Mavericks Overcome by Oilers, 6-4

The Tulsa Oilers scored six straight goals after trailing by three goals in the first period to defeat the Missouri Mavericks, 6-4, Friday night at BOK Center.  Oilers’ forward Ben Gordon had a goal and five assists for a six-point game, and Ryan Menei had two goals and two assists in the win for the Oilers.  It was a penalty filled game as the Oilers scored four power play goals on nine chances.  Mavericks’ forward Sebastien Thinel scored his 300th professional goal, but the visitors couldn’t hold on to the lead.  The Mavericks are back home Saturday night and host the Quad City Mallards at Independence Events Center.  The first 2,500 fans will receive a Mac Build-A-Bear courtesy of Santa Fe Glass.

“A tough way to start a busy stretch,” said Mavericks’ Head Coach Scott Hillman.  “There was a complete lack of focus after an outstanding first period.  We took bad and selfish penalties and an inability to kill penalties destroyed any hope of winning.”

Missouri took a 3-0 lead in a dominant performance in the first period.  Defenseman Taylor Vichorek scored his first goal as a Maverick on his first shift.  The 6-foot-8 defenseman came in on an two-on-one and blasted a shot past Oilers’ goaltender Shane Madolora.  Sebastien Thinel then scored his 300th professional goal when he took a crossing pass from Kyle Hood on the power play shot the puck into the open net.  Finally, the Mavericks took a 3-0 lead on another power play goal, this time by Kellan Tochkin.

Tulsa then took control and scored the next six goals in the game.  Ben Gordon started the scoring on the first of four power play goals for Tulsa.  His goal cut the Mavericks lead to 3-1 before the end of the first period.  Gordon assisted on the next five goals by Tulsa.  Drew Fisher scored on the power play and Ryan Menei scored twice in the second period to give the Oilers a 4-3 lead through two periods.

The Oilers scored twice on the power play in the third period to take a 6-3 lead and cap off the six-goal outburst.  Finally, Mavericks forward Andrew Courtney scored with 1:01 remaining in regulation to finalize the scoring and make it a 6-4 game.

Missouri is back on home ice on Saturday, February 2 against the Quad City Mallards.  The first 2,500 fans in attendance will receive a Mac Build-A-Bear courtesy of Santa Fe Glass.

Corpus Christi Edges Topeka RoadRunners In Shootout 3-2

Despite having more shots than Corpus Christi by a wide margin in regulation, the RoadRunners were forced into overtime and then shutout in the shootout, losing to the Ice Rays 3-2.

A spirited fight between Tyler Groat and Lucas McDiarmid led to McDiarmid’s ejection and a powerplay at 6:03 in the first. A minute later, Patrick Pollock fired a laser over Hayden Stewart’s left shoulder to give the RoadRunners a 1-0 lead. Corpus Christi responded at 13:54 with a goal by Beau Walker, knotting the game going into the first intermission.

A scoreless second gave way to a busy third where the Ice Rays would take the lead on Ryan McNeely’s goal at 3:47. Now down 2-1, Drew Kariofiles gave the hometown faithful a reason to cheer with his goal at 6:13. The RoadRunners failed to capitalize on Michael Economos’ tripping penalty at 16:02, resulting in overtime. Neither team mounted a serious charge in the extra frame bringing about a sudden death shootout.

Stewart shined against the penalty shots, stonewalling all four RoadRunners he faced. Mackenzie Sawyer was not so lucky. Charles Baldwin drew first blood on the Ice Ray’s first attempt and Beau Walker sealed the deal on their fifth attempt, clinching a 3-2 win.

The RoadRunners will look to get back on track Saturday Night during Children’s Miracle Network Night at Landon Arena.

Comets Win Close Battle Over Rochester

The Comets first three games against the Lancers resulted in a blowout win for each home team. In the final matchup this season between these two squads, it was fitting that the result was unclear until the end moments.  At the final buzzer, behind his fourth hat trick in five games, Leo Gibson the Comets to a 12-11 victory.

