Mavericks beat Toledo 5-2

by Bill Althaus, Grain Valley News


TOLEDO, Ohio — Despite losing the first two games of the ECHL's Western Conference Finals best-of-seven series, Kansas City made the road trip to Toledo, where the Mavericks claimed a 5-2 win that was highlighted by special teams play and the goaltending of Jack LaFontaine.

"I have always enjoyed playing on the road," said Mavericks forward Max Andreev, who had a goal and assist in the victory. "There are no distractions. We're a close team so there is a lot of time to eat out and to bond with each other.

"This team is as close as any team I've played for, and I just sensed we would get a win tonight."
Casey Carreau scored the Mavericks first goal with just 23 seconds left in the first period.

"That was huge," coach Tad O'Had said. "The Huntington Center is a tough place to play. We had to take their fans out of the game early, and we were able to do that in the second period."

Kansas City's Luke Loheit, Cam Morrison and Landon McCallum all scored goals to give the Mavericks a 4-0 lead going into the final 20 minutes of play.

"This was about as complete a 60-minute game as we've played in the series," the coach added. "We scored three power-play goals, they were just one-for-five on their power plays and, as always, Jack was outstanding in the net.

"We weren't thinking about pushing the panic button, because we're such a good team on the road. We had so much confidence going into this game. You could just sense it in the locker room."

Andreev scored Kansas City's fifth goal. 

Toledo's Billy Moskal and Carson Bantle scored late in the third period, but it was too little, too late for the Walleye.

LaFontaine was solid once again in net, turning away 33 of 35 shots to record his ninth win of the postseason.

"Jack has been so great," Andreev said. "You know what to expect from his every time he's in the net. He gave us another great performance tonight and with a win Thursday, the series is tied."
O'Had said he wants his team focusing on Thursday's game.

​"They you beat a monster is from the ground up," O'Had said. "We're taking it one period, one game at a time. We're focusing on Thursday night. We're in great shape, we're focused, five-on-five play, power play and penalty kill teams are doing great. We're looking to have another solid 60 minutes of hockey."

Kansas City forward Max Andreev, left, celebrates with his teammate after his third-period goal that gave the Mavericks a 5-1 lead at Toledo Tuesday night. The Walleye added a late goal, but Kansas City claimed a 5-2 win in the Western Conference Finals best-of-seven series. Kansas City now trails the Walleye 2-1. The next game is 6:15 p.m. Thursday at the Huntington Center. Photo courtesy Kansas City Mavericks