty filled affair.  The Americans finished 1-for-8 on the power play while the Mavericks were scoreless on four chances with the man advantage.  Mavericks’ goaltender Mike Clemente stopped 16 of 19 shots in the loss and Aaron Dell made 19 saves on 21 shots in the win for Allen.  Missouri stays on the road for a game against the Wichita Thunder on Sunday evening starting at 5:05 p.m. at INTRUST Bank Arena.
“A tough battle,” said Mavericks’ Head Coach Scott Hillman.  “Allen spent over 17 minutes on the power play and they still had very few chances until they scored the winner.  We played a very good defensive game and had three breakaway chances so the outcome certainly could have been different.  We have to go right back to work and find a way to get two points in Wichita tomorrow.”
After a scoreless first period, the Mavericks and Americans did not disappoint in the second period.  Allen struck first on a goal by Jamie Schaafsma at the 7:03 ­ mark.  He was assisted by Darryl Bootland and Jason Deitsch, but the Mavericks answered quickly.  Evan Vossen scored on a wrap-around goal just 1:42 after the Americans took the lead.
Colt King gave the Mavericks a 2-1 lead at the 11:32 mark on assists from Evan Vossen and Trevor Kell.  The goal marked King’s seventh goal in his last seven games.  Allen tied the game with just 2:17 remaining in the second period when Trevor Hendrikx took a shot that went through traffic and beat Clemente.  Through two periods, the teams were tied, 2-2.
Allen was awarded a four-on-three power play in the third period and they finally converted when Lukin redirected a pass from Anthony Maiani into the back of the net.  The goal came at the 9:11 mark of the period, and although the Mavericks pressured the Allen end for a majority of the remaining time, they couldn’t get another puck past Dell.
Missouri concludes their three-in-three weekend Sunday evening in Wichita.  The Mavericks will return home on Tuesday, March 5 to take on the Bloomington Blaze.