Leo Gibson had scored 12 goals in his last four games coming into tonight’s contest and had rocketed up to 10th in the league’s scoring table.  His offensive production picked up when he was converted to a forward while Byron Alvarez recovered from injury.  With Alvarez’s return tonight, he hoped to continue tearing through opposing defenses.  He started it off right with his first goal coming on the Power Play five minutes into the 1st quarter.  Lucas Rodriguez was on the receiving end of a Gibson assist five minutes later and the Comets took a 4-0 lead into the break.

The second quarter was extremely tight with Missouri pressuring Rochester’s Patrick Hannigan in goal and Missouri’s Danny Waltman shutting down any attempt at an attack from Rochester.  Neither team was able to net a score and after two quarters the Comets held onto their 4-0 lead.

Rochester’s attack is based on their defense finding their star forwards Doug Miller and Mauricio Salles hiding behind the defense for fast break opportunities.  Tonight they were able to find their forwards, but the Comets defense, and goalkeeper Waltman were up for the challenge.  The Lancers outshot the Comets 46-25 on the night, but the defense recorded 15 blocks and Waltman had 26 saves.

The Lancers finally cracked the scoreboard two minutes into the half when Elliot Fauske buried a rebound from teammate Jeremy Ortiz.  Byron Alvarez answered three minutes later, scoring in his first game back from injury.  Before fans could sit down, the Lancers turned the ball over and Jeff Hughes scored his first goal as a member of the Comets.  The two goals came twelve seconds apart.  Salles, Alan McGreal and Doug Miller added more tallies for Rochester, but the Comets hung on to a 10-9 lead after three quarters.

The Comets held on for dear life as the Lancers desperately tried to gain control of the game.  Several Missouri defenders threw themselves between the ball and the goal and Waltman used every one of his acrobatic skills to keep the lead for his team.  On one flurry in front of the goal a shot ricocheted off the arm of Comets defender Brian Harris resulting in a Rochester penalty kick.  Doug Miller converted the kick and with 4:17 remaining in the game, the Lancers had their first lead of the night.  Suddenly facing a rare home defeat the Comets broke out of the defensive end and peppered Hannigan with several shots.  Cristiano blasted a shot past the Lancers goalkeeper that hit the crossbar, bouncing down on the line and straight up in the air.  Leo Gibson hustled to the ball and headed it into the open net.  The game-winning score was his third of the night and gave the Comets their 12-11 victory.

The team is right back in action tomorrow night against MISL-leader, the Milwaukee Wave.  The game kicks off in Milwaukee’s U.S. Cellular Arena at 6pm.  The team returns to the Independence Events Center on February 10th at 3:10pm.

'Roos Continue Road Swing, Face Red-Hot Jacks On Saturday

The 'Roos will face the hottest team in the league on Saturday when it heads to Brookings for a battle with South Dakota State. Kansas City has lost three in a row, while SDSU boasts a six-game win streak.  It will be the 15th meeting between the 'Roos and Jackrabbits, with SDSU holding a 9-5 lead in the series. The Jacks have won the last three contests, and seven of the last eight. The last win for UMKC came on Jan. 27, 2011 by a 63-58 score on the road.

South Dakota State comes in with a 17-6 overall mark and an 8-2 record in Summit League play. The Jackrabbits were picked to win the conference. They are currently on a six-game win streak with victories over both North Dakota State and Western Illinois.

They are led by preseason Summit League Player of the Year Nate Wolters, who averages 20.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. Jordan Dykstra puts up 13.0 points and 7.1 boards a game, while Tony Fiegen is averaging 10.5 points and 5.6 rebounds a contest.

As a team the Jacks lead the conference in scoring at 72.3 points per game, and assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.4. They also shoot 45.6 percent from the field and hit 74.6 percent from the foul line. The Jackrabbits have an eight-man rotation with five players averaging 30 or more minutes per game.

This has been a trying season for the 'Roos and their fans. The team is 6-17 and coming off a 71-34 bludgeoning at North Dakota State on Thursday. In that game UMKC made only 11 shots while turning it over 18 times. It is its lowest point total ever in conference play and the 37 point margin of defeat was the second biggest in a conference game for the school.

Kansas City finishes its road swing, this time against Houston Baptist in the second half of a home-and-home series this Wednesday.

