KC Mavericks on pace for best season in franchise history. How the last week went

Zach Welch
·3 min read
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On pace to have their best season in franchise history, the Mavericks continued their winning ways this past week — and increased their lead in the ECHL standings.

Wednesday night’s game was a rare out of division matchup, as the Mavericks welcomed the Fort Wayne Komets to Kansas City. The two teams were meeting for the first time since 2019.

The result: a back-and-forth 3-2 Mavericks win.

Fort Wayne got out to a 2-0 lead early in the second period. As has been the case for most of the season, the Mavericks answered quickly.

Three goals in four minutes from Jeremy McKenna, Cade Borchardt and Jake Jaremko gave Kansas City control. The 3-2 game entered the final period, and goaltender Jack LaFontaine skated out to secure the win.

The goaltender with NHL experience stopped 31 shots on the night — and 20 in the third period — to wrap up the 3-2 victory.

On Friday, it was back to playing division rivals as Kansas City traveled to the Black Hills for a matchup with the Rapid City Rush.

Friday’s game started slowly for the typically early-striking Mavericks. A goal from Justin Nachbaur 12 minutes into the first period put the Mavs ahead 1-0. Early in the second period, Rapid City evened the score at one apiece.

Ten minutes later, the floodgates opened.

The Mavericks scored six goals from five different players. Patrick Curry scored two goals. Nolan Walker, McKenna, Kyle Jackson and Jacob Hayhurst each added another.

The Mavericks won 7-1, suppressing Rapid City thanks to a second straight standout performance from LaFontaine in goal. He stopped 39 of 40 shots faced..

The KC Mavericks hockey team went 3-0 in the last week to maintain its lead atop the ECHL standings.
The KC Mavericks hockey team went 3-0 in the last week to maintain its lead atop the ECHL standings.

The second game of the series on Saturday was more of the same from the ECHL’s best

McKenna got the scoring started early for the Mavericks. The Rush scored back to back to take a 2-1 lead, but Kansas City responded with the game’s last three goals. Curry scored once and Walker scored twice to wrap up a 4-2 win and 3-0 week for KC.

The Mavericks have won or picked up an overtime loss — good for one point in the standings — in a league-high 11 straight road games.

Currently sitting at the top of the ECHL standings, the Mavericks are 35-8-2-1 (73 points), six points clear of the league’s second-place team.

Milestones for KC Mavericks

In Saturday’s win at Rapid City, a pair of Mavericks skaters notched notable marks in their careers. Defenseman Marc-Olivier Duquette played in his 200th professional game and forward Garrett Klotz played in professional game No. 600.

Others continue to impress this season.

Since being assigned to the Mavericks from the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds, McKenna leads the ECHL with 21 points scored. Additionally, since he was assigned to Kansas City from the AHL, Jack LaFontaine is 3-0-0-1 with a 1.95 goals against average; he leads the ECHL with 150 saves in four games.

Upcoming KC Mavericks schedule

It’s a relatively quiet week for the Mavericks with just two games. The team travels to Wichita on Friday night before hosting Wichita for First Responders Night on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Cable Dahmer Arena.

Single-game tickets are available at kcmavericks.com or by calling 816-252-7825.