Mavericks successful season comes to a close

by Bill Althaus, Grain Valley News


As Kansas City coach Tad O'Had walked into Cable Dahmer Arena Monday morning, he took some time to reflect on the second-greatest season in Mavericks history.

The season came to an end Saturday night at Huntington Center, where the Toledo Walleye beat the Mavericks 5-2, to take the Western Conference Championship Series 4-1.

And while that loss still stings, O'Had won't let it overshadow all the great this his club accomplished in 2024-2025.

The Mavericks wrapped up the year with a 49-18-5 regular season record, to total 103 points and finish third in the ECHL.

Kansas City boasted a +78 goal differential. Cade Borchardt set a franchise record with 40 goals, finishing as the league’s top goal scorer, despite spending much of the season at Coachella Valley, the Mavericks AHL affiliate.

Kansas City’s balanced offense featured seven players who recorded at least 45 points over the course of the season.

In goal, the team relied on Jack LaFontaine, Victor Ostman, and Noah West, all of whom posted save percentages above .900 and contributed at different points of the season. Ostman spent some time with the NHL's Seattle Kraken and West finished the season strong with a 5-0 record in relief of LaFontaine.

Kansas City defeated Tulsa in six games in the opening round and swept Tahoe in the second to reach the Western Conference Final for the second consecutive season.

Along the way, O’Had became the winningest coach in Kansas City professional hockey and Mavericks franchise history.

Despite the early exit from the playoffs, the Mavericks close out their campaign as Mountain Division and regular-season Western Conference champions, wrapping one of the most accomplished seasons in franchise history.

“There were many good facets about this season,” said O'Had, who led the Mavericks to the ECHL Championship Series in 2023-2024. “Kansas City, Toledo and Florida were the only three teams who made the championship series both in 2023-2024 and 2024-205, and we take a lot of pride in that.

“We lost to a very good Toledo team, and we're all disappointed.

“But the great things that happened during the regular season speak for themselves.

“We had a lot of team success and individual success, and now, we begin our exit interviews and look toward next season.”

The Mavericks returned more players from 2023-2024's 54-12-4-2 season, which earned O'Had's crew the Brabham Cup Championship, given to the team with the best regular-season ECHL record.

“From Day 1, we have tried to build a successful team, and we've done it the right way,” O'Had said. “The guys have really bonded, and have become more of a family than a team.

“We're all sad to see this season end, but we're all excited to see what the future holds in store.”

Saturday night in Toledo, the Walley struck early in Game 5 as goals from Matt Anderson and Trenton Bliss  gave Toledo a 2-0 lead in the opening five minutes of the game.

Borchardt responded for Kansas City at 5:28 of the first period, burying a quick shot from in front of the net off a feed from Landon McCallum to make it 2-1. Bliss added his second of the period at 14:03 to give Toledo a 3-1 lead.

Cam Morrison brought the Mavericks within one point at 5:43 of the third, finishing a play that deflected off his body during a rush to the net.

But the rest of the night belonged to the Walley as Anderson’s second of the game and an empty-net tally by Brandon Hawkins closed out the scoring.

LaFontaine made 28 saves in the game. He finished post-season play with a league-high four shutouts and had a 1.92 goals against average.

Kansas City forward Cam Morrison scored a goal Saturday night, but it wasn't enough as the Toledo Walleye beat the Mavericks 5-2 to earn a 4-1 series win the Western Conference Championship Series. Photo credit: Kansas City Mavericks