Mavs Sign Defenseman Vichorek, Miller Reassigned To Missouri

The Missouri Mavericks announced Friday the Central Hockey League (CHL) team has signed defenseman Taylor Vichorek, and forward Kenton Miller has been reassigned to the Mavericks by the team’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Chicago Wolves.  Also, forward Jed Ortmeyer, who played in the last two games for the Mavericks, has signed with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage.

Vichorek, 24 (8/25/88), is a 6-foot-8, 250-pound defenseman playing in his third season professionally.  A native of Moose Lake, Minnesota, he started this season and played in six games with the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads.  Last season, Vichorek played the majority of the year with the CHL’s Quad City Mallards.  In 52 games with the Mallards, he accounted for 10 points (4-6=10) and 42 penalty minutes.  Overall, he has 25 points (8-17=25) in 129 games played between the Steelheads, Mallards and ECHL Trenton.

“We are excited to add Taylor to our roster,” said Mavericks’ Head Coach Scott Hillman.  “He has solid experience in our league and is a big body which should allow him to fit in nicely in our defensive system. We are also hoping to add Blake Forsyth back to the active roster soon.”

Prior to turning pro, Vichorek played one season of collegiate hockey and Hamline University and three seasons of junior hockey in the North American Hockey League (NAHL).

Miller has played in six games with the Wolves and has a +1 plus/minus rating and two penalty minutes.  The rookie forward has 13 goals and 11 assists in 28 games with the Mavericks this season.

“Kenton is really developing quickly in his rookie year,” said Hillman.  “His time in Chicago has really helped him and he has been a major contributor when he is in our roster.  It is always a boost to get a player of Kenton’s level back in our line-up.”

Ortmeyer, a veteran of 345 National Hockey League (NHL) games, signed with AHL San Antonio on Thursday.  The nine-year pro played in two games with the Mavericks this past weekend.

“Thank you, the organization and all the guys for giving me the opportunity to get closer to where I want to be,” said Ortmeyer.  “I will be keeping tabs on the Mavericks and wish the team the best of luck.”

“We knew Jed’s time with the Mavericks would be short term,” said Mavericks’ President and General Manager Brent Thiessen.  “We are glad we helped him get back to where he should be.”

Due to injuries, the Mavericks have also signed goaltender Robert Andrews and forward Michael Uvodich.

The Mavericks head to Tulsa for a game at BOK Center tonight. Missouri is back on home ice on Saturday, February 2 against the Quad City Mallards.

Missouri Senate Passes Sports Tax Credit

The Missouri Senate's passage of a tax credit for sporting events could attract larger events to the state.

The Senate voted 28-4 for legislation that would reimburse sponsors of sporting events with $5 for every ticket sold, KMOX reports. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale, told the radio station that the measure would help Missouri compete with other states for larger events such as the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament.

The bill now goes to the House for a vote.

Read More at KMOX

UMKC's Offense Goes Cold At North Dakota State, 71-34

The temperature wasn't the only thing that was cold on Thursday in Fargo as Kansas City men's basketball shot 26 percent and was stifled by North Dakota State, 71-34.

Kansas City's point total was the lowest ever in a conference game, and it was the second largest margin of defeat in league play.

The opening half was a slow starting one to say the least as it was 0-0 at the first media timeout with 15:26 to play. North Dakota State (17-5, 8-2 SL) heated up a little after the 10 minute mark though, and pushed its lead to 20-7 with 5:11 on the clock. Kansas City (6-17, 3-7 SL) didn't reach double-figures until only one minute remained in the period, and went into the half down 28-12.

It was the fewest number of points in a half all season for the 'Roos, who shot 23.8 percent. Caleb Johnson came in to grab six points off the bench to lead UMKC, matching his career-high.

The second stanza was all Bison as well, as the margin got to 25 by the 11:55 mark on a fastbreak dunk. With 7:31 on the clock it was up to 37, and got to as many as 41 before the night was done.

The 'Roos, who were playing without leading rebounder Fred Chatmon, were out-rebounded by a 43-24 margin. That, combined with 49 percent shooting from NDSU, as well as a 30-4 advantage in points off turnovers, resulted in the final margin.

Trinity Hall led the 'Roos with nine points, while NDSU was paced by 14 from Mike Felt.

Kansas City will head to South Dakota State on Saturday for a game at 4:05 p.m. that will be televised on Fox College Sports.