Ostman stars at the net in 6-3 victory over Allen Americans

Kansas City Mavericks goaltender Victor Ostman, left, is congratulated by his teammates, including Justin MacPherson (No. 6) after starring in the net in a 6-3 victory over the Allen Americans Friday night at Cable Dahmer Arena. Photo credit: Bill Althaus

by Bill Althaus, Grain Valley News

Victory Ostman, who has spent the past week in Seattle, as a member of the team's NHL affiliate the Seattle Kraken, was back in more familiar territory Friday night at Cable Dahmer Arena.


The rock-solid goaltender stopped 29 of 32 shots on goal to lead the Kansas City Mavericks to a 6-3 win over longtime rival Allen.

"We got great play from Victor tonight in the net and our offense came to life," said coach Tad O'Had, after his team improved to 33-12-4-1.

"The guys are playing some of their best hockey of the season, and tonight we clicked both offensively and defensively. Ostman deserved the call up to Seattle, but it's great to have him back in the net for us,

"He and Laffer (Jack LaFontaine) are the best 1-2 goalie tandem in the ECHL right now."

Cade Borchardt scored twice, including his 30th goal of the season, to lead the Mavericks.

With the victory, O'Had is just three wins away from becoming the Mavericks' all-time winningest coach. Scott Hillman leads the team in career wins with 186. Following Friday night's game O'Had has 184 wins.

The Mavericks wasted no time getting on the board, as Justin MacPherson opened the scoring just 23 seconds into the game, assisted by Marcus Crawford. 

Borchardt followed up at 3:13, netting his 30th goal of the season, assisted by Casey Carreau and Charlie Wright, to extend the lead.

Kansas City continued its dominance in the first period when Nolan Sullivan struck at 8:31, off assists from Luke Loheit and Jake McLaughlin. 

Wright added another goal at 10:09, assisted by Damien Giroux, to give the Mavericks a commanding 4-0 lead.

Allen got on the board in the second period with a power-play goal from Miko Matikka at 13:40, but the Mavericks responded quickly with Borchardt scoring his second of the night at 11:57, assisted by McLaughlin.

The Mavericks added one more insurance goal as Landon McCallum converted on a power play at 13:06, assisted by Carreau and Crawford. Allen tried to mount a late comeback, scoring a shorthanded goal at 17:51 from Hudson Wilson, but Ostman did not allow another goal in picking up his 19th victory (19-7-4-0, 2.46 goals against average).

"We got off to a good start with the 4-0 lead, and made sure we didn't let them back in the game," Ostman said. "That's nine wins in a row at home, and it's great when we can get a win like this in front of our fans. They're the best in the league, and we feed off their energy.

Physical play was one highlight of the third period as Josh Thrower dropping the gloves against Nick Isaacson at 10:39. Thrower was throwing the punches as he made quick work of his American opponent.

Later in the period, Cole Fraser was ejected for an illegal check to the head at 12:33. Kansas City's Jackson Berezowski had to be helped off the ice following the cheap shot, that resulted in a three-game suspension for Fraser.

It was the last Mavericks game for a while for Wright, who was called up to the AHL Coachella Valley Firebirds after the victory.

"Vic kept us in the game all night, we finally were able to put some points on the scoreboard," Wright said, before his call up. "We really stuck up for each other tonight. We're not going to let any team play the way Allen was playing without responding.

"It just shows the brotherhood and the culture we have on this team. That's a big reason we've been so successful this season."

Before the game the Mavericks acquired defenseman Thomas Farrell from the Indy Fuel in exchange for goaltender Logan Neaton.

Neaton, 25, appeared in one game for the Mavericks this season, posting a 2.08 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage in a losing effort.

Farrell, 26, is a 6-foot-1, 201-pound right-shot defenseman from Mettawa, Ill. In 29 games with the Indy Fuel this season, he recorded one goal and four assists, along with a +5 rating. 

This is Farrell’s second full season in the ECHL, having previously played for the Toledo Walleye in 2023-24. Across 61 ECHL games, he has tallied four goals, nine assists (13 points) and a +13 rating.

Farrell turned pro in 2022-23 after captaining Army West Point during his senior season. Over his four-year NCAA career, he played 126 games, registering 16 goals and 46 assists (62 points). He served as an alternate captain in his junior season and was a First-Team Atlantic Hockey All-Star in 2020-21. 

Prior to his collegiate career, Farrell played three combined seasons in the USHL and NAHL.