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Mavericks Road to ECHL Mountain Division Semifinal series victory
by Bill Althaus, Grain Valley News Jack LaFontaine's performance in the ECHL Mountain Division playoff series is the stuff legends are made of. He stopped all 24 shots in a 4-0 victory over the Tulsa Oilers Monday night at Cable Dahmer Arena to help the Mavericks defeat their longtime rival 4-2 in a best-of-seven series. LaFontaine lowered his postseason goals against average to a microscopic 1.45 and has a .949 save percentage. "Laffer (LaFontaine) has been incredible in this season,” coach Tad O'Had said. “This is his second shutout, and he came close to another shutout (in a 5-1 victory at Tulsa). "He plays with so much passion and heart and the guys did a great job tonight. This was a complete-team victory with everyone playing a role in the win." After LaFontaine took a game puck to his father John, who has attended all the home playoff games, he lavished praise on his teammates. "A good win, a complete-game win, our guys were amazing tonight," LaFontaine said. "It's so cool to win the fourth game at home. Getting that fourth win in a best-of-seven series is tough. We did it, and we did it at home, which made it even more special. Now, we turn all our attention to Tahoe." The win sets the stage for the Mountain Division championship series that will begin at 4:05 p.m. Sunday at Cable Dahmer Arena against the Tahoe Lake Monsters. The two teams will then play Game 2 at 7:05 p.m. Monday, before the series moves to Tahoe for three games. Moments after the 4-0 victory, O'Had walked off the ice and gave president Mike Cukyne a hug. They are the architects of a team that made it to the ECHL championship series last season. And this postseason, the Mavericks have carried all their regular-season momentum into the postseason. "Every team wants to sweep a best-of-seven series," O'Had said, "but that didn't happen. So it's great that we were win the series at home. That doesn't happen too often in the postseason and we're all happy that we were able to give our fans something to cheer about tonight." LaFontaine's brilliance in the net matched the play of his teammates as Cade Borchardt scored a short-handed goal at 9:45 of the first period to give the Mavericks goaltender all the offensive support he needed. "It's always great to score first - especially at home to get our fans into the game," said Borchardt, who has four goals in the playoffs. "I got a great pass (from Justin McPherson) and was able to slip the puck past (Vyacheslav) Buteyets to open the game with a goal. "I think it's my first short-handed goal ever! Even back in the juniors I don't think I scored a shortie, so that was exciting." Jackson Berezowski then scored a greasy goal in front of the net, deflecting a pass from captain David Cotton past Buteyets for 2-0 first-period lead. Damien Giroux made it 3-0 at 17:59 of the second period on a slick back-handed goal and Nolan Sullivan put the cherry on top of the victory sundae with a goal at 13:07 of the third period. "You know, before Game 5 (4-1 loss at Tulsa) I had this nervous feeling and I will be honest with you, I didn't play my best game," said Giroux, who scored his third goal of the series. "I came into tonight's game with a lot of confidence. "Laffer has been incredible in the series and when Borch scored that shortie in the first period I felt like this was our night. We got a lot of energy from our fans and played a complete game - the type of game you want in the playoffs."  The Mavericks celebrate following a 4-0 victory over the Tulsa Oilers Monday night at Cable Dahmer Arena. Photo credit: Bill Althaus  Comments are closed.